Fighting Corruption In Nigeria

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31003, 8 March 1966, Page 17

Fighting Corruption In Nigeria

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) LAGOS (Nigeria), March 6. The Nigerian military regime has opened a campaign to rid Nigeria of corruption which wasted many millions in t h e five years since independence, said the Associated Press. The campaign ranges from a crackdown on those who try to bribe traffic policemen to a review of the tariff structure, which was rigged by crooked Cabinet Ministers ’o protect their own business interests Shocking tales of official

graft circulated before the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was killed and his Government overthrown last month. Foreign businessmen planning investments in Lagos found they had to accommodate Cabinet Ministers and their friends with “’dash” (bribes), jobs and special favours. “You can’t buy a Nigerian Cabinet Minister,” said one United States executive, “but you can rent him for the afternoon.” High government officials specialised in real estate deals which netted them fortunes. Some of these funds were cached in Swiss accounts. The military government reportedly is studying how this money might be recovered. Sliding Scale Reclaimed swampland in Lagos somehow fell into the hands of Cabinet members who sold it to the Government although it was Government property in the first place. Corruption was not limited to political figures. Tourists found custom agents at Lagos airport had a sliding scale of bribes to overlook dutiable articles in the luggage. Long waiting lists for telephones and other services could be avoided by offering “dash.”

The Finance Minister, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, was known as the “king of dash,”

and evidence indicates he deserved the title. Import duties on plastic footwear increased steeply after Okotie-Eboh built a factory to manufacture them in his home town. The Finance Minister was killed in the revolt. Industrial Sites New industrial plants were located out of political—not economic—considerations. A cement factory had to be trucked across the Sahara desert to Sokoto in far Northern Nigeria because that was the home of the Northern Region Premier, Sir Ahrnadu Bello. He, too, was killed in the rebellion. One economist estimated the Government squandered £24.6 million since Nigeria became independent on October 1, 1960. The military government of Major-General Aguiyi-lronsi lias promised to stamp out corruption, punish those responsible. and overhaul the nation's economic planning. • More than 20 officials, including one Cabinet Minister, have so far been “detained" under suspicion of “certain criminal offences.”