Honouring Sustainability Heroes
Every week, I share a run-through of events that shaped politics and society, here and elsewhere. Enjoy!
Nigeria’s central government and a state in her oil-rich region are at loggerheads over a substantial loot. Resolution is a long walk; ownership question and a past of handling looted public funds are nuts to crack. A 31-year-old Nigerian anti-corruption activist makes the shortlist for WIN WIN Gothenburg Global Sustainability Prize 2021. It’s some cheering news for the African powerhouse at a time schools bear the unsafe spaces tag. The United States hits a major vaccination milestone, but the country is unwilling to help others with its doses. Is this another attempt to ‘reinforce’ vaccine nationalism?
Here’s the serving for the week:
LOOT ‘WARS’
Controversy seems to have a thing with James Ibori, ex-governor of Delta state. The latest episode is the memorandum of understanding signed by the UK and Nigerian governments on the repatriation of £4.2 million looted by the Oghara-born politician. Some Deltans and legal luminaries believe the FG’s decision to spend this ‘Delta money’ on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Abuja-Kano rail and Second Niger bridge is unjust. Another school of thought supports the FG for adhering to the “law” and “international diplomacy” agreement. Because there is an overflow of emotions, we aren’t paying much attention to the British judicial system that convicted Ibori in the first place. The UK has the right to confiscate the money, but the government’s benevolence is bringing it back. In all of these, the FG could have done better by including Delta in the spending plan. Truce.
HONOURING SUSTAINABILITY HEROES
Do good work, the rewards will always find you is the perfect quote for the statement issued by WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Awards to announce her 2021 finalists. Five anti-corruption campaigners from across the world made the shortlist: Hamzat Lawal (Nigeria), Jóhannes Stefánsson (Iceland), Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), and Nicola Gratteri (Italy). Through sustained commitments to fighting corruption, the finalists are helping to build a world of impact. Steadying the Sustainable Development Goals and influencing the greater good are some of the gains they bring to the table. And if I had a chance to vote, I’d choose compatriot Hamzat Lawal for all that he does with ‘Follow The Money’ and advancing girl-child education in Northern Nigeria. I hope he gets to win the honour and $120,000 prize when the awards hold April 21. Cheery.
NO DOSES, PLEASE
The U.S. has now successfully administered 100 million COVID-19 doses to Americans, one year after the virus hit the country. But the milestone seems not to be sitting well with the European Union. The bloc, just like it requested transparency from the UK with vaccine distribution processes, wants the U.S. to share some of its unauthorised doses to fill up for shortages in Europe. There are no better words to describe the White House rejection of the request other than vaccine nationalism. And this is despite an informed plea from AstraZeneca, manufacturers of the doses which run into tens of millions and are awaiting clinical trials. While there is nothing wrong with putting Americans first and preparing for the unexpected, it is only just for the country to share some of these doses that may never get administered by the end of May. Compromise.
