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‘Nigeria Lost N89bn to Corruption in 38 Years’
- By Williams Ekanem
- Published August 23rd, 2010
- Washington File
- Unrated
IN 38 years, from 1970 to 2008 a Washington-based watchdog group Global Financial Integrity says that Nigeria has lost $89.5bn or N128.27 trillion to illegal financial outflows with relatively few arrests of top government officials for past transgressions. Nigeria has battled corruption for decades. From 1970 to 2008, the country lost nearly $90 billion to unlawful outflows of money, according to Even so, there have been relatively few arrests of top government officials for past transgressions.
The report released earlier this year by the group, showed illicit capital outflows, including proceeds from bribery, theft, human trafficking, drugs and tax evasion, grew at an average of 11.9 per cent between 1970 and 2008.
It also highlighted that illicit financial outflows from the country outpaced official development assistance going into the region at a ratio of at least 2 to 1. The hundreds of billions lost through the process, according to GFI, could have been used for poverty alleviation and economic development.
The research also discovered that funds illegally removed from the entire African continent may be as high as $1.8trn.
Sub-Saharan African countries, the survey pointed out, experienced the bulk of illicit financial outflows with the West and Central African region posting the largest outflow numbers.
The study showed how fuel exporters such as Nigeria lost capital at the rate of nearly $10bn a year, far outstripping the $2.5bn lost by non-fuel primary commodity exporters.
Nigeria alongside four others countries, was credited with the highest volume of outflows during the period under review.
”The top five countries with the highest outflow measured were: Nigeria ($89.5bn), Egypt ($70.5bn), Algeria ($25.7bn), Morocco ($25bn), and South Africa ($24.9bn),” GFI stated.
The report was a follow up on GFI’s ground-breaking 2009 report titled, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2006, “which estimated that developing countries across the globe were losing as much as $1trn annually in illicit outflows.
The report also condemned absence of genuine efforts by African leaders to halt capital flight and reduce poverty, misery and other socio-economic vices on the continent. It insisted that economic growth without credible reform could lead to more capital flight.
The report added, “Policy measures must be taken to address the factors underlying illicit outflows and also to impress upon the G-20 the need for better transparency and tighter oversight of international banks and offshore financial centres that absorb these flows.
“These illicit monetary outflows are roughly ten times the amount of aid money going into developing countries for poverty alleviation and economic development. The loss of money from poor economies that would otherwise go to provide health services, infrastructure, and other critical needs exacerbates poverty and leads to the deaths of millions of people.
“The annual loss of hundreds of billions of dollars from the world’s poorest and most vulnerable economies constitute one of the most pressing human rights issues of the new decade.”
The report released earlier this year by the group, showed illicit capital outflows, including proceeds from bribery, theft, human trafficking, drugs and tax evasion, grew at an average of 11.9 per cent between 1970 and 2008.
It also highlighted that illicit financial outflows from the country outpaced official development assistance going into the region at a ratio of at least 2 to 1. The hundreds of billions lost through the process, according to GFI, could have been used for poverty alleviation and economic development.
The research also discovered that funds illegally removed from the entire African continent may be as high as $1.8trn.
Sub-Saharan African countries, the survey pointed out, experienced the bulk of illicit financial outflows with the West and Central African region posting the largest outflow numbers.
The study showed how fuel exporters such as Nigeria lost capital at the rate of nearly $10bn a year, far outstripping the $2.5bn lost by non-fuel primary commodity exporters.
Nigeria alongside four others countries, was credited with the highest volume of outflows during the period under review.
”The top five countries with the highest outflow measured were: Nigeria ($89.5bn), Egypt ($70.5bn), Algeria ($25.7bn), Morocco ($25bn), and South Africa ($24.9bn),” GFI stated.
The report was a follow up on GFI’s ground-breaking 2009 report titled, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2006, “which estimated that developing countries across the globe were losing as much as $1trn annually in illicit outflows.
The report also condemned absence of genuine efforts by African leaders to halt capital flight and reduce poverty, misery and other socio-economic vices on the continent. It insisted that economic growth without credible reform could lead to more capital flight.
The report added, “Policy measures must be taken to address the factors underlying illicit outflows and also to impress upon the G-20 the need for better transparency and tighter oversight of international banks and offshore financial centres that absorb these flows.
“These illicit monetary outflows are roughly ten times the amount of aid money going into developing countries for poverty alleviation and economic development. The loss of money from poor economies that would otherwise go to provide health services, infrastructure, and other critical needs exacerbates poverty and leads to the deaths of millions of people.
“The annual loss of hundreds of billions of dollars from the world’s poorest and most vulnerable economies constitute one of the most pressing human rights issues of the new decade.”
