Renowned Journalist, Lawyer and Influencer, Mr. Richard Akinnola, has lamented the devastating effects of corruption on Nigerians, noting that corruption gains momentum in the absence of transparency.

Mr Akinnola made the observation while speaking at the News Express 6th Anniversary Lecture & Economic Stakeholders Forum titled: “Transparency – Bedrock of Sustainable Development”, which held on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at the main hall of Sheraton Hotel, Lagos.

In his keynote speech, Akinnola, Director of the Lagos-based Media Law Centre, explained that lack of transparency in Nigeria has made the country to rank highest number of people living in extreme poverty.

He recalled that in the 2017 Transparency International Corruption Perception index, Nigeria ranked 147 on the table, scoring 27 points below the average score of 34 points.

Akinnola noted that the lower a country’s transparency perception, the higher the level of poverty in such country.

The media expert stressed that transparency has direct link with a nation’s economy and depth of democracy and effectiveness of rule of law, adding that a major factor that separates developed and developing countries is the degree to which economic and political activities are subjected to transparency and accountability.

Akinnola disclosed that in spite of the nation’s oil wealth; the number of people living in extreme poverty in Nigeria grew from 10million in 1980 to 87 million in 2018.

According to him: ”If the resources stashed abroad or used to acquire ill-gotten wealth had been devoted to building utilities and social infrastructures, likes hospital and schools, Nigeria would have been on a strong footing for sustainable development.”

“Transparency demands that all financial and public information should be made available through easily accessible and available medium.

“Government budgets and their implementation should originate from the people, and must reflect citizens’ wants, desires inputs, and development objectives.

In Nigeria, it is difficult to quantify the actual quantity of our national wealth that goes into developing our country.

Apart from Personal Income Tax that is taken at source, no one can say the exact amount of tax any individual or corporate body is expected to pay as tax.”

Speaking on way forward, the media expert opined that transparency must be entrenched in our National life, adding that without it, Nigeria cannot amass enough resources to fund development, adding that sensitive national institutions must be made to account directly to the people.

The News Express Anniversary Lecture and Economic Stakeholders’ Forum is an annual programme that has an established trend of bringing together important business and political leaders from across the country, as well as multifarious professionals and influential media stakeholders.

News Express, which debuted on August 29, 2012, is one of Nigeria’s most popular and influential online dailies. It is read by hundreds of thousands of people around the world and records annual traffic of upwards of 100 million.