Developing countries lose $40bn to corruption annually – World Bank

By Robert Obi

Developing countries in the world lose no less than $40 billion annually to the scourge called corruption, President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim, has disclosed.
He made this known during a recent meeting on Anti-Corruption at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC.
According to Kim, research by the World Bank and others has demonstrated that there is a negative association between growth and corruption. “Corruption acts as a regressive tax, penalising poorer citizens and smaller firms. It restricts access to services for the more vulnerable citizens and is associated with a lower quality of public services. It is a significant cost for business” he lamented.
In a bid to curb the scourge, he said the Bank has played an important role in the evolution of the global integrity and good governance agenda ever since Jim Wolfensohn’s “Cancer of Corruption” speech at the Bank’s annual meeting in 1996. For me, Jim’s original words resonate every bit as strongly today as when they were first uttered 16 years ago.
Jim said: “Corruption diverts resources from the poor to the rich, increases the cost of running businesses, distorts public expenditures and deters foreign investors…it is a major barrier to sound and equitable development.”
To effectively tackle corruption, the World Bank President noted that the first thing to understand is that the anticorruption agenda is an important subset of the broader good governance movement and needs to be viewed within this setting. He said few issues were more important for development and shared growth than good governance.

“Public institutions deliver vital services such as health and education, upon which the poor are particularly dependent. Corruption subverts and undermines all these functions and as such serves as a major impediment to development. It is in this context that combating corruption both has been and will continue to remain one of the Bank’s top priorities”.
“Second, as our recent Governance and Anticorruption Strategy Update notes, much of the Bank’s works on this agenda is about managing—and not avoiding—risk. We need to be engaged in settings and contexts that do not rank highly on global indices of good governance. We need to be fighting poverty in areas where the legal framework for combating corrupt and illicit behaviour is imperfect and institutions of public accountability may not function well, or even exist at all.
We need to be encouraging staff to take risks and innovate in the service of development, as long as the risks are carefully thought through up front and managed during implementation. Our response must be swift and decisive when problems emerge—as they inevitably will” he added.
Kim however emphasised enforcement “to give you a sense of the problem, last week we took stock of the World Bank’s investigations into misconduct in its projects. This exercise revealed that we had closed 609 investigations and generated 205 debarments over the past four and a half years. I have asked the relevant units in the Bank to sift through this body of evidence, distil the lessons so that we can better modulate risk to ensure that those insights guide future business decisions.”
 BusinessNews

Siemens votes $100m for crusade against corruption in Nigeria, others

By Robert Obi

TO dust itself of the image of corruption and subsequent sanction by the World Bank, Siemens, one of the leading global business conglomerates has earmarked $100 million for a crusade against corruption in Nigeria and other countries including South Africa and Egypt.
The company, which is desperate in redeeming its image said yesterday it was now set to create fair market conditions, fight corruption and fraud through collective action, education and training in the 160 countries including Nigeria.
Siemens has earmarked $100 million to create fair market conditions, fight corruption and fraud through collective action, education and training in Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa, among others.
The local network of the United Nation’s Global Compact (UNGC) hosts the project created on the Siemens Integrity Initiative. It is already enjoying the full support of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), which is now at the forefront in the promotion of the initiative in Nigeria.
Promoters of the initiative revealed that the Convention of Business Integrity (CBI), which seeks the compliance of corporate organisations with ethical standards, has already benefited from its support.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to The Guardian Thursday, NESG Senior Consultant and Head of Programme, Innocent Azih, explained that the UN Global Compact (UNGC) was a strategic policy initiative for businesses to be committed to aligning their operations with 10 universally-accepted principles in human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
According to him, the UNGC pursues two complementary objectives, which are to mainstream the ten principles in business activities around the world and galvanise actions in support of broader UN goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Azih said anti-corruption, which is one of the 10 principles of the UNGC initiative remained the focal strategy of the development institution in creating effective momentum in the global fight against corruption.
He disclosed that the role of the NESG in the initiative would be to establish relationships with key stakeholders willing to participate in the anti-corruption collective action initiative.

“We will also organise and facilitate a series of in-person meetings, which will bring together business participants, government officials and other relevant stakeholders in order to launch and sustain a successful anti-corruption collective action platform. We shall be interacting, day-to-day, with key stakeholders and enhancing their understanding and involvement in the anti-corruption matters.
Siemens Regional Compliance Officer, Ayodele Afolabi, said the Global Compact has developed an initiative that provides collaborative solutions to the most fundamental challenges facing both business and society.
“The initiative, seeks to combine the best properties of the UN, such as moral authority and convening power, with the private sector’s solution-finding strengths, and the expertise and capacities of a range of key stakeholders”, he said.
According to him, the Global Compact is global and local; private and public; voluntary yet accountable.
He listed the benefits of engaging in the initiative to include: Adopting an established and globally recognised “policy framework for the development, implementation, and disclosure of environmental, social and governance policies and practices; sharing best and emerging practices to advance practical solutions and strategies to common challenges and advancing sustainability solutions in partnership with a range of stakeholders, including UN agencies, governments, civil society, labour and other non-business interests.”
Making reference to Siemens recent scandal and the fine it paid, Afolabi said the company’s involvement in anti-corruption campaign is “higher fine.” He said it is a way of telling people its new resolve to imbibe the highest level of ethical standard in its business operations.
 BusinessNews

[OPINION] Dele Momodu: The Narrow Path to South Africa

Fellow Nigerians, all roads lead to South Africa tomorrow. As I write this, reports indicate that the former apartheid nation is set to receive the biggest inflow of Nigerian visitors since that beautiful country regained its full freedom and became a Republic in 1994. It has always been a playground of choice for rich and famous as well as regular Nigerians who are always on the go to escape the unending hard life at home.
The attraction had always been plenty in both directions. South African ladies would swap places to live in Nigeria while Nigerian men would replicate in kind by shifting base permanently to South Africa. It is impossible for eagle-eyed Nigerians not to turn into giraffes on the streets of South Africa. The alluring beauty and voluptuous endowments of South Africans are legendary and cannot be ignored the world over. The people are gentle, friendly and welcoming. Despite occasional skirmishes between us, the marriage of Nigerians and South Africans was consummated in heaven by God and His angels. We only quarrel like all husbands and wives do periodically.

Our interests go beyond amusement. South Africa operates a lot of business ventures in Nigeria and vice versa. South Africa has some of its most profitable investments on the streets of Nigeria. In fact, it has become an octopus of sorts with its fingers in many pies. MTN is its most visible ambassador. The company's subscriber base is humongous. Its banks, food and beverage industry, wines and manpower spread across Nigeria. South Africa is our biggest trading partner in Africa andI'm surprised that both countries have not deemed if fit to establish visa waivers for visits of not more than three months.  Perhaps this is because the South sees its territory as virgin territory for business opportunities and we see their territory as a treasure trove for affairs of the heart and merriment. Most of our artistes shoot their music videos in South Africa.

Therefore, paradoxically, while Nigerians troop to South Africa in search of entertainment and pleasure, South Africans invade Nigeria in search of business, spiritual succour and fortification. They love and adore Prophet Temitope Joshua and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of The Synagogue of All Nations and Christ's Embassy, respectively. If these men of God contest elections in South Africa, they are likely to win. It is interesting that sports and the game of football in particular would be the vehicle to even drive us closer.

Barely three weeks ago, it would have been unthinkable that Nigeria would perform any spectacular miracle during the African Cup of Nations. We had the might of Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana and even South Africa, the host nation to worry about.  We agonised about being pitted against any of these nations before the finals. Imagine therefore our worst nightmare being confirmed when we were pitted against the rampaging elephants of Ivory Coast.  Indeed, the fear of Cote d'Ivoire alone was the beginning of wisdom during the build-up to the epic quarter final encounter. Nigerians of little faith had written the obituary of our Super Eagles in advance. Not many gave them the chance or likelihood to progress beyond the quarter finals in the tournament.

But strange are the ways of God. Even the boastful Ivoirians ate the humble pie at the end of their game. They crumbled like cookies and confessed to taking Nigerians for granted. They did not realise how much Nigerians hated being humiliated and taunted. The Super Eagles were ready to fight for supremacy and integrity. I believe they were propelled to become rocket launchers by the insults heaped on them from every corner.

After they conquered Cote d'Ivoire, their next albatross was going to be Mali, another Francophone country in West Africa. Again, many had written Nigeria off. The most charitable commentators hoped for a draw and an eventual penalty shootout which they prayed we would somehow miraculously win. However, the Super Eagles proved cynics wrong when they walloped Mali 4-1 in a largely one-sided game. Indeed, the Malian goalkeeper, Mamadou Samassa, summed up the Super Eagles' performance by comparing them with the all-conquering fluent and talent-laden Brazilian team of yore.  To crown it all he said that the Nigerian team was like a team of 15 players pouring forth in front of him and not 10.  That is how tall the Super Eagles stood.  That was certainly our moment of glory.

From that moment, all hell broke loose confirming the adage that nothing succeeds like success and nothing fails like failure. The social media had been agog with all manner of posts. The airlines have become chocker-blocked and prices of tickets and hotels have gone out of the roof in Johannesburg. Even we were told our President who's on a current visit to England was ready to make a marathon and breath-taking flight to South Africa but for the seriousness of the issues that he has to grapple with on this umpteenth foreign trip.   It is fair to say that many of our Governors are also not ready to miss the best photo opportunity of the year and you can expect that the proprietors of private jet charter companies will be rubbing their hands with glee at yet another payday.

I really envy South Africa because this weekend is not going to be easy. Nigerians are big spenders. We work hard and party hard. Our folks will announce their presence when they hit your city. It is not in our nature to enter a place quietly and leave silently. We are the Americans of Africa. Hate us or love us, our arrival and departure must be heralded with a bang.  You cannot but notice the Nigerian swagger!

On a serious note though, we must do nothing to distract our boys. We must keep our gra-gra away from their camp. Even those who want to donate dollars and display their new-found affluence should wait until after the final whistle has been blown and the score-line shows Nigeria has won to display the extent to which they have shaved Nigeria. Otherwise, we'll all return home with our heads buried in shame. We should leave Stephen Keshi entirely to finish his good work. He and his technical crew should be the only ones with exclusive access to the boys. We know everyone would love to gain political capital out of this game but it would be fool-hardy to assume we've already won ahead of time.  Ivory Coast made that mistake against us and Ghana probably and tragically underestimated the power and stamina of the same Burkinabe team we are about to do battle with in the final.

The Burkina Faso I watched against Ghana is not going to go down like chicken before a knife. They are rugged and dogged. They have grit and determination. We must not belittle them by failing to recognise that they also have the requisite prowess to hurt us and that fundamentally they are a cohesive unit, playing as a team for themselves and their country.  Having come this far, they know they are very close to clinching the coveted trophy. They will fight all the way. The Super Eagles must be fully ready for a soccer war like never before. Those guys will disgrace us mercilessly if we ever under-rate them. We are in the mood for monumental success and nothing should derail us. Nigeria deserves joy for once after the spate of tragedies we've suffered in recent times. Let's have cause to pretend that all is well even if we know we are far from it. Let's transform our football even if we can't transform our environment and nation at large.

The Super Eagles' victory is an indication that great things can still happen to us in Nigeria. It has taken a few boys merging their talents to make Nigeria proud. We have Victor Moses who has done his worth tremendous good by the superlative man of the match performances he has put up so far.  There is his Chelsea teammate, Mikel Obi, who seems to have been released from the strictures of the holding role he plays for his club and naturally graduated to resuming the role of elegant libero and field marshall which made him the outstanding talent alongside Lionel Messi in that Junior world Cup championship so many years ago.

There is the lion-hearted Vincent Enyeama with his string of eye-popping daring saves.  Emenike is on his way to becoming the golden boot of Africa.  Indeed there are stellar performances all around the park and the fact that I have singled out a few of the guys does not mean that I underrate the yeoman qualities of our defence, or the outstanding talent of our midfield or the potency of our previously much maligned attack. Furthermore, have you noticed how the boys are playing together as a unit and nobody seems to be trying to tower like a super star? Have you noticed the genuine feeling of love and respect that they show to each other whether things are going well or not?  Have you not seen the great work ethic demonstrated by our Super Eagles and their coaching staff? I refer again to our friend Samassa, the Mali goalkeeper, who said that the Eagles 'were winning all the balls, pursuing us mercilessly each time we had the ball.'

We can replicate this in all facets of our lives. It would take a few leaders merging their ideas and collective vision to change Nigeria for the better. In the middle of all the Nigerian maladies a few of our citizens still manage to shine. Let me confess that two of such people caught my attention and drew my admiration last year.

The first was Professor Barth Nnaji who demonstrated clearly that it was possible to break the jinx of perpetual power failure in Nigeria which promise was unceremoniously cut short by his sudden departure. Our President's meek effort to trumpet Nnaji's achievements was shown for what it was recently by his weak performance on this issue during the Christine Amanpour CNN interview.

Interestingly, the second was the former soccer star and now the national coach to the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Mr Stephen Keshi. I had followed the career of this particular gentleman with keen interest. I always knew he played good football as a young man and that he dazzled his fans to no end. It was also obvious that good luck followed him most times and that he was a disciplined and determined player and coach. I also noted his humility despite a very successful career.

At Ovation International, we wasted no time in recognising him last December when we named him The Sportsman of the year 2012 during The Ovation Carol & Awards night. Many had queried our decision but we saw the hope of a brighter future for Nigerian football through him and wanted to encourage him ahead of the crowd. I had called him in Abuja to invite him to Lagos to receive his award and was touched by his simplicity as usual. He was very happy and was willing to come but we tried but could not get him a flight. The Super Eagles were in training that morning and it would have been unpatriotic of us to disturb their coach. I'm happy he has justified our confidence in him. In the next 24 hours, he has the chance of making history in South Africa. May God help him.
PSN

Photos: The Resemblance In Tiwa Savage’s Fiance’s Ex and Herself

The talk of the town now is on why Teebillz just like picking girls with so much resemblance as it was noticed that  Tiwa and her Fiance’s Ex who has two kids for him look very much alike.

The truth is Nigerians will not just just give it a rest after Teebillz and Tiwa got engaged few days ago. The news is everywhere about his Ex. One thing is clear about all these, Teebillz wasn’t married to the first lady, they only dated. 2 kids must have rolled out out of so many mistakes.
InformationNigeria

AEPB Raids Abuja Hawkers, Destroys Goods Worth Millions Of Naira

The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) on Saturday raided illegal hawkers in the FCT, burning articles worth millions of naira.
Items that were burnt include second-hand clothes, shoes and other products, seized from hawkers in different parts of the FCT.
Speaking on the development, the Director of the AEPB, Alhaji Isa Shuaibu, said the action was to serve as deterrence to other illegal hawkers.
Shuaibu explained that the burning of the articles was to prevent likely allegation that workers in the board had converted the items to their personal use.
“We came out as part of our routine raid in different parts of the capital city and found hawkers on streets and in our usual efforts to apprehend them, they ran away leaving these items.

“We are burning them to serve as deterrent to other hawkers as they have refused to comply with our campaign against illegal hawking.
“We have no option than to burn these items to avoid possible allegation of converting them for our personal use.
While decrying the hawking of sachet water, Shuaibu said the board would soon clamp down on the hawkers to avoid indiscriminate littering of the streets with cellophanes.
He, however, commended the enforcement squad division of the board for the reduction in street hawking and begging.
The director said that the waste recycling project of the FCT Administration would soon be completed, saying that the plants were be cited in Nyanya, Apo and Kubwa.
InformationNigeria

Beyoncé Opens Up About Miscarriage

The singer says, "It was the saddest thing I've ever been through."

By Dorkys Ramos

Her husband, Jay-Z, first mentioned the miscarriage she suffered in the past in his 2012 song "Glory," but up until now Beyoncé has never opened up about that moment. In her upcoming HBO documentary, "Life Is But a Dream," Beyoncé talks about losing her first pregnancy and how she dealt with the pain.

"About two years ago, I was pregnant for the first time. And I heard the heartbeat, which was the most beautiful music I ever heard in my life," she said. "I picked out names. I envisioned what my child would look like ... I was feeling very maternal."

Unfortunately, a trip to the doctor for a checkup revealed that the baby's heart had stopped beating. So she retreated into her music to help her cope with the tragic loss.

"I went into the studio and wrote the saddest song I've ever written in my life," she says. "And it was actually the first song I wrote for my album. And it was the best form of therapy for me, because it was the saddest thing I've ever been through."

She later became pregnant again and gave birth to daughter Blue Ivy in January 2012.

Beyoncé is expected to reveal more personal details of her life in the documentary, which airs Feb. 16 on HBO.

BET

Jesus and the sword

 by Cornelius Omonokhua 

Sometime ago, I was thrilled by a caption in CNN that “he who angers you conquers you”. No one thinks correctly in anger. Most actions executed in anger are regrettable at the dawn of calm. It is true that “action begets reaction” but what makes human beings different from other animals is their ability to moderate action and passion with reason.

It appears that some people are trying to proffer biblical arguments in favour of violence in the face of provocations. Somebody once told me that the Bible prescribed reprisal in the following New Testament passages: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law (Matthew 10, 32-34; Luke 12, 49-53) . Jesus said to the disciples, the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.” “The disciples said, see, Lord here are two swords.” Jesus replied, it is enough” (Luke 23, 35-38).

Literal interpretation of the Bible can be very dangerous. Every passage in the bible should be interpreted within a context. Sometime ago, a man who claimed to have been “born again” and had received “anointing” from God to begin his own church read in Matthew 5, 30 that “if your right hand causes you to sin cut it off”. The “man of God” cut off his “John Thomas”.

When he was dying in the hospital, he said he only obeyed the Bible by cutting off the part of his body that was making him to commit adultery. Poor man, he forgot that the same passage said “if you look at a woman lustfully, you have committed adultery with her in your heart” (Matthew 5, 28). Anyway, the man died for his misinterpretation of the scriptures.

Since it is not everybody who has the privilege to study hermeneutics and biblical exegesis, there is need for humility to ask people who are properly trained in scriptures to explain some difficult passages of the Bible. This is why the church takes a long time to train priests who would be ministers of the Word and Sacraments. The sword in the gospel according to some scripture scholars is a metaphor in the context of ideological conflict and not a physical violence. Luke used the word sword to explain talks about division in the sense that not everybody will accept the gospel message.

From a historical context, Jesus sent his disciples on a mission to the “lost sheep of Israel”. The disciples had to be well prepared before he would commission them to the gentile nations. Jesus could imagine the resistance the apostles and disciples would encounter on this mission where some people would not receive them. This prediction was confirmed when some of his disciples were flogged and killed as martyrs after the resurrection. Of all the apostles, only John died a natural death, the others were killed. The persecution of Christians led Tertullian to say that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity.” In the early church martyrdom did not stop the church from proclaiming the gospel message to all parts of the world. Jesus did not instruct the disciples to kill those who would not accept the message of the gospel. Rather he told them to shake the dust off their feet, pray for them and flee to another city.

Jesus did not call for a holy war with a military force against his fellow Jews, Gentiles or those who would not believe and accept His word. The crusades were a misinterpretation of scriptures.  Saint Francis of Assisi misunderstood the message to rebuild the church to mean the physical church until he got the spiritual meaning.

Jesus did not overlook the sensitivity of religion. He referred to Prophet Micah (Matthew 10, 36) that “a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household” (Micah 7, 6). Even in this civilized age, many children have been killed or disowned by their parents for becoming Christians. However, Jesus demands total commitment from his followers: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10, 37-39).

If Jesus proclaimed the message of violence, and vengeance, he should have resisted his persecutors. A critical study of the use of the word “sword” in the passion narrative is apt for our discussion. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, one of the disciples asked “Lord, should we strike with the sword (Luke 22, 49)? Before Jesus gave an answer, Peter acted in defence of Jesus by cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus stopped him saying “put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:52-53).

Jesus did not come to fight those who handed him over, and the soldiers who executed him. Instead, he laid down his life and died for the sins of the whole world. John reported Jesus mission in a very catching and precise statement: “I have come, so that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Jesus did not command us to defend him but to proclaim him as the word that gives life and not the sword that destroys life. Whenever Jesus is insulted in any way, a good Christian should use the occasion to teach the true meaning of “jihad,” which for Muslims means “restraint from anger and violence.” According to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, “we are fools for Christ’s sake”. This does not mean that Christians should stretch out there heads for slaughter, neither does it mean that Jesus did not know what to do to those who insulted his person. Jesus questioned those who assaulted him but did not defend himself with the sword. Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me” (John 18, 23)? Jesus used Faith and reason to accomplish his mission of saving the world and restoring peace. Therefore, a Christian must be a peacemaker and not a sword swinger.

Father (Prof) Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja, and Consultor for the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (CRRM), Vatican City

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