Nigeria sacks 'corrupt' minister

[polycarp]

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 373963.stm



Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has sacked Education Minister Fabian Osuji following an anti-corruption investigation.

Mr Obasanjo said Mr Osuji had bribed senior MPs a total of $400,000 (£212,000) to ease the passage of an education budget.

Nigeria must not "wallow in corruption" if it wants debt relief, he added.

Mr Osuji, released on Sunday after being held by government investigators for several days, has made no comment.

He is the second minister to be dismissed for alleged corruption since Mr Obasanjo took power in 1999 pledging to clean up Nigeria's political class.

In a television and radio address, Mr Obasanjo accused Senate President Adolphus Wabara and six other MPs of taking bribes from Mr Osuji.

"It is a disheartening event that the number three man in the government hierarchy [senate president] in the country is involved in this sordid matter," Mr Obasanjo said.

He revealed that Mr Osuji would be prosecuted by an independent commission on corrupt practices.

Mr Wabara denies that any money changed hands while he tried to smooth the passage of the education bill.

Responsibility

Nigeria's National Assembly would be handed a dossier detailing the six MPs' role in the scandal, while other government officials would be dealt with separately, Mr Obasanjo said.

In a stark warning to other ministers suspected of corrupt practices, Mr Obasanjo said investigations would continue into other areas of parliament and government.

"It is the responsibility of the National Assembly to cleanse itself, to show to Nigerians that it deserves their respect, to rebuild public confidence and to flush out those members who continue to derogate and degrade its integrity and stature," he said.

And he warned that Nigeria's attempts to gain international debt relief would be harmed by continuing corruption within the political elite.

"The legislature cannot wallow in corruption and expect the outside world to take our pleas for debt relief very seriously."

Nigeria, which is Africa's largest oil producer, is seen as one of the world's most corrupt countries, according to watchdog Transparency International.

Mr Obasanjo wants to root out corruption as he campaigns for the reduction of the country's $35bn (£18.5bn) foreign debt

[anastrophe]

perhaps he should seek the assistance of MRS. MIRIAM AKAMBO, WIFE OF THE LATE FINANCE MINISTER DR. JOSEPH OKAMBO, WHO WAS KILLED BY REBEL INSURGENTS AND NOW HAS $23,000,000 US FOR WHICH SHE NEEDS ASSISTANCE IN MOVING THROUGH A FOREIGN BANK.

[David813]

I would largely agree that Africa has bad leadership syndrome. A legacy of colonialism, slavery and other ingredients that promise to flare up more in the near future. I do admire Zimbabwe's Mugabe and Qaddafi of Libya. Tunisia, South Africa, Tanzania, Gabon and Morocco are just about the only marginally successful countries on the continent. Many sub-Saharan nations like Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, etc. were doing relatively well until the AIDS epidemic hit them. Now their life expectancies are lower than in the 1950's. Due to corruption (As in Nigeria) AIDS drugs are dispensed incorrectly if at all. Lack of refrigeration for some meds is enough in itself to daily doom scores of victims. The orphaned malnourished and uneducated kids left behind hold the reins to the future of Africa. They are doomed without urgent aid from around the globe.

[David813]

Nigeria is one of the three countries the U.S. gets 90% of it's petroleum. We are financing this corruption. Venezuela and Mexico are the other top two. 4% of our oil is Middle Eastern. Interesting huh. I wish I still had the link. :-5

[anastrophe]

David813 wrote: Nigeria is one of the three countries the U.S. gets 90% of it's petroleum. We are financing this corruption. Venezuela and Mexico are the other top two. 4% of our oil is Middle Eastern. Interesting huh. I wish I still had the link. :-5
i'd like to see that link. here's the information i found - 2002 was the most recent i came across.



Oil Production (2002E): 8.1 million barrels per day (bbl/d), of which 5.8 million bbl/d was crude oil (NOTE: Including "refinery gain," US oil production in 2002 is estimated at 9.1 million bbl/d)

Oil Consumption (2002E): 19.7 million bbl/d

Net Oil Imports (2002E): 10.4 million bbl/d

Gross Oil Imports (2002E): 11.4 million bbl/d (of which, 9.05 million bbl/d was crude oil and 2.31 million bbl/d were petroleum products)

Crude Oil Imports from the Persian Gulf (2002E): 2.25 million bbl/d (around 20% of total U.S. oil imports)

Top Sources of U.S. Crude Oil Imports (2002E): Saudi Arabia (1.52 million bbl/d); Mexico (1.49 million bbl/d); Canada (1.43 million bbl/d); Venezuela (1.20 million bbl/d)