Why we're interested in Nigeria's fight against corruption - US

Why this is important: The U.S. said it is interested in global anti-corruption fight because of its debilitating impacts on nations and how it worsens other challenges countries deal with.

It added that it would continue to canvas for financial sanctions and visa restrictions as punitive measures for anyone found guilty of corrupt practices.

Apart from aiding different forms of criminality, widespread corruption has other ripple effects such as high levels of poverty, income inequality, lack of education and health care, as prevalent in Nigeria.

Corruption is a global threat: While speaking recently at a press briefing, the newly appointed Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption in the United States, Richard Nephew, described corruption as a core national issue, The Punch reported.

He, however, noted that there was no silver bullet to tackle the scourge other than a bundle of reforms and persistent efforts by all parties involved.

Nephew revealed that since 2010, the Justice Department had filed cases in court to confiscate over $3.4bn in corruption proceeds, and had successfully confiscated over 1.7bn of the assets, and returned or assisted the return of over $1.6bn to the economies from which the money was stolen.

US-Nigeria efforts: Recall that the US government recently signed an agreement with the Federal Government to release another tranche of funds looted by the former Head of State, late Gen Sani Abacha.

The latest release of $23.4m takes the total amount repatriated from the U.S to over $334.7m.

US ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, said, “It is in recognition of the role corruption plays in undermining democracy that the US considers the fight against corruption as a core national security interest. To that end, President Joe Biden really supported the US strategy in countering corruption last December.”

More collaboration: Nephew on his part said his team would continue to collaborate with foreign governments to bolster progress towards meeting global anti-corruption commitments, including providing assistance when appropriate to those failing to meet international commitments.

He added that the team would also engage with civil society organisations and private sector counterparts to hear their perspectives.

Nephew's word: ‘‘Corruption is pervasive, frankly, because it is at least temporarily quite lucrative to the people who are engaged in it. And so the main challenge is to deal with corruption across the board because it’s something that is always going to be seen as attractive, and part of our objective is to make sure it’s not. So around the world, we are going to have these kinds of anti-corruption requirements, and we are going to have a number of bilateral relationships to help deal with them.”