Corruption constitute insurgency activities, says Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday said corruption directly fueled the activities of the Boko Haram sect in the North Eastern part of the country.

Osinbajo said this in his remarks at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum holding in Paris.

According to a copy of the speech made available by the Presidency, the Vice-President said it was no longer in doubt that corruption and illicit financial flows constitute gravest challenge to development.

He said corruption fueled terrorist insurgency in the North East, therefore leading to serious humanitarian disaster.

Osinbajo said, “There is now hardly any credible opposition to the notion that corruption and Illicit financial flows constitute perhaps the gravest challenge to development. And this is especially true of developing countries.

“Besides, we have seen in Nigeria, in recent years, how corruption directly fueled the terrorist insurgency in the North-East. And how in turn that has led to one of gravest humanitarian disasters in the world.

“Also the adverse implications for education, healthcare, social services, infrastructure and indeed quality of life no longer require making a case.

“Corruption and illicit financial flows are different. But they really must be twinned. This is because for practical purposes it is an eminently more sensible approach to treat most of the sources of illicit financial flows as corrupt activity, within a broader use of the term.”

The Vice-President noted that it is also clear that most economies ravaged by corruption, usually-both as a cause and consequence-do have institutions that are too weak to fight corruption and illicit financial flows.

He made a case for international collaboration which he said remained the smartest and most effective approach to apprehend and deter perpetrators, and ensure restitution of stolen assets.

Osinbajo said in West Africa, efforts towards regional cooperation against graft was underway.

He said the draft ECOWAS Common Investment Code of 2013 provides in Art. 29 (4) and (5) that member-states should conclude treaties to allow for exchange of information between the fiscal authorities of the various jurisdictions.