Anti-Corruption: MacArthur Foundation Urges Nigerian Govt To Leverage Technology

…. Assures Foundation not exiting the country

Oru Leonard 

The MacArthur Foundation has urged governments at all levels to leverage technology to combat public sector fraud while charging political leaders in Nigeria to stay committed to the fight against corruption.

Africa Director of the Foundation, Dr Kole Shettima, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja during an anti-corruption radio program, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG.

Shettima, who underscored the importance of the MacArthur Foundation’s support for anti-corruption initiatives in Nigeria, lamented the impact of corruption on Nigerian society and identified the lack of political will by leaders as the major drawback to efforts aimed at curbing the menace.

He stressed that “Nigeria can make significant progress if only political leaders are committed to the fight against corruption,” adding that technology and digitization can reduce human interaction and the prevalence of public sector scams.

“I think there is a solution to the problem of corruption. I believe that technology can solve a lot of problems because the less contact you have with public officials, the more you can resort to technology. Technology can contribute to solving a lot of the problems we have.

“But unfortunately, our system is in such a way that they make it difficult for you to take advantage of the technology. They make the process so cumbersome that your patience is tested, and you may resort to paying the money. I think that part of the solution that we have to think about is the deployment of technology to reduce human contact. That can contribute to the reduction of the corruption in the society.

“One thing is that fighting corruption is about political interest, so it depends on which government is in power and if they want to fight corruption. If the political class is not interested in fighting corruption, there are certain things that we can do.”

Shettima urged citizens not to relent in fighting corruption, decrying that poor Nigerians are worst affected by its negative impact.

“Corruption is the biggest task on poor people. It’s the reason their children don’t get access to education or quality education, the reason their wives and daughters die in maternities for lack of medication, the reason for the terrible accidents where people are dying on the roads because a contractor didn’t do their job.

“It’s the reason our children are leaving this country because they know if they don’t know somebody somewhere, they don’t have the opportunity to be who they are supposed to be.

“I hope they (political leaders) realize that the only way this country will develop is if they commit themselves to fighting this corruption,” He stated.

Shettima, despite acknowledging that there are more grounds to be covered in corruption reduction, expressed excitement at some of the impacts MacArthur Foundation’s support had made in Nigeria while assuring of the Foundation’s continued stay and support in Nigeria as the “ON NIGERIA PROJECT” comes to an end in December 2024.

He explained: “MacArthur Foundation is not leaving Nigeria.

>For over 30 years, the Foundation has focused on different things. At some point, we looked at population and reproductive health, the Niger Delta, Human Rights, Universities, girls, secondary education, so this is just a normal set of transition that happens”.

On his part, PRIMORG’s Executive Director, Okhiria Agbonsuremi, commended the MacArthur Foundation for their support over the years, revealing that the far-reaching impact of funds received by PRIMORG continues to be felt by millions of citizens nationwide.

Agbonsuremi noted that through the Foundation’s support, the integrity stories of Nigerians are spotlighted, reinforcing the belief that there are many honest people out there.

“PRIMORG is a proud beneficiary of the MacArthur Foundation’s support and our partner media organizations, whose investigative reports are amplified during our radio programme.

“We are glad to say that with the Foundation’s support, in collaboration with Accountability Lab Nigeria, we have been celebrating citizens who displayed integrity in their daily lives and, in so doing, encourage millions of citizens to maintain high moral and ethical standards,” He said.

Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program PRIMORG uses to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

(PRIMORG Media)