…Hosts World Bank, UNODC Representatives on Stolen Asset Recovery Initiatives
WED, AUGUST 16 2023-theGBJournal |The need for behavioural change as a strategy to fight corruption was brought to the front burner of national discourse as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) held the 6th National Policy Dialogue at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Tuesday.
The main thrust of the Dialogue, themed: National Policy Dialogue on Corruption, Social Norms, and Behavioural Change, put together by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN) and sponsored by MacArthur Foundation, was to explore ways to implement advocacy programmes that would enable Nigeria regain its lost values.
In his welcome remark, the ICPC Chairman, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, OFR, underscored the importance of the theme saying that the emergence and pervasive spread of corruption-inducing social norms across all ethnicities and religious divides was worrisome, thereby threatening the foundation of societal values and norms.
Prof. Owasanoye revealed that a survey by ACAN showed that communities contributed to fueling corruption in the public service as they do not question the source of wealth of people in public office and also, the common expectation that public office holders donate huge amounts of money at public ceremonies.
The ICPC boss explained that although the law and order approach has dominated the activities of anti-corruption agencies, it was not sufficient as it needs to be complemented with some self or group-regulatory mechanism to achieve the desired behavioural change both in government and society at large.
In his words, “Achieving the goal of behavioural change in a society with endemic corruption involves a complex and sometimes a long process that requires a multi-sectoral brainstorming session to develop appropriate policy framework”.
He recommended amongst other things that all stakeholders lead by example and listed corruption–inducing social norms that need to be discouraged and those that need to be encouraged.
Among others, he said that the Federal and State Ministries of Education should develop and implement behaviour change programmes in schools including debates on the subject matter.
The keynote speaker, Professor Toyin Falola of the Department of History, University of Texas at Austin, United States of America, in his presentation, stated that to effectively address corruption, it was important to focus on transforming behaviours and fostering a culture of integrity and accountability, which requires active participation from individuals across all sectors.
According to him, “The corruption issue in Nigeria runs deep, intertwining with various aspects of politics, governance, and society. The origin can be traced back to various factors such as inadequate governance structures, the consolidation of power among a select few, and the lingering effects of historical events.”
Meanwhile, the anti-corruption agency played host to representatives of the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) initiative.
The meeting with the Technical Assistance Mission team from the World Bank and UNODC was hinged on exploring ways that the StAR initiative can support the implementation of asset recovery resolutions of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
In his address at the meeting, the Chairman of ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, OFR, explained how the Commission had been managing seized and forfeited assets especially with the instrument of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act (POCA) 2022.
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