Nigeria — “corruption originated from Britain”

On May 12, 2016, David Cameron was overheard at the anti-corruption conference in London calling Afghanistan and Nigeria the two most corrupt countries. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO_EekNnfjI) Former Comissioner of Police, Chief Ikechukwu Aduba reacted on this comment by saying that Nigeria’s corruption resulted from Britain:

Corruption in Nigeria originated from Britain whose exploitative tendencies started when they came to colonize us uninvited. Over the years, Britain has remained a hiding place for corrupt Nigerians. British banks are harbouring stolen funds from Nigeria and using same to develop their economy. Corrupt Nigerians are buying up streets in Britain to the eternal joy of British Estate business.

But can the British really be blamed for Nigeria’s corruption? I think that one has to be careful with such statements. Sure, African countries were exploited under the rule of the British Empire, its raw materials exported to Britain by exploitative prices, but a lot of countries do not suffer from the same amount of corruption as Nigeria does. On www.bribenigeria.com, there are given a lot of reasons that do not all have a connection to the time of the British Empire:

Causes of Corruption in Nigeria: weak government institutions, poor pay incentives, lack of openness and transparency in public service, absence of key anti corruption tools, ineffective political processes, culture and acceptance of corruption by the populace, absence of effective political financing, poverty, ethnic and religious difference, resource scramble.

Perhaps Britain had its role in Nigeria’s corruption, one will never know for sure, but the focus should be in my opinion on how to improve Nigeria’s situation, not on who to blame. Nevertheless, I think that the British Prime Minister should keep in mind the Empire’s doings and be careful what to say in public. I can therefore totally agree with Aduba’s conclusion:

Corruption is totally abhorrent to me and any measure that can be taken to stop it in Nigeria should be initiated holistically, it is only Nigerians that can solve the problem, no outsider, least of all Prime Minister David Cameron should castigate us because he is part of the problem.

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