Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says he is not
demanding "any apology from anybody" after UK Prime
Minister David Cameron labelled his country
"fantastically corrupt".
Speaking at an anti-corruption event in London, Mr
Buhari said he was more interested in the return of
stolen assets held in British banks.
Mr Cameron made the unguarded comments in a
conversation with the Queen.
He is hosting an international anti-corruption summit on
Thursday.
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Mr Buhari's address at the anti-corruption event at the
Commonwealth Secretariat in London followed a
statement from his office on Wednesday, saying that he
had been "deeply shocked and embarrassed" by Mr
Cameron's remarks.
Asked if Nigeria was "fantastically corrupt", in an echo
of the prime minister's comments, Mr Buhari responded:
"Yes."
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Buhari said what the new
Nigerian government found when it came to power
proved Mr Cameron was right.
"He was telling the truth. He was talking about what he
knew". Mr Buhari said.
Nigeria was ranked 136 out of 167 countries in
Transparency International's 2015 Corruption
Perceptions Index.
Two recent cases have illustrated the astonishing scale
of corruption facing the country.
Last week, Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said
that an estimated $15bn (£10bn) of government money
had been stolen through corrupt arms contracts under
the previous government.
And in March, an official audit found that Nigeria's
state-owned oil company had failed to pay the
government $25bn in a suspected fraud.
In his speech, the Nigerian leader described corruption
as a "hydra-headed monster" which threatened the
security of countries and "does not differentiate between
developed and developing countries".
He said corruption in Nigeria was endemic and his
government was committed to fighting it.
Mr Buhari praised the UK government for its help in
efforts to repatriate stolen funds held in the UK.
He cited the case of disgraced Nigerian state governor
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who fled the UK disguised as
a woman while on bail for corruption charges.
British police found £1m ($1.8m)-worth of cash in his
London home in 2005 and subsequently charged him
with laundering a total of £1.8m.
"What would I do with an apology? I need something
tangible," Mr Buhari said, referring to efforts to recover
the money.
The UK government will host world and business leaders
at the summit on Thursday in London, aiming to
"galvanise a global response to tackle corruption".
iFrame
Speaking ahead of the summit, Mr Cameron said: "For
too long there has been a taboo about tackling this
issue head-on.
"The summit will change that. Together we will push the
fight against corruption to the top of the international
agenda where it belongs."
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International
has criticised Mr Cameron's comments, accusing the
UK of being part of the problem by "providing a safe
haven for corrupt assets" at home and in its overseas
territories.
Mr Buhari echoed these concerns in his address, quoting
from a previous study into corruption in the country's
oil sector.
"Nigerian crude oil is being stolen on an indus
trial scale
and exported, with the proceeds laundered through
world financial centres by transnational organised
criminals," he said.


source:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36265998?ocid=wsnews.chat-apps.in-app-msg.whatsapp.trial.link1_.aui