Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and a panel of experts will on Friday, December 9 debate
practical solutions for how to tackle corruption as part of the ongoing How To
Fix Nigeria series organised by The Royal African Society and Oya Media in
partnership with the Africa Research Group at King’s College London.
How To Fix
Nigeria is conceived and hosted by award-winning broadcaster Funmi Iyanda. The
series brings together a broad range of speakers to discuss practical solutions
to Nigeria's contemporary challenges, and engages audiences online via the
hashtag #HowToFixNigeria.
Former
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Professor Charles Soludo; Nigerian economic
affairs specialist, Feyi Fawehinmi, and Head of Africa Country Risk at IHS,
Natznet Tesfay, discussed the nation’s economy, currency crisis and other
infrastructural problems in the edition held on March 30, 2016.
international
women rights and social development consultant, Fatimah Kelleher; women’s
protection and empowerment specialist, Dorcas Erskine, and Nigerian author,
Elnathan John, examined the struggle to overcome sexism in Africa’s most
populous country in the last edition held on August 31.
Lai
Mohammed, as a minister under President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, has been
vocal in his insistence that corruption must be tackled head-on across all
levels of society if there is any hope of reviving the country’s economy.
Nigeria has
recently seen several major scandals in which billions of dollars have been
stolen at the highest levels. Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption
Perceptions Index ranked Nigeria at 136 out of 175 countries.
In the face
of recession in Africa’s largest economy, Buhari has stated that “if Nigeria
does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria”.
Since coming
to power in 2015, the President has embarked on an energetic anti-corruption
campaign, which critics argue has mostly targeted his political opponents.
At this
event, the panel will debate the effectiveness of domestic efforts to tackle
corruption, as well as the broader global picture.
The Panama
Papers leak highlighted that corruption of the scale seen in Nigeria has only
been made possible by a network of offshore secrecy jurisdictions and tax
havens – many of which are overseen by the UK and directly benefit certain
British interests.
From public
awareness campaigns, to registers of beneficial ownership and the demand to
return stolen assets held in British banks, there are a range of approaches
proposed to addressing the problem of corruption. This interactive discussion
will assess the foregoing and other approaches, with commentary from experts
and questions from the live audience at King’s College, London.
Audiences in
Nigeria and globally will join the discussion via the event’s livestream
channel.
Tags
Politics