Point of VIEW. A
purely analytical perception...
|
NIGERIA
The Check is in the Mail |
Nigeria Nigeria
has not only the largest population Africa but one of the largest populations
in the world. It is the largest oil producer in Africa, and as such, oil accounts
for 90% of the country’s export revenues. The country also has substantial commercially exploited deposits
of tin, coal, iron ore, zinc and natural gas.
Timber and livestock are abundant and are becoming major industries within
Nigeria’s borders. In addition, textiles,
pharmaceuticals, paper, cement, food processing and vehicles are produced in Nigeria.
Although the country is not food-independent, it has the resources to be
self-sufficient and produces cocoa, palm oil, rice, maize and sorghum, along with
other agricultural products. Nigeria has been blessed with resources beyond its
needs, but in spite of this, is hopelessly in debt, has an ever declining standard
of living and has produced easily the most corrupt government in the world
Nigeria
has set a world standard with its back-to-back victories in the “Global – Most
Corrupt” competition sponsored by Transparency International.
When the proclamation was made, General Sani Abacha, the then Nigerian
President, declared in a public statement that “while winning the award for the
second straight year was a humbling experience, other nations will not stand idly
by and allow Nigeria to continue to maintain this distinction year after year
without a fight. There will be a
concerted international effort by many nations in an attempt to dethrone Nigeria.
A jealous world will attempt to establish corrupt practices far more complex
than what we have been able to devise.” Robert Young Pelton in his book, The World’s
Most Dangerous Places put Nigeria into perspective:
“As OPEC’s fourth-largest oil
producer, Nigeria is oil-rich and human-rights poor, the scam capital of the world,
a boot camp for fatigue-clad banana dictators, and the Bermuda Triangle of currency.
For all but 9 of its 40 years of independence, Nigeria has been ruled by the military
but in May 1999, army general and former Nigerian strongman Olusegun Obasanjo
became Nigeria’s first elected president since 1979, replacing the boys chomping
on stogies behind Ray-Bans working for General Sani Abacha and later General Abdulsalmi
Abubakar after Abacha died in mid-1998. .”
As
a nation with few technical resources, it is important that the people of Nigeria
continue to diligently work toward redefining global corruption standards, and
it’s been predicted that the country would again lead the world next year.
“It was a national effort,” claimed one government official, “from the
time a traveler from abroad arrives in our country until the time he leaves, our
people attempt to demonstrate why this small country is the unchallenged world
leader in business corruption, and as such, all others must be judged by the standards
that we create. We must rededicate
ourselves to our mission and have our actions speak for us, not our words.” In a related development, the National Government set aside
the day as a national holiday and implored that every citizen continue to redouble
their efforts on the nation’s behalf.
Conditions
are so bad in Nigeria that it almost would seem like the foregoing is authentic.
The country appears to be putting forth a superhuman effort to maintain their
reputation as a nation of shakedown artists, petty thieves and criminals. It is
so much a way of life that no apologies are offered for conduct that has achieved
new lows by any civilized standard. Let’s take a look at the record.
1.
Commonwealth leaders have continued Nigeria’s suspension from the organization,
based on the country’s continued human rights violations. 2.
Nigeria increased their external debt
$10 billion in the last 3 years (per the World Bank). 3.
Nigeria has been unable for the last several years to account for its earnings
from its oil exports (per the World Bank). 4.
Nigeria is $17.4 billion in arrears on its external debt. 5.
Nigeria has “Pervasive Mismanagement” (Donors’ Meeting, Washington D.C.).
6.
External debt is $34.7 billion, over one half of which is in default, and
this is after several write-downs.
7.
Export and Oil earnings continue to rise but the
country defaulted on $3.5 billion in just the last year.
8.
Substantial evidence exists that 200,000 barrels of oil per day are diverted
into the hands of military leaders for their own “use.”
9.
The report calculates Nigeria’s gross national product per capita has declined
from $1,160 in 1980, during the country’s oil boom, to $240 in 1996, placing it
“among the 20 poorest countries worldwide.” 10.
Nigeria dominates the World’s the worst postal system with phony deals
by mail. Confidence games by mail
are the country’s third largest source of revenue.
The
U. S. Department of State has issued a number of warnings to American citizens
thinking of traveling to Nigeria. They
are warned that starting at the Airport upon arrival until the time they leave,
they will be subjected to theft, murder, arrest and shakedowns.
The Department of State further advises that they could be held by the
government itself incommunicado for lengthy periods of time and possibly they
could vanish and not be seen again.
The
third largest industry in Nigeria is mail fraud.
The government has done little to shut it down, as so many people are supported
from its efforts. Fraud is the largest
customer of the Nigerian Post Office as well.
Some of the scams are being conducted directly through Nigerian Government
offices with the direct participation of Government officials.
Usually
the swindlers propose to transfer substantial sums of American Dollars to an overseas
bank account (American). The account
will receive a substantial proportion of the transferred funds.
Usually these funds are described as overpayments from government contracts
or as advance payments awarded to an American company.
Nigerian’s
are also adept at real estate scams, charity scams, will scams, fraudulent order
scams, crude oil scams, advance fee scams, letterhead scams, death threat scams,
Nigerian tax scams, U.S. visa scams and sample scams, to name just a few of the
rip-offs the fertile minds of the Nigerians have thought up.
Recovery is literally unheard of, and the scams continue unabated in spite
of the entry of the U. S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Division into the investigations. The problem for Americans has become so severe that the Department
of Commerce has suspended distribution of Commercial News USA in Nigeria to withhold
potential contact information on American firms from swindlers.
“Crime in Nigeria rose in the mid-1990s as
a result of unemployment, economic decline, and social inequality, which are abetted
by inefficient and corrupt police and customs forces. More than half of all offenses
are thefts, burglaries, and break-ins, although armed robberies are also prominent.
Nigeria is a major conduit for drugs moving from Asia and Latin America to markets
in Europe and North America. Large-scale Nigerian fraud rings have targeted business
people in other parts of the world. The business people are invited to help transfer
(nonexistent) large sums of money out of Nigeria, with the promise of a share
of the transferred money. Advance fees are requested to expedite this transfer,
but the advanced money routinely disappears. Although there have been periodic
campaigns to root out corrupt politicians and attack crime, they have had little
lasting effect.” ([1])
Nigeria, April 7, 2000,the Department
of State warns U.S. citizens of the dangers of travel to Nigeria. Nigeria has
limited tourist facilities and conditions pose considerable risks to travelers:
Violent
crime, committed by ordinary criminals, as well as by persons in police and military
uniforms, can occur throughout the country. Kidnapping for ransom of persons associated with the petroleum
sector, including U.S. citizens, remains common in the Niger Delta area.
Use
of public transportation throughout Nigeria is dangerous and should be avoided.
Taxis pose risks because of the possibility of fraudulent or criminal operators
and poorly maintained vehicles. Most
Nigerian airlines have aging fleets, and there are valid concerns that maintenance
and operational procedures may be inadequate to ensure passenger safety.
Nigerian-based
business, charity and other scams target foreigners worldwide and pose a danger
of financial loss. Recipients pursuing
such fraudulent offers risk physical harm if they come to Nigeria.
Persons contemplating business deals in Nigeria are strongly urged to check
with the U.S. Department of Commerce or the U.S. Department of State before providing
any information or making any financial commitments.
No one should provide personal financial or account information to unknown
parties. An invitation to enter Nigeria
without a visa is normally indicative of illegal activity.
Under no circumstances should U.S. citizens travel to Nigeria without a
valid visa. Furthermore, the ability
of U.S. Embassy officers to extricate U.S. citizens from unlawful business deals
and their consequences is extremely limited.
The
Central Bank of Nigeria, where numerous fraudulent transactions allegedly are
finalized with senior bureaucratic participation, purchased full page ads in a
number of newspapers throughout the world and said, among other things, when referring
to mail fraud:
Naturally,
when you have been caught “red handed” with your hand in the cookie jar, there
is nowhere to turn but to blame the victim.
Numerous lawsuits filed in the United States have indicated that the Central
Bank of Nigeria was an active participant in these frauds and that without their
total cooperation and endorsement, they could not take place.
High officials of the Bank appear at closings, which have taken place within
the confines of the Central Bank itself, giving the transaction credibility that
it would not otherwise be able to generate.
Amnesty
International also rates Nigeria at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to
Human Rights activities regarding their own citizens. Amnesty has accused the Nigerian government of inventing pseudo
revolutions in order to imprison dissidents and journalist whose views differ
from that of the Government’s. They
further accuse the administration of conducting trials of the prisoners in secret,
not allowing visitation, not allowing access to doctors or lawyers, medical neglect
and inhuman treatment.
Locally,
those who stand up to the government seems to vanish from sight.
The most vocal group historically has been the journalists, and last year
alone, 40 of them were arrested by Nigerian Security forces.
Media Rights Agenda, a Nigerian civil rights group, stated:
“More journalists were arrested and detained or harassed and intimidated
in other ways during the year, than any other in the history of Nigerian journalism.”
And
what has been done about the situation in Nigeria? Has the United Nations banished the country from its rooster
of nations? Has the United States
stopped buying oil from Nigeria? Has
Britain stopped issuing Visas for its citizens to visit the country and run the
risk of muggings and murder? Nigeria’s
constitution requires free elections, but has any world organization demanded
that they live up to their charter? Has
the IMF called their loans, which are in default, and demanded payment of interest
and principal? The answer is no
to all of the above.
There
are logical answers to each question; for example, the United States has embargoed
oil from so many rogue nations that it does not want to further restrict its purchases.
Additionally, Nigeria is well located logistically and is closer to the
United States than other alternative sources.
Nigeria was a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and as such
free egress has been a historic right. Britain,
in spite of suspending Nigeria from the Organization of Commonwealth Countries,
is the largest exporter to Nigeria and does not want to jeopardize the foreign
exchange that emanates from that country.
The
United Nations is faced with countries that invade their neighbors, stockpile
chemical weapons and build atomic bombs.
Nigeria, a nation primarily inhabited by white-collar criminals, represents
a refreshing relief from the day-to-day physical damage that countries inflict
upon each other. Additionally, the
United Nations is a strong believer in keeping dialog active and does not believe
that banishment is an option. The
IMF does not want to punish the citizens for acts of their government.
So
we see that there are good reasons for letting this criminal element continue
to rob, pillage and destroy innocent people. There will not soon be an end to Nigeria’s errant ways as the
world nations have other fish to fry. An
interesting epilogue to the Nigerian saga will not be written by its neighbors
rising up in anger over the criminality, starvation and poverty found in one of
the richest nations in the world. It
will be the overthrow of the government by the country’s own military who feel
that the 200,000 barrels of oil per day, diverted by the government to them is
not an equitable share of the corruption pie. When the military rises up to throw out the present corrupt
government, then and only then we will see the world take action.
Nigerians
are very creative in originating unique methods of separating tourists from their
money. One of the more common ploys is for criminals to don police outfits or
in the alternative, military uniforms. They are approached and told varying stories
depending upon the circumstances but they all tend to end the same way. One of
the more rewarding stories for the criminals is the one that tells the unsuspecting
travel that his documents are not in order. The traveler is further told that
this could result in substantial jail time for illegal entry and that he was under
arrest. When the tourist pleads for latitude, a price is worked out and the documents
suddenly are once more in good shape. However, variations of this game are also
played by legitimate police officers trying to make ends meet.
When
asked whom they feared most in next year’s run-off for corrupt nation of the year,
one Nigerian wag indicated that the country was Pakistan.
He went on to say:
“It is difficult to make the judges
understand that there is a difference between corruption and stupidity.
We run a tight ship and work hard staying at the top of the heap relative
to corruption, we run training programs from new people coming up the corruption
ladder, and with our annual rectification program we are able to consistently
weed out those that are not up to our high standards. Because those guys can’t get anything right, they get a lot
of publicity for bungled jobs with no payoff.
We don’t like to give them any more encouragement, but in spite of everything,
they are tough competition, and we’re scared to death.
They came up four places last year, and only Russia, Columbia and Bolivia
stand between us now. These guys are rank amateurs when it comes to global corruption.
What they do best is destroy their own country when we are attempting to
cause damage on a global scale. They
just aren’t in the same league, but yes, we’re plenty worried.”
[1]"Nigeria,"
Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Next
| 
