SPEECHLESS! Corruption exaggerated in Nigeria - Jonathan Tells Namibians

.Jonathan rules out capital punishment for corruption as is done in China
As if to challenge the validity of the yearly poor showing of Nigeria on the transparency index, President Goodluck Jonathan said in Windhoek, Namibia, on Thursday that corruption in Nigeria has been exaggerated, such that it is affecting the image of the country.
At a meeting with the Nigerian community at the Country Club, Windhoek, Jonathan said “corruption is everywhere” but it is over-celebrated in the country to the extent that the nation and its people are stigmatised.

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In the Transparency Index published in December 2013 by Transparency International, Nigeria was ranked the 34th most corrupt nation in the world, taking the 144th position, among 177 nations, ranked in the report.
In the group’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2013, Nigeria scored 25 points out of a possible 100 points, a performance even poorer than in 2012, when Nigeria scored 27 points. Nigeria shared the podium of infamy with crisis-torn Central African Republic and neighbour, Cameroon.
Although Jonathan conceded that corruption is a menace and that his administration would not condone it, he rejected suggestions that a harsher penalty be imposed to curb the pervasive sleaze, that many experts believe, has been the main reason Nigeria has been an under-achiever in many areas.
The president told his audience that his government would not use the big stick to curb corruption.
He said in fighting corruption, his government has continued to strengthen anti-corruption agencies.
In buttressing a softer approach in handling corruption, the president said armed robbery has not stopped despite the promulgation of decrees stipulating capital punishment.
The president therefore called on every Nigerian to resolve to do the right thing and support the government in its efforts at building a new Nigeria.
He assured that if all hands were on deck and the citizens cooperated with the government, the nation would be completely transformed in the next 10 years.
“The green passport should be a symbol of honour, respect and dignity, not humiliation,” he said.
He stressed that Nigeria was a great country and with certain definite steps the administration was taking, it would take its rightful position in the globe.
Jonathan assured the gathering that with all the political tension being created by the opposition in the country, he would not play politics with the development of the nation.
He said that the government had taken pragmatic steps to end the challenges of oil theft and piracy before 2015.

Culled - PMNews

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