It has come to world or public notice that a beloved country (Nigeria) is not a corrupt country in Africa. Nigeria is a greatest, God blessed country with many good things in it, is just that people out side the country regard it as a corrupt country in Africa because of the bad news and unlawful acts that some of the citizen are doing in the country. In the whole world, there is no country that can come out and say that they are 100% righteous. In Nigeria, there are a lot of people that snicks inside Nigeria through boarders to come and damage the image of our country.

There are parts of Nigeria where the Whites are the minority. Further, I have seen details that the police force of various constabularies “massages” the figures. Crime committed by foreigners in many cases is not reported as a crime committed by a foreigner. The clearest example of this (which made me very angry when I was informed of it) was told to me by a friend in my base, when arresting a member of the “minority community” for violent crime against a white person notes this down as “violent crime”. Yet, when it is the other way around it is “racial violence”.

This is something we should all be screaming about, and demanding that the “authorities” (Other Government, Company, and ordinary people from other Countries) should play fair and honestly with Nigerians. If we all can go through Summary of Crime Statistics in Nigeria from 1994-2003, you will find out that up to 55% of foreigners are the people that committed attempted murder, manslaughter, g/harm and wounding, assault, child Stealing, slave dealing, rape/indecent assault, false pretension cheating/ fraud, forgery, receiving stolen property, unlawful possession, forgery of currency, escape from lawful custody etc. in Nigerian. So I proudly urged who ever that is involved (publishers, journalist etc.) in put or raking Nigeria among corrupted countries in Africa to go through Nigerian profile before saying something bad about Nigeria and the people living in it as a citizen.

Nigerian Profile

Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa; it is also a pioneer in the movement for African independence. In past centuries, our territory was home to a series of powerful and technically-advanced societies, renowned for their artistic, commercial, and political achievements.

Currently, Nigeria remains one of Africa’s most influential countries. Its vast oil reserves and unique human resources create the capacity for enormous prosperity and regional leadership. The fate of our struggle for democracy and national unity has profound implications for the entire continent. Both the potential and the obstacles are on the giant scale of our country itself. British conquest brought together within Nigeria’s borders a wide range of cultures and ethnic groups. The colonial “unity,” however, was a top-down authoritarian creation. In spite of the efforts of the nationalist movement for independence to foster a sense of national identity, particularly after the 2nd World War, building a nation based on popular participation remains a work in progress.

There are solid foundations for democratic culture and a diverse civil society in Nigeria. Nigeria has a rich array of private entrepreneurs, energetic and diverse communications media, labor unions, professional associations, and a literary scene with world-renowned authors, religious bodies, and many other groups that have contributed to a sense of national identity and pride even in other countries.

We also have a historical of military repression, civilian corruption, and ethnic tensions. Currently we are dominated by a military regime which has no solution for economic problems and only the thinnest veneer of “transition” painted over systematic denial of democratic rights. As in many other African countries, though Nigerians wait–and struggle for–a “second independence” that will bear real fruits in political participation and economic progress. The fact remains that every country in this world must have a political crisis in one way or the other.

When you take a look at Nigerian population as of 2003 you will find out at the population of Nigeria in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 124,009,000, which placed Nigeria as number 10 in population among the 193 nations of the world. It is the most populated country in Africa. In 2003 approximately 3% of the Nigerian population was over 65 years of age, with another 44% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 101 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 2.53%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 161,726,000. The population density in 2002 was 141 per sq km (364 per sq mi). Regional differences are significant; population is densest in the south and sparsest in the north.

It was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 44% of the Nigerian population was from urban areas in 2001. The principal cities include Lagos, the former capital and still the largest city, with an estimated metropolitan population of 13,488,000 and the highest population density of any major African urban conglomeration. The capital city, Abuja, had a population of 403,000 in that 2003. Ibadan had a metropolitan population of 1,739,000 people, and Kano had over 1 million. According to the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000– 2005 was 4.1%. The prevalence of AIDS/HIV has had a significant impact on the population of Nigeria. The United Nations estimated that 5.8% of adults between the ages of 15–49 were living with HIV/AIDS in 2001. The AIDS epidemic causes higher death and infant mortality rates, and lowers life expectancy to the people of Nigeria due to the love of money and carelessness of some people.

SO WHY WILL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) RATE NIGERIA AS THIRD MOST CORRUPT NATION IN THE WORLD

The PUNCH, Thursday, October 21, 2004.

In a verdict that was as strong as the response it attracted, the Berlin-based corruption watchdog, Transparency International, on Wednesday 2004 ranked Nigeria as the third most corrupt nation in the world.

The ranking, which comes as a blow to the five-year anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Government, has been described by the administration as “fundamentally flawed.”

For two consecutive years, 2002 and 2003, TI of which our formal President Olusegun Obasanjo was among the founders, rated our country as the second most corrupt nation. Bangladesh was at the bottom.

But in the 2004 edition of the global survey of Corruption Perception Index in 146 nations by TI, Haiti tied with Bangladesh as the most corrupt countries in the world.

I strongly stand in the Government reaction which described the information as outdated and misleading.

Due to the misleading information by Information and Technology, Nigerian Government now set out some Agencies by Obasanjo’s administration to stem corruption in the country are the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); and the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU).

Although there is other countries that is behind Nigeria in the rating, which are Burma; Azerbaijan; Paraguay; and Chad.

On the other hand, Finland; New Zealand; Denmark; and Iceland were deemed in the TI report as the least corrupt nations.

The report said that corruption was hobbling the fight against poverty and robbing oil-rich countries of their developmental potentials.

According to the Head of TI, Mr. Peter Eigen, he said that developing countries in particular must root out sleaze in public works are hoped to improve the quality of life of their citizens.

Nigerian Governments have come out seriously to tackle corruption in public contracting; Scammer, Money Laundering, Child trafficking and other related offenses to enable us reach the Millennium Development Goal of having the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015.

Nigerian been among the Oil-rich Countries including Angola, Azerbaijan, Chad, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen is a good blessing that God gave us but some of white men’s that collected the contract in infilling this oil are cheating on the public that is why there have been a fight between the militarant and the civilians in the country.

The report against Nigerian is a false report (lies). Currently, lawmakers are holding a public hearing into allegations that the US oil services outfit, Halliburton had bribed Nigerian officials to secure a huge gas contract. While will these entire allegation be put unto Nigerian? Can one or two apples spoil the least of apple in a basket?

The fact remains that Nigeria is not righteous but we are not corrupted that we will be regarded as a monsters to humanity.

Federal Government of Nigeria has sets out three force Agencies to help to fight corruption in Nigeria and there aim and objectives is to rebuild the image of the country

Introducing of these Agencies is due to the pronouncement made that Nigeria is one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Currently, Nigeria occupies the last but one position down the ladder among nations adjudged to be corrupt by Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.
Establishment of the Agencies is resolving to fight and win the war against corruption in Nigeria led to the promulgation of the above mention agencies. The Act was the first bill presented by President Olusegun Obasanjo to the National Assembly for consideration at the inception of the present democratic administration during his administration. It Agencies was passed and signed into law an signed by the Senate’s
The main function or duties assigned to these agencies is To receive and investigate reports of corruption and in appropriate cases prosecute the offender[s]. To examine, review and enforce the correction of corruption prone systems and procedures of public bodies, with a view to eliminating corruption in public life. Educating and enlightening the public on and against corruption and related offences with a view to enlisting and fostering public support for the fight against corruption.

Conclusion

If we can check other countries profile or history, we will see that there is no country in this world that is not corrupt. The image of Nigeria and has been damaged by those that do not like to have there success through a meaningful ways. Many countries are scared of Nigeria due to the information and stories they have had, companies are rejecting Nigerians in many occasions. It is very painful to we the good citizen of the country, more especially I to the extent that I can’t even open a Paypal account, US Bank account because of what others have cause. I plead on by of our good citizen of the country to all the people, companies in this world to please try to see Nigeria as among the good country in the world not as corrupt country in the world. I will also like to use this opportunity to ask for a farviour, is there any one that can assist me to open a PayPal account or online account? So I urge everybody that is involved in this acts to vist www.efccnigeria.org,www.icac.org to see the works that this Agenices are doing and www.budgetmonitoringng.org to read more stories from Nigeria.