While not recounting all that has happened in the past one year with regards to the Anti-Corruption crusade by the President Yar Adua Administration, do we consider the activities of the Anti-Corruption agencies to be more vibrant, compared to what we witnessed in the last democratic dispensation? Has our image fared better in the international scene with regards to our seriousness in fighting Corruption?
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Nigeria has repeatedly been labeled one of the most corrupt countries in the world. A perceived all-compassing culture of corruption could give the impression that there is practically no room for anyone to operate outside its borders. A strong consensus has grown that if Nigeria is to develop, the battle against corruption must be fought on different battlefields.
To this end, CBi was established to empower business transactions in and within Nigeria against corruption and corrupt practices. The vision is to move the society towards a visible zero tolerance for corruption. It is hoped that in time it will reposition the idea that Nigerian businesses are fraudulent and instead foster international relationships that can lead to meaningful exchange.
CBi is a declaration for the maintenance of ethical conduct, competence, transparency and accountability by private sector operators. There was need to translate this declaration into principles and regulations that could be used as a code. A group of signatories came together for regular meetings to translate the principles of the declaration into minimum standards which resulted in the Code of Business Integrity.
The code was adopted by the current signatories to the Convention on Business Integrity in 1998. The code identified the need for an elected Core group to lead the initiative and for a secretariat to be set up to administer the initiative. At the end of 1998, a Core-group was elected, including signatories, business consultants and a representative from Integrity. In 1999, the secretariat was set up. In 2001, SAP the world's leading provider of e-business software solutions, announced that it is giving its support to the convention and will thus fund the set up of a secretariat in Nigeria. In July 2002, SAP formerly appended its signature to the Convention on Business Integrity. In March 2004, funding was received from DFID to carry out specific projects, which includes resource and human capacity building for the organisation, signing ceremonies for public and private institutions and report developments on business ethics issues.
CBi's vision is to create a society of Zero tolerance for corruption.
