Corruption in Africa has many forms, but always involves the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It is a canker worm, a cancer that eats into the fabric of society. Stolen loot just doesn’t disappear into nowhere. Corrupt leaders, dictators, gangs, warlords and other criminals need ways to hide their identity and move stolen booty around the world. Then they probably need a nice, warm and safe place to spend their dirty cash at your expense. Well … don’t you think it’s time we say ‘Enough Is Enough?’ It’s about time we take back our Africa from these thieves who’ve ransacked and pillaged Africa and kept us in penury and at war with each other. Many of them can’t even govern well – they are too busy thinking and plotting how to plunder and rob from our children. Let us use our collective righteous indignation to keep the fire burning under their feet – raging hot if we can stoke the firewood of discontent. If they have the brazen neck to steal food from our children’s plates or ‘divert’ resources meant for their school fees then they should have no peace! Together we can hunt them down, even beyond this earthly world!

Let us be practical. Did you know that over 30,000,000 children of primary age school do not attend school in Sub-Saharan Africa? That is more than the combined population of Senegal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cape Verde. Three fourths of those who do go to school are being taught by unqualified teachers. AU Watch’s own figures reveal that 83 percent of the schools in West Africa are poorly equipped with sub-standard buildings or outright dangerous and 98 percent have little or no recreational facilities for children. As if matters could not get any worse, AU Watch research shows that in many schools in West Africa, it is not uncommon for children to be taught under the shade of a mango or baobab tree. Please do not confuse this humiliating experience with some exotic natural learning experience. There are simply no buildings; and when it rains everyone goes home. In those schools children actually bring their own desks and tables to schools. Is it any surprise to learn that figures released by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the Education for All Global Education Monitoring Report (EFA GMR), show that globally Sub-Sahara Africa account for more than half of the out-of-school children, with adolescents (12-15 years) twice as likely to be out of school? Do we really have to look for conspiracy theories of slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism to understand why we are lagging so far behind other regions? For good measure add state kleptocracy, mismanagement and other forms of corruption and picture of hopelessness becomes a bit clearer.

At AU Watch we recognize that corruption in Africa is an exceptionally complex menace, especially given the fact that it arises from deep structural factors which will take great energy and courage to change. The AU and AU Member States have declared the fight against corruption a high priority. Questions: Are our state managers really serious about eradicating corruption? Are they really serious about vision 2063 – a prosperous Africa, where corruption will be spoken of as a relic? The truth is corruption remains widespread in the region and mainly responsible for the sorry state we are in. There are too many instances of political and bureaucratic corruption, public funds embezzlement, fraudulent procurement practices, and judicial corruption. The AU and its Member States have put in place well-developed legal and institutional frameworks, including the AU Advisory Board on Corruption. Some AU Member States have enacted the ‘Right to Information Act’, which grants their citizens access to government information and a mechanism to control public spending. In spite of some progress, however, law enforcement in Member States remains weak and reforms have a long way to go. At AU Watch we are of the view that the AU and its Member State will have to address the underlying issues, as well as the symptomatic cases, which are only occasionally brought to court. Heroes such as Nuhu Ribadu and John Githongo have shown the way forward, but have also demonstrated the depth of resistance to rolling it back – both were forced into exile