‘Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous’ a book by Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was released on Thursday by the MIT press.
Drawing on her experience as Nigeria’s finance minister and that of her team, she describes dangers, pitfalls, and successes in fighting corruption. She provides practical lessons learned and tells how anti-corruption advocates need to equip themselves.
Okonjo-Iweala details the numerous ways in which corruption can divert resources away from development, rewarding the unscrupulous and depriving poor people of services.
According to MIT Press, she has written a primer for those working to root out corruption, disrupt vested interests and provides practical lessons learned, while telling how anti-corruption advocates need to equip themselves. She describes dangers, pitfalls, and successes in fighting corruption and ways in which corruption can divert resources away from development, rewarding the unscrupulous and depriving poor people of services. She discovered just how dangerous fighting corruption could be when her 83-year-old mother was kidnapped in 2012 by forces who objected to some of the government’s efforts at reforms led by Okonjo-Iweala.
“Telling my story is risky,” Okonjo-Iweala writes. “But not telling it is also dangerous.” Her book ultimately leaves us with hope, showing that victories are possible in the fight against corruption.
