Battling corruption through greater transparency: a fight to unite Nigerians and Canadians By: Edwin Ikhuoria
Corruption does not respect borders. Transparency and collaboration between countries are therefore essential to fight it, and that is why the Open Government Partnership Global Summit which took place in Ottawa, Canada was a key global moment to push the agenda for openness in governance. The summit was an important opportunity for African participants to give their perspectives on how the Open Government Partnership (OGP) has been implemented in Africa, and examine new considerations to deepen openness in the governance ecosystem in Africa. It also gave a platform to develop new partnerships to improve transparency in governance that puts African citizens at the center.
Over the past several years, Civil Society Organisations like The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), ONE Campaign, Connected Development (CODE), BudgIT amongst others have fought tirelessly to ensure that the OGP initiative is entrenched into our government system and operations with the help of some platforms and tools. CSOs in collaboration with development partners in Nigeria and the rest of Africa have worked together to advocate for governance policy reforms and for greater transparency. In 2016, they organized an Anti-Corruption Summit in Abuja, where partners framed Nigeria’s agenda and commitments in preparation for the London Anti-Corruption Summit convened by David Cameron, the former British Prime Minister.
During that summit, Nigeria committed to joining the OGP and implementing beneficial ownership transparency by publishing a registry of companies with the identities of their real (or ‘beneficial’) owners. Anonymous companies constitute potential and real dangers to the economy and security of the countries where they operate. They deny valuable revenue through tax avoidance, mask their links to corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorism financing. People use proxies and fronts to register companies and the legal owners are often not those who actually control and benefit from the companies. Politically exposed people also use their influence to confer advantages to themselves through such companies, thereby enabling grand corruption and illicit financial flows.
In Canada, a campaign led by Transparency International, Publish What You Pay and Canadians for Tax Fairness has been pushing for Canada to make a similar commitment and create a public registry of the real owners of companies and real estate. This is following concerns that Canada is increasingly used as a place for ‘snowwashing’, i.e. using secret companies to launder money into the Canadian economy. There is evidence that money-laundering is driving up the price of properties in Toronto, Vancouver and potentially other Canadian cities. But because the real buyers of these properties are not currently required to reveal their identity, it is very difficult for law enforcement officials to track potential criminal activities. Corrupt individuals from Nigeria and elsewhere could be hiding their money in Canada, taking funds away from the crucial fight against extreme poverty in a country where it is still widespread.
In 2018, ONE in Africa mobilized a petition to the African Union to entrench transparency and accountability as the foundation for fighting corruption, a commitment which was included in the Heads of State’s Declaration. These political declarations are a good sign that African governments are taking the fight against corruption more seriously, which is key to development. The OGP provides the right partnership for citizens and states to co-create and implement the needed reforms and shows that greater transparency in one country fuels more openness in another. While developing countries in Africa struggle to implement the level of openness expected to deter illicit financial flows, developed economies like Canada can help by implementing a regime that stimulates reforms globally. The OGP summit was a great opportunity to highlight our common challenges, and for Canada to show the world it is ready to fight money-laundering, at home and abroad. On the other hand, Nigeria must position itself as a strong and willing leader in the fight against poverty in order to take advantage of the positive outcomes of the OGP Summit.
Edwin Ikhuoria is the Senior Advisor (Policy and Advocacy) to the Africa Executive Director of ONE Campaign. He was the immediate past Nigeria Country Representative for ONE Campaign, an International anti-poverty campaign organization. He also worked for the Development Impact Evaluation Unit of the World Bank as an Impact Evaluation and Advocacy Coordinator in the Nigeria Country Office.
