Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines, vol 1

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ()
Additional contact information
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Lazard

in MIT Press Books from The MIT Press

Abstract: In Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has written a primer for those working to root out corruption and disrupt vested interests. 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. Okonjo-Iweala 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 Okonjo-Iweala’s efforts at reform—in particular a crackdown on fraudulent claims for oil subsidy payments, a huge drain on the country’s finances. The kidnappers’ first demand was that Okonjo-Iweala resign from her position on live television and leave the country. Okonjo-Iweala did not resign, her mother escaped, and the program of economic reforms continued. “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.

Keywords: Nigeria; corruption; anti-corruption; economic development; development; finance minister; finance; Nigerian economy; Nigerian government; Goodluck Jonathan; 2011-2015; West Africa; Africa; African development; oil; embezzlement; pension scam; kidnapping; Chibok; Boko Haram; Kamene Okonjo (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F30 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0-262-03801-3
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mtp:titles:0262038013

Access Statistics for this book

More books in MIT Press Books from The MIT Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by The MIT Press ().