Previously I’ve described Africa as a land rich with natural resources, maybe even the richest on Earth. But isn’t it ironic that the continent is also the poorest in terms of its economy and living standards? It raises a good question: why? And there is a simple answer: corruption.
Where to start? Recently there was the case of James Ibori, a one-time petty thief who eventually became one of Nigeria’s richest men. Ibori was handed a 13-year jail sentence after admitting fraud of nearly £50m, described by the judge as probably “ludicrously low”. In a country where, according to the Central Bank governor, over 90 per cent live on less than $2 a day, isn’t one man stealing more than £50m a demonic act?
The truth is that out of the 10 countries considered most corrupt in the world, six are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Transparency International, a leading global watchdog on corruption. An African Union study estimated that corruption costs the continent roughly $150bn a year. To compare, developed countries gave $22.5 billion in aid to sub-Saharan Africa in 2008, according to the OECD. Again, you do the maths and tell me where the development is coming from? In Africa, it’s a classic case of one step forward, two steps backwards.
The bane of the continent’s development is the jet-setting ruling class. Take Robert Mugabe, who flew off to Singapore to be treated for a supposed eye complaint. That’s luxury unavailable to the majority of his countrymen, but then unlike him, they don’t have direct access to the coffers of the nation.
The prevalence of corruption totally warps the political process in Africa. Many public officials in the continent seek re-election after re-election because holding office gives them access to an unlimited line of credit as the taxpayers’ expense, as well as immunity from prosecution.
“If you attack corruption, it’s the best way to attack poverty,” as Nuhu Ribadu, the former head of Nigeria’s anti-corruption commission, once told BusinessWeek. Imagine a world where those billions of dollars lost to corruption are actually used to develop the region. Then the billions from developed countries wouldn’t be needed, and there would be more autonomy in the way Africa is run. There would be much less of a need to please those on the outside if a decision would be of no benefit to the continent. I imagine an Africa that actually has an infrastructure in good working condition, the perfect combination of natural beauty and the best of modernity.
But at the moment, it’s little more than wishful thinking. As someone once said of an African country: “The problem is not that the officials are corrupt, it’s that corruption is official.”
Olajide Jatto is a software engineer and writer based in Dublin.
