News
Leaders Steal $600Bn from Nigeria Since Independence- Report
Economist magazine has said that an estimated $600bn is believed to have been stolen from Nigeria since its Independence in 1960.
The story was published in its online edition of October 10. See excerpts.
Light-fingered tyrants are looking back wistfully. In past decades they could stash their illicit wealth in the West. Friendly lawyers, banks and middlemen were on hand to park the loot.
Sani Abacha, the military dictator who ran Nigeria in the 1990s, deposited billions of dollars in banks across the rich world, no questions asked. Western governments often seemed equally unfussed.
Such brazenness is becoming a bit harder to get away with. Anti-corruption campaigners and muckraking journalists have busied themselves trying to uncover stolen assets. Western governments, tired of seeing aid money stolen, have toughened up money-laundering and bribery laws.
Yet so much has been pilfered from Africa that tracking it all is tricky. Chatham House, a British think-tank, estimates that $582bn has been stolen from Nigeria alone since it won independence in 1960.
Britain’s International Corruption Unit says its investigations have led to the confiscation of £76m ($117m) in laundered loot since 2006. Another £791m has been frozen worldwide thanks to its work.
Yet, that barely makes a dent in the £100bn of illicit funds which Steve Goodrich at Transparency International, a watchdog, reckons enters Britain every year.
“Seizures are still the exception,” said Jason Sharman, an expert in international corruption at Cambridge University. “Dirty money still gets through most of the time.”
The best way to hide and move stolen wealth is to set up a raft of anonymous shell companies and bank accounts. The EU is trying to make this sort of thing harder by forcing member states to publish registers disclosing the beneficial owners of companies.
Britain has introduced another innovation. Unexplained Wealth Orders allow courts to order “politically exposed persons” to explain why their assets are so much larger than their salaries back home. The first was issued last year.
Yet, tough laws do not work unless everyone imposes them. “If there is a gap, then the money-launderers will find it,” says Max Heywood, Transparency International’s global advocacy co-ordinator.
Willing and effective implementation is vital. Some surprising places, such as Switzerland and Jersey, have grown more robust in this regard. But America leads the way.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative at the Department of Justice has seized stolen loot not just in America, but abroad. “The US is aggressive in enforcement,” says Matthew Axelrod, a former Department of Justice official now at Linklaters, a law firm. “Penalties are very high and prosecutors are insulated from political interference.”
Europe lags behind. Its law-enforcement agencies are often under-resourced. Investigators struggle when dirty money is held in several countries. Britain has spearheaded the International Anti-corruption Co-ordination Centre, created in 2017. Its head, Rupert Broad, says pooling intelligence has led to the arrest of five senior officials in four African states.
The most important thing, campaigners say, is to take steps to stop dirty money arriving in the first place. Banks are becoming better at reporting dodgy deposits. Purveyors of luxury goods are less alert. Boat dealers in the Netherlands are supposed to flag suspicious purchases. But of 40,959 suspicious-activity reports to Dutch authorities in 2015, just three came from yacht-dealers, Transparency found.
African states also complain that little of what is recovered is ever sent back. America, Britain and Switzerland have had some success. More than $1bn seized from Mr. Abacha’s bank accounts has been returned. But many African states have not helped their cause, often because thieving politicians are still in charge. When Switzerland returned $500m of Mr Abacha’s money, most of it disappeared again. The World Bank has programmes to guard against such things, but some Western states remain wary, and rightly so.
James Ibori, a former governor of Nigeria’s Delta State, served a prison sentence in Britain after admitting to plundering $79m from the public purse. His lawyers have managed to frustrate efforts to repatriate most of the funds frozen in his British bank accounts.
In August, Ifeanyi Okowa, the state’s present governor, called Mr Ibori “a true patriot” and praised him for his “uncompromising posture on…good governance
News
Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
News
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
News
President Tinubu Appoints Jim Ovia as Student Loan Fund Chairman
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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