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Editorial (fwd)Mike Gurstein (mikeg@NYWORK2.UNDP.ORG)Sat, 15 Oct 1994 11:55:07 -0400
International--an anticorruption NGO deserves wider circulation--a la Art McGee. Mikeg ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 12 Oct 94 15:54:05 -0400 From: Administrator <administrator@kabissa.com> Subject: Editorial To Multiple Recipients The following letter was sent to the Financial Times by General Obasanjo, Chairman, Africa Leadership Forum and TI Advisory Council member, on 11 October 1994: The Editor 11 October 1994 Financial Times Fax 00-44-71-873-5938 London Dear Sir: Michael Holman's incisive piece on global corruption and the work of Transparency International (30 September) is wholly commendable. So, too, is Peter Norman (4 October), commenting on the rift in Madrid and that industrialised countries need to respond to the growing economic importance of developing countries as these become increasingly integrated in the world economy. That they need a "proper understanding" of the developing world. That "ideological differences" that used to divide North and South have largely disappeared. There is one particular "ideological difference" that needs a much better appreciation in the industrialised world before it will disappear. This concerns the myth subscribed to in the North that a traditional culture of appreciation and hospitality is one which fosters and encourages corrupt practices. I can only speak for Africa, the continent I know best. But I have reason to believe that what holds true in my own continent also applies, at least to some degree, in other parts of the developing world. Personally, I shudder at how an integral part of my continent's culture can ever be taken as a basis for rationalising otherwise despicable behaviour. In the African concept of appreciation and hospitality, a gift is usually a token; it is not demanded; and the value is in the spirit of the giving rather than the material worth. Moreover, the gift is made in the open for all to see, never in secret. And where a gift is excessive it becomes an embarrassment, and is returned. If anything corruption - as practised by exporters from the North as well as by officials in the South - has perverted positive aspects of this age-old tradition. It is suggested, too, that African society has a way of corrupting the public office holder by placing excessive demands and expectations on the "big chief"; that he is expected to have infinite resources to dish out freely to all and sundry, if only to help his kith and kin escape the throes of poverty. Again, such an argument bears little relationship to reality and is merely the escape route of the corrupt public officer. Finally, it is said that corruption on the African continent - and elsewhere - is the product of poverty. Poverty may play a part, but it can hardly be the root cause. Witness the sharp practices that have characterised the banking industry in Nigeria in recent years. Most bank officials were more than well paid, yet their fraudulent and corrupt practices have been outrageous. Contrast these with otherofficials, much less well paid, who have maintained their integrity and incorruptibility throughout. Let us all strip away excuses and explanations. In no society - North, South or East - is it acceptable to the people for their leaders to feather their own nests at public expense. Once this simple truth is widely accepted, more meaningful social and economic development will follow. Olusegun Obasanjo Chairman, Africa Leadership Forum
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