African graft fight blocked by continent's Capones

Africa's fight against corruption is being blocked by gangsters at every level of administrations and the campaign is doomed to fail unless presidents themselves spearhead the battle, a top campaigner said.

Nuhu Ribadu, who convicted over 300 corrupt officials and recovered over $5 billion while leading Nigeria's anti-graft drive until falling out with the current administration, said the continent's leadership was hypocritical in its approach.

"If you have an Al Capone as Head of State, an Al Capone as governor of the central bank and Al Capones in every other institution, how can one succeed?" Ribadu said, referring to the American gangster who ran crime syndicates for several decades.

"Unfortunately that is the situation in most African countries today," Ribadu said in a telephone interview from Washington, where he is living in exile and working as a fellow at the Center for Global Development think-tank.

African nations -- from Mauritania in the west, Cameroon in the centre and Kenya to the east -- have launched anti-corruption campaigns, often under pressure from donors who blame underdevelopment on rampant mismanagement.

But Ribadu said such campaigns were riddled with hypocrisy and, citing numerous reports of corruption in police forces and the judiciary, he said it was impossible to "fight corruption with corruption".

Continue reading African graft fight blocked by continent's Capones (full Reuters story)

Comments

[njimaforboy]

Great article. Biya Paul is the Black Al Capone.
Enam does nothing but train mobsters loyal to Biya. The milliatry is loyal to him because he rewards them generously, more than Physicians and Scientist. Somebody needs to check Mr. Biya's mind. Did he become psycotic in office? Is he dumb, stupid or ignorant? I wish someone puts an end to this insanity. The best way to kill a snake is by decapitating.

[njimaforboy]

Nothing corrodes the fabric of any society than mobsters roaming freely. We all know stories about the mob. You either capture or kill them for society to be free from their terror. When u have gangsters like Biya as president, you are doomed. I truly feel sorry for any Cameroonian who thinks this thug can bring any change to Cameroon.