Corruption, misplacement of priorities, dwarf Nigerian development, progress – Charles Onunaiju
Story by Tawheed Yakub
The slow pace of economic development and growth of Nigeria has been attributed to the high level of corruption, lack of patriotic and visionary leaders who prioritize the larger interests of the country above narrow, personal and other mundane, negative considerations.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with correspondents of Neptune Prime at the corporate headquarters of the newspaper in Abuja, the Director of the Nigeria Centre for China Studies, Comrade Charles Onunaiju, said that Nigeria can only break the vicious chain of poverty and economic retardation, when the country adopts a culture of zero tolerance for corruption.
He said, unlike in China where a Mayor was recently sentenced to death over the embezzlement of Nigeria’s equivalence of fifty million Naira, Nigerian public officials who “loot the treasury of tens of billions of Naira, usually walk away with light sentences, in the rare instances that they are brought to book at all.”
He pointed out that, the huge sums of money illegally carted and cornered by individuals, translate to mean the deaths of several citizens due to accidents on bad roads and lack of essential drugs in public hospitals as well as, resulting in the inability of the state to establish and equip educational institutions and other infrastructures that are fundamental to the development, growth and prosperity of nations.
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Comrade Charles Onunaiju also advocated that Nigeria should emulate the example of China by developing institutions that are rooted in the country’s unique historical experience, culture and characteristics, instead of wholesale copying of western political models and systems which he said, “cannot work towards enhancing the attainment of the developmental goals of non western countries.”
According to him, one of the critical factors responsible for the accelerated development of China, is that, even as communism is its political philosophical foundation, China had however, adapted the ideology of Marxism-Leninism to suit the country’s peculiar vision and aspiration, by building “Socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
Comrade Charles Onunaiju traced the Nigeria-China diplomatic ties to, over fifty years ago with a major milestone in 1971, when Nigeria joined other twenty-five African countries, to pressure the return of China to the United Nations. “This act” in his words, “built a foundation of mutual respect and cooperation, leading to decades of partnership in industry, trade and infrastructure.”
On the incessant reports of involvement of Chinese citizens in criminal activities in Nigeria, Comrade Onunaiju said while China expects that such criminal elements are subjected to the country’s laws and judicial process, they are usually made to face further punishments back home even if they had been convicted and punished in line with the Nigerian laws.
The Chinese government insists that all it’s citizens and enterprises abroad, obey local laws. Therefore, it is expected that those who break Nigerian laws be prosecuted locally and they may face further punishment upon return to China. China has zero tolerance for law breaking abroad.
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