Corruption Haunts Every Nigerian Presidency

According to the final vote tabulation on February 27, 2019, President Buhari, who had promised to fight corruption, won re-election by a wide margin. He asked his voters not to gloat, since victory was prize enough. As expected, his opponent, Mr. Abubakar, claimed the vote count in some areas was suspect, and he said he would contest the election in court.       

     Nigeria's February 16, 2019 presidential election had been rescheduled to February 23. Leading candidates, current President Muhammadu Buhari and wealthy businessman Atiku Abubakar, both Fulani Muslims from northern Nigeria, blamed each other for the delay as an attempt to rig the election in their favor. The National Election Commission claimed weather conditions prevented all the ballots from reaching Nigeria's 120,000 polling places.

     There was general agreement that either winner would have to deal with: Boko Haram terrorists determined to eliminate Christian influences, conflict between cattle herders and farmers, restructuring representation to provide greater balance between Muslims in the north and southern Christians, unemployment over 20%, economic hardship from volatile oil export revenue,  crushing public debt, and corruption.

     Buying votes and rigging elections are features of local, governor, party primary, and presidential elections, but they are far from the only sources of corruption in Nigeria. The state-owned Ajabkuta Steel Company, which has received $8 billion and "employed" 10,000 over a 40 year period, has never produced any steel, according to The Economist (February 9, 2019). Carnegie's Endowment for International Peace identified corruption as the greatest obstacle preventing Nigeria, with Africa's largest economy and population, from achieving its enormous potential.

     Contract fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, bribes, and other forms of corruption siphon off billions from every economic sector: petroleum, trade, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, energy, banking, and the environment.
Bureaucratic corruption channels funds into questionable departments. Nigeria has three space agencies that only have managed to launch five satellites into orbit.

     Politicians also pocket funds meant for hospitals and clinics. In the areas of health, education, and humanitarian aid, corruption prevents international organizations from providing development and emergency assistance.

     Authors of books on trust in business, Barbara Brooke Kimmel and Charles H. Green, note "the most powerful form of trust is personal." They know words require backup by action. Nigeria may lay claim to democracy, security, and progress, but these words have no meaning as long as corruption undermines every personal transaction.

Hazards of Hard to Break Cheating Habit

Students learn the perils of cheating by playing a game where they all are international traders. Each student receives an envelope containing a blue card worth $20 million in merchandise and a green one worth $10 million.Both dealmakers assume they can make a great profit by reselling whatever merchandise they receive in the trade.  One or more sets of two students go out in the hall to negotiate a deal (or the whole class can discuss what kind of deal to make). They shake hands on the deal and turn their backs on each other while inserting the card or cards in the envelope they'll give to their customer. If, for example, they agree to trade both cards, but one student gives the customer only one card, what will happen, if these two try to make a deal in the future?

     Opportunities to cheat tempt young people inside and outside their families and school. If something breaks, one sibling blames another. Students cheat on tests, copy reports from material on the internet, steal clothes from retailers, get "free" food from friends who work at fast food restaurants. Young people lie about staying over at a friend's house, when they plan to do something else. They drive too fast, fail to wear seat belts, and text while driving. They drink alcohol,  experiment with drugs, and cheat on their boy/girl friends by dating others.

     Ask students if they would be willing to loan $155 million to a company mired in corruption. This is currently a real life case that provides a cautionary tale to students who would carry their cheating habits over into their careers.

    Related to a corruption enforcement decision, Odebrecht, an engineering company in Brazil, now owes a $2.7 billion fine to Brazil, Switzerland, and the United States for an extensive bribery scheme that stretched from South America to Central America to North America. On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, the company's construction unit needs loans to repay a $144 million bond within a 30-day grace period. By the end of the month, the company also owes an $11 million interest payment.

     A default on these payments could lead banks holding other Odebrecht loans to demand earlier payment, because they see bankruptcy looming. Odebrecht finds buyers for assets it is trying to sell know the company is desperate to free up cash and offer to pay lower prices over extended periods. Not knowing what future assets the company will have for collateral does not reassure potential new lenders. As it is, banks asked for new loans offer less than needed, and Brazil's government development bank is reluctant to guarantee these private loans. In few countries will government officials want anything to do with accepting a bid and letting a contract for a new Odebrecht project that could hint of a kickback or any sort of bribery.

     Corruption gives foreign investors an opportunity to gain control of key sectors in a country, when cash-strapped companies convicted of wrongdoing cannot find funds elsewhere. Corrupt Brazilian companies offer this kind of risk to their country. Already, the jointly owned China Three Gorges (CTG) and Portugal's largest company, the EDP utility, run hydroelectric power plants in Brazil. CTG holds a 23% share in EDP and aims for total control. Both companies have assets in other countries besides China and Portugal. EDP, for example, operates in 14 countries, including the United States, Spain, France, Italy, and Poland, where China is perceived as an intelligence and corporate espionage threat.
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     News that former Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has been jailed on corruption charges for allegedly accepting bribes from Odebrecht has been noted  in Angola, one of Brazil's other former territories, as a cautionary tale.

     For an excellent overview of international efforts to eliminate corruption, consult Corruption and Misuse of Public Office, published in the UK by Oxford University Press. Cheating of any sort is risky business. There is no guarantee that governments, teachers, parents, and girlfriends/boyfriends will not find out. Trust is a terrible thing to lose.