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Fellowes Transparent
Nigerian Economy: Sleeping While Being Looted
Charles Malize
October 15th 2010
It is stomach-turning when one reads or takes notice of how government and corporate bureaucrats abuse their positions of office in Nigeria. The country is dreadfully notorious in that respect and citizens have come to recognize and accept this as a way of life. As one observer put it…"sleepwalkers"- Nigerians more often use the notion; "follow - follow."
It is an ignominy not just for the culprits that coddle in the crooked behavior of misappropriation of resources but for the citizens that appear brain washed and seem to accommodate the status quo. Could it be that society that have been subdued over the years now accept this as a way of life? A major problem for Nigeria is that the populace does not understand the mess the country is in – yet they opt to follow. A miserable and depressing situation.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous country with population @ 154.7 million (UN, 2009). A major oil exporter and a member of OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). Life expectancy is about 47 years (men), 48 years (women) (UN). Income per capita is @ US $1,160 (World Bank, 2008) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $339 billion (2009 est. – CIA World factbook.) Nigeria's foreign exchange reserve as of September 2010 was at $34.57 billion and diminishing. A 15% drop from same period last year.
The mainstream population lives on acute poverty, surviving on less than $1.00 a day whilst less than 2% of the economy lives extremely wealthy boasting billions of dollars as net worth. Most of these billionaires are products of swindlers of Nigerian treasury and corporate bank accounts. This billion dollar precedence was set by previous treasury plunderers: Alhaji Umaru Diko (a former minister), Gen. (Rtd) Ibrahim Babaingida (a former military leader) and the late Gen.Sani Abacha (a former military leader). In recent year's bankers, government officials and politicians followed suit using this number as a benchmark to enrich themselves, ransacking and looting companies and the country of their reserves as the economy decays.
The amount stolen over the years, by government officials total over $40 billion. The money robbed by corporate officials in recent years is estimated at $18 billion. The 2009 banks bailout at $4 billion. These numbers total over $62 billion and mounting. Nigeria's annual oil revenue is circa $60 billion. The country is on a binge of accelerating its domestic and foreign debt for the next generation. The leaders and their associated plunderers appear to embrace the situation but trickling down to the average Nigerian - no one seems to have a clue. The ones that do choose to ignore. In the eyes of the international community, Nigeria has become a laughing stock.
A recent and well popularized case was the conviction of Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, an elite name in Nigeria. She was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a well-known Nigerian bank- Oceanic bank that was financially bailed out by the Nigerian treasury together with eight other banks in 2009. While at the helm of the bank, she was said to have embezzled money to further her lifestyle. The indictment and conviction in a Nigerian court revealed money laundering and stolen assets that ran into almost $2 billion (the ones that could be traced). She owned two private jets, multiple single homes and streets listed as assets in the United States and Nigeria. These assets were allegedly masked in family and accomplices names. In a plea bargain struck with her investigators and prosecutors she agreed to forfeit these assets for a six month jail incarceration. A yarn for a crime this magnitude. There are other akin pending cases that the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor (Lamido Sansui) has acknowledged are worse and awaiting trial.
Some observers see her sentence as fair comparing it to white collar crimes committed in the United States and other western countries. Others seem to confuse it with the adage "Follow the money" principle that I perceive is used in the wrong context. The phrase "follow the money" is not associated with bank robbers and government/political thieves that embezzle from company /country coffers. "Follow the money" (smart money) would not want to be tagged in this manner. A ghastly stigma. It should be labeled – "follow the loot."
Some have compared her crime to the recent Robert Moffat IBM hedge fund inside trading scandal of $50 million and Martha Stewart inside trading conviction of 2004. Both cases were in the United States and are laughable comparisons. In Moffat's case he pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Authorities acknowledge his action (tips) resulted in no profits and he received no money. Lawyers on both sides agreed. Instead, Moffat was motivated by a desire to impress fellow defendant Danielle Chiesi, with whom he had an affair -court papers showed prior to sentencing. It further stated she "played" him by using their intimate relationship to get confidential information. He was sentenced to six months jail term and ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 by the District Judge.
Martha Stewart in 2004 was convicted of lying to investigators about a stock sale and served five months in prison with a fine of $30,000. According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission she averted a loss of $45,673 by selling all 3,928 shares of her ImClone Systems stock on December 27, 2001 after receiving inside information from her broker at Merrill Lynch – an investment bank.
Mrs. Cecilia Ibru's crime is in the enormity of Bennie Maddoff and his ponzi scheme, Mr. Bernard J Ebbers – World Com, Jeffrey K Skillings of Enron and Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco. The first three names swindled investors billions of dollars. D. Kozlowski abused hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholders money. Bennie Maddoff got sentenced 150 yrs in jail and forfeited properties. The other three convicts got at least 25 yrs incarceration and forfeited properties for embezzlement. Compare the punishment. Nigeria's privileged lawbreakers and criminals are normally set free after a short while and are released into the wild to continue their blitz raiding of accounts.
The current status quo of financial abuse is a dishonor and demoralizing for the country. The Berlin based agency; Transparency International (TI) that carries out the Transparency International index on corruption, ranks countries according to the attitudes of analysts and public officials and defines corruption as abuse of power for private gain. It rates Nigeria as one of the most corrupt and scandalous in recent years where massive misappropriation of public money by members of government is seen as common practice. The retired General Ibrahim Babaingida and the late General Abacha's regime present a typical example where billions of dollars were siphoned out of the country's coffers for private gain.
The country appears on the edge experiencing severe emotional distress through no fault of its own. It's highly regarded human resources that can be applied locally to further the economy are scattered globally. The ones that are in Nigeria seem to be unreservedly confused. Doctors, lawyers, economists, accountants and other professionals crave for a political post. Several yearn for a bank manager assignment or associate of bank manager. The failed ones resort to 419 or drug smuggling. The successful ones become ‘fund managers' for the Nigerian treasury and disperse accounts for self-seeking reasons. Some become bank robbers, conspiring with bank managers to raid accounts. Reason - easy access to money and greed. The naive and the hardworking tag along for the ride. There is a disconnect.
With this entire said, the country major sectors for growth are diminishing fast. Nigeria suffers from a deprived infrastructure. Sectors that are supposed to drive the economy are pooped. These segments: energy, financial, transport and agriculture are exhausted and begging for the right investment. Adding to these includes a depleted excess crude account, a tired and worn out currency, defective electoral process, a blemished health care sector, poor security, bombings and kidnapping. The country was recently linked to a slavery and prostitution ring in a neighboring country of Mali.
There is no visible growth although the treasury and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) claim otherwise. People on the ground find this assertion laughable and are demanding proof. No doubt IMF and other donors have capital they can lavish on developing countries. A country like Nigeria fits the bill. Obviously this comes at a cost-no free lunch. Current leaders have to be made accountable and society should carry a "big stick" to enforce it. With its current egalitarian leadership, the country still faces the threat of breaking away from each other down ethnic and religious lines. Nigeria appears on the brink of collapse and time is of the essence.
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