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 Daily
Independent Online.
* Thursday, June 17, 2004.
Halliburton and corporate malfeasance in Nigeria
By Kingsley Dike
The recent allegations of a
$180million bribery scandal, theft of $10million worth of radioactive
materials belonging to the Nigerian government and admission of payment
of $2.4million bribe to evade tax by Halliburton, the United States
(U.S.) oil contracting giant,has brought to the fore the ignoble role of
multinational corporations in entrenching corruption in Nigeria and
subverting the laws of the country.
While many have expressed surprise at the amount of
money involved in the disclosures, discerning minds know that this is
just a tip of the iceberg in the long history of corporate malfeasance by
western concerns in Nigeria. From the pre-colonial activities of the
Royal Niger company to the modern-day exploits of companies like Halliburton,
western companies have showed very little respect and less concern for
either the short-term or long-term well-being of their host societies.
Rather their motivation remains extraction of resources, sustenance of
uninterrupted flow of such resources and repatriation of profit and more
profit.
In the process they have ruined lives,
rendered communities desolate and corrupted the value system of such
societies. You do not need to look far in Nigeria before you see such
concrete examples of community’s encounter with this form of brazen
corporate irresponsibility. In the Niger Delta alone you have the Ogoni
tragedy and the ignoble role of Shell Petroleum Development Company in
funding the Abacha regime’s
sustained war of attrition in its goal of decimating the Ogoni
population for protesting the dangers wrought to their environment by the
exploration activities of the Anglo-Dutch oil giant.AGIP/ENI have through
a deliberate policy of divide and rule allegedly funded one group against
the other in a still raging war that have claimed several lives in
Kwale,Delta State.The same can be said of the role of CHEVRON and again
Shell in the Warri conflict involving the Ijaws,Urhobo’s and
Itshekiris,hitherto peaceful neighbours with long-time history of inter-marriages and other cordial
interactions.
The Nigerian experience with western capital has led to
a gradual evolution of an extreme variant of capitalism(that is not even
practiced in western societies) that sees the only purpose of capital as
maximization of returns for shareholders by any means. This is originally
alien to the people but has over time taken a life of its own. So now it
does not matter how a contract is won, whether the rules are followed,
and probity and transparency guaranteed.
In fact there are no rules and entrenched
foreign interest with few local participants usually serving or retired
public servants in the top echelons of the military and bureaucracy or
their fronts appropriates all opportunities and privileges. Thus when
contracts are won in Nigeria, a closer look would reveal a confounding
web of bribery and kick-back payments siphoned out of the country through
a network of secret foreign bank accounts in western capital cities. More
recent example is the national identity card scheme where the French
company SGM allegedly dispensed over $200million in bribery payments to
senior officials of the present government.
The French are becoming quite notorious in
corrupt cases in Nigeria. Apart from the muffled whispers of complicity
by several French concerns in the Abacha graft, ,it was a French
government inquiry into the activities of the French consortium,Technip
that blew the lid open on the alleged $180million dollar slush fund
offered to Nigerian officials to influence contract award for the
construction of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas(NLNG) base trains 1 and 2
involving Halliburton(U.S.) through Kellog Brown and Root(KBR) its
subsidiary,Snamprogetti(Italian), and Japanese Gas corp.
In spite of the serious nature of these
allegations, western media commentaries deliberately isolates the parties
to the crime and disproportionately puts the blame not only at the door
steps of the yet to be named Nigerian officials but the Nigerian people
and society as haven for corruption.Tucker Carlson of CNN Crossfire had
dismissed the culpability of Halliburton with the off-hand statement
“what do you expect when you have to bribe officials to go to the
bathroom in Nigeria” This is
most unfair.Yes,the alleged Nigerian officials must be condemned and
brought to justice.
Rather a crime is alleged to have been
committed against the Nigerian people and laws of the state willfully
violated by both the Nigerian officials and the multinational
corporations. In the case of Halliburton, if proven liable, it violated
not only Nigerian laws but the U.S.foreign corrupt practices act that
provides for both civil and criminal penalties in connection with payment
of bribes and can result in holding senior executives liable for actions
taken or not taken.
And this factor adds an interesting
dimension to the unfolding drama and flurry of investigations launched by
France,the U.S. and Nigeria,given the fact that U.S .Vice-President Dick
Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton
between 1995 and 2000, the period the alleged bribes were believed
to have been offered.It is yet to be seen how this will play out in an
election year in the U.S. but indications are that Halliburton will
remain a reference point in the debates over accusations of cronyism in
contract awards and the role of special interest in direction of
government policy.
And here is where you at once begin to
admire the western system and society. They will be sustained debate over
this issue and different views presented to the court of public opinion.
The whole scenario will play itself out in the public, including the
investigations and at the end of the day the role played by everybody
will be established. Justice will not only be done but final closure is
brought to the case.
I wish the same can be said of the
Nigerian investigations. Western capital have long realized the inherent
weaknesses in the Nigerian system and played along these fault-lines to
maintain their hold and influence to the extent that it might not be
surprising that an investigation into a bribery allegation on this scale
may wind-up turning another embarrassing case of bribery allegations
within the so-called infestation team. And this is sad.
• Dike, a journalist wrote from Atlanta, GA, USA
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