Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), is looking to China for fresh ideas on how to fight corruption and strengthen accountability.
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), said the commission was ready to study China’s anti-corruption system and adapt useful lessons to Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances.
Aliyu spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the third International Diplomatic Dialogue organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), the research and training arm of the ICPC.
The event, themed “Experience Sharing in Anti-Corruption Policies and Strategies: The Chinese Perspective,” focused on how China has built its institutions and policies to confront corruption.
Aliyu said corruption remained a major obstacle to Nigeria’s political, economic and developmental progress, stressing the need for Nigeria to learn from countries that had developed effective anti-graft mechanisms.
He said the ICPC was particularly interested in China’s legal and institutional reforms, enforcement mechanisms and preventive policies.
China’s anti-corruption machinery includes the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Commission of Supervision, which oversee investigations and disciplinary action against public officials.
According to Aliyu, studying such systems could help Nigeria identify strategies that could be adapted to its own realities.
The ICPC boss noted that the diplomatic dialogue had previously featured Kenya and Indonesia, providing opportunities to examine how other countries tackle corruption.
China’s ‘zero tolerance’ approach
Provost of ACAN, Prof Sheriff Ibrahim, said China’s transformation into a major global economic and technological power had been accompanied by strong political commitment to tackling corruption.
He said China had adopted a zero-tolerance approach, unified investigative mechanisms and greater use of technology to improve transparency and expose corrupt practices.
Ibrahim also pointed to values associated with Confucian philosophy, including integrity, righteousness, sincerity and propriety, as part of the broader emphasis on ethical conduct.
But the most striking message came from the Chinese Embassy’s Cultural Counsellor and Director of the China Cultural Centre in Nigeria, Yang Juanxing.
Yang said China’s strategy was not simply about arresting and punishing corrupt officials. It also focused heavily on prevention, institutional reforms, oversight and public education.
He said the goal was to build a system where people would be “unwilling to corrupt, unable to corrupt and afraid to corrupt.”
Yang also stressed that no one should be shielded from accountability because of political office, influence, wealth or personal connections.
He identified strong institutions, the rule of law, transparent procedures, effective oversight and appropriate sanctions as critical weapons in the war against corruption.
The dialogue is part of ACAN’s efforts to expose Nigerian anti-corruption practitioners to international experiences and identify approaches that could strengthen the country’s fight against graft.
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