Solving the Problem
So my last post I talked about the corruption that occurs here in Nigeria; who would I be if I only complained and didn’t offer any solutions!
To start with I think it is important to point out that most people are self interested and respond to the incentives created by the environment around them. For the politicians here in Nigeria their current incentives are to be corrupt. The risk of punishment is so small and the rewards are so great it makes sense (selfish sense) for them to take as much as they can for themselves.
So looking at it from the point of view as what we in the first world can do the first thing would be to help the citizens of Nigeria create a situation where the incentives of their politicians are to do good! As I said before the IMF and World Bank are giving billions in debt funding and subsidies to Nigeria that are not getting to the people. Instead it is the leaders that are taking the money. If the money is not going to those who need it then why give it. So as harsh as this sounds stop giving any money to Nigeria from the outside world.
To take things a step further I think that we should put sanctions on doing business with Nigeria. So much bribe money goes along with contracts being tendered here and none of the benefit gets to the people. Why should we tolerate the support of the corrupt?
If we stop giving the people at the top the ability to take massive amounts of bribe money from the outside world then maybe they will recognize that it is in their best interest to grow their country so that they can make more money that way. I keep wondering why they have not figured out that you could make this into an amazing economic power here and then they could put more money in their own back pocket since there would be so much more to go around. Of course you only make it into an economic power by having the common individual become economically independent like we have in the US or Canada.
So the first step would be some tough love!
The second step comes with my three wishes for Nigeria.
One: That they find their own Gandhi. Someone who can lead them through a peaceful revolution.
Two: That they have clear, transparent and free elections. This way it is truly the voice of the people that is heard. Let the people have control over their own future. They could bring in the UN to help them with this and give the UN the power to annul the elections if they are not carried out in a fair and orderly manner.
Three: That they have freedom of press. Even with the internets small penetration here you could still get massive amounts of information about government performance out to the people.
Inform the people of the truth of things and give them the ability to make their own changes. This way you will only stay in power if you do what is best for the people.
If there were good elections and free press then I would be all for supporting the governments that they elect and removing all sanctions. If the government does not get the money to the people the press would be able to report on it and in the next election the government would be kicked out of office.
Too radical? Don’t think I am right? Tell me some other ways?
May 1st, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Hong Kong once had a endemic corruption. Every facet of life, running a business, housing, school, and even medical help required bribes to police, triad, or officials to get something done.
Finally in 1973, there was mass protest, and the British Governer founded the ICAC, Independent Commission Against Corruption with three pronged mission: enforcement, prevention, and public education.
Strong anti-corruption laws were defined and ICAC given broad powers to investigate and enforce. The police, because they were investigated and arrested, threatened to rebel and overrun the ICAC. To move forward and gain cooperation, cases committed before a certain date were pardoned and the superintendents were exiled with their riches.
Corrupt practices were documented so that procedures and audits could be put in place to prevent re-occurence. The public was given 24hour hotline to report corruption with reprisal.
Thirdly, the public was educated that corruption is illegal, dishonorable, an d to unite against corrupt practices.
Democracy prevents select people from gaining absolute power. Freedom of press uncovers the problems. But the root cause is often scarcity of resources such that bribery is the means of allocation. A move to total free enterprise allows the market to channel capital to increase supply, instead of flowing into people’s pockets where it does no good.
While corruption exists everywhere to varying degrees, Hong Kong’s economic success was due to low corruption, free enterprise and rule of law.
May 2nd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Darren,
Bold suggestions, big ideas, but aren’t you being a little too idealistic? I wonder what percent of the aid packages actually does make its way to the people, and what the consequences would be of eliminating even that small amount? Tough love I believe is your answer. Perhaps an all or nothing solution like this is what would really be necessary to change an entire society, but I don’t think the world will bring itself to that Watchmen-like conclusion any time soon. ie. let the people reliant on aid perish so that the society might hopefully better itself.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:19 am
I’m all for it, but how does it actually happen? What I mean is, historically we wind up putting up too strict sanctions and wind up making a country worse off, and then perpetuate those sanctions long after their effectiveness has passed. That said, as an ideal it’s a good idea, it just has to be carried out with a lot of care and attention. I vote you be in charge
May 4th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
First off I am assuming that the officials in the lower ranks such as the police officers and guards have pitifully low wages. If their wages are not being raised to match the inflation, then people feel that they have no other option. They simply turn blind eye to the potential consequence they are creating by taking bribes and justify it simply because they can actually benefit from it. If you had a large family to feed and no other means of acquiring money for the food what would you do in their situation? You have to supplement you income somehow! There is poverty or scarcity of even the basic goods there such as medicines and food.
Second, there is little or no accountability. It is fairly easy to accept a bribe. This is not only the case in Third world countries but everywhere else in the world as well. Politicians, police officers, judges…etc.
Third, I am sure that there are those who see the bribes happening but are helpless against it. They are afraid to refuse to participate in a corruption, simply because they might be punished themselves. No protection or threats from other “colleagues†and higher officials. So instead of pushing against a rolling snowball…they contribute to it!
I have to blame the people who provide the bribes as well…If a police offices stops you and you offer to bribe him in order to avoid punishment then you are directly responsible for the situation. If you extort bribes in order to gain an unfair advantage or go unpunished then you are simply providing the means for the bribes and the corruption to continue. Therefore, attitudes of people who are offering bribes need to change!
I do agree with you about the government officials taking bribes…corruption is not only based on the ethics of the country…it is based on how the government is set up and managed. The whole system should change in order for the attitudes of people to change. The sad thing is the children growing up in these systems. Instead of there being some sort of support system where children are encouraged to actvely participate in their education, they are left to fend for themselves. Do what you can in order to survive.
I believe that lack of opportunity is the basis for most crimes. It creates bad incentives. Having systems in place that do not work and lack of education of the general public are the underlying reasons why the corruption continues.
Sanctions were posed on Serbia many times over…and it did not benefit the country or the people. Crime rates were at an all high since people had to find other means of acquiring things they needed. So I am not sure that this is an answer…
PS. Please don’t get kidnapped by playing their “Ghandi” lol
May 5th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Wow. What great responses!
They have set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to handle corruption here but unfortunately it rarely seems to get to the point of prosecuting people and Nigeria still remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2635405.stm
This is a story about how there commission only convicted 1 person in its first four years!
I have been asking people here why they don’t protest. In Argentina they protest two or three times every day it seems but here there is nothing. I have been told that it has to do with the violence and deaths that have met the protesters. Nothing like blindly shooting into a crowd to get you to stop marching on the government!
It does seem like you almost need a social tipping point to get real change to occur here. I just think there has to be someway for us in the west to help get them there. Education, realigning incentives, punishing companies for doing business with corrupt officials kind of thing.
I think it should be tough love and accountability until we see them heading in the right direction. Then heap the love on them and help them out more then they imagined as long as it gets to the people.
The funny part from the west is that we can either keep Nigeria really poor and exploit their resources or we can help them to develop and have 150 million new customers for our advanced technology goods. It just might be that having the new customers would make us better off in the long run!
So I have been told that we paid around 2,000 US dollars for my police protection while here. They assigned us two police officers and are paying them around 200 USD each. The other 1,600 one would imagine has gone into someone’s pocket and not into government bank account.
Does this mean that I am responsible for the corruption here since I didn’t ensure the payment got to those who are doing the work?
How about but sanctions on all things but food and medical supplies? The money for the oil is not going to the people anyways.
There just has to be a way to help the people from the outside and not help the crooks at the top!
May 6th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I am not sure that using sanctions, as a Foreign Policy tool, is actually a good idea. I think the costs outweigh the benefits.
They are generally very costly, both economically and politically, they need to be imposed quickly and decisively in order for them to have maximum impact.
Unless someone does an extensive research, I think it is impossible to say that sanctions would work in case of a country such as Nigeria.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Is there a way to place sanctions on big business but allow small business to still operate. This way you encourage small businesses made for the common person here and you stop the huge bribes. If the people at the top make there money by a lot of little bribes they at least help out a lot of people!
May 8th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
check this website out!
http://globalpolicy.igc.org/security/sanction/indexnig.htm
May 10th, 2009 at 10:53 am
My only concern with the website is that it is about 10 years old now! There are a lot of articles supporting sanctions against Nigeria, especially on the oil front.
None of the money from the oil may be getting to the people here but maybe the government is going lighter on them because they have the oil revenues. Would the government look at sanctions and say now I need to exploit my citizens and mistreat them more or would they say now I need to grow my own economy to make money?
I still like the idea of top end sanctions but they have to come with a big carrot to say if they start doing things right they can gradually get the grants and IMF money flowing again.