[Matano]

Nigeria is widely grouped among the most corrupt countries in the world. If you were President, what would be your finest strategy to reverse this?

[Heimdahl]

Fun and interesting question!

The most fundamental thing I would do would probably be getting a strong nationalistic sense within Nigeria and try to break up the tribes. So that people see themselves as nigerians and not as some tribesman, dislikes other tribes and don't really care about Nigeria. Also I would clean up government departments and be hard on corruption, and of course put alot of money on education and english.

Probably try to get different businesses to establish themselves there and maybe go as far as nationalising the oil.

[Kman]

Throw the corrupt bureaucrats in jail for 20-30 years if any of them were convicted, that is what alot of the danish kings used to do, there was a penalty of life in jail if any state official was caught stealing from the king's treasury. That certainly seemed to limit corruption, Denmark is currently the least corrupt country in the world.

[Donna]

If I were an elected bourgeois politician or the leader of an angsty military coup, I imagine nothing would change.

[eugenekop]

Well, I'd fight corruption and develop democracy. But the dictators of these countries are never interested in that, that's why there is so much corruption in the first place. They are interested in their personal well being, and democracy and integrity are the last of their concerns.

[Fasces]

To truly fix the problem, institutional change is necessary. However, I am certain that cutting off an ear for every instance of proven corruption would stem the tide mighty quick, though it may sound barbaric. Long-term reform should be done concurrently, of course.

[Namakemono]

Day 1: Reverse the indigenization policy that makes it difficult/unattractive for foreigners to do business there.

Day 2: Replace the present constitution with a simpler one based on Switzerland's.

Day 3: Resign and go live somewhere else.

[rik]

The 3 most important languages in Nigeria are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba. These three groups don't trust one another, primarily because effective communication is not possible between them. English is not very well understood by the rank and file. As president, I would offer incentives for people of one tribe to learn the other two languages. This would promote unity, and inter-marriages between the tribes.

The most corrupt politicians in Nigeria are aided by Western nations, by way of accepting their loot into foreign banks. So, when we say Nigeria is corrupt, we must never forget to mention its partner in crime - Western nations. As president, I would seek to engage these nations with a view toward solving this dilemma.

As president, I would focus on the provision of 24/7 stable electricity. With electricity, e-commerce would blossom. Everybody would be better informed about current affairs, and most importantly, ordinary Nigerians would be empowered. For instance, a computer programmer would be able to compete for lucrative jobs globally, same as Indians do.

Stable electricity would increase the purchasing power of poor people. This would create wealth, which in turn diminishes the appeal of stealing from the government. The status quo in Nigeria is such that, few opportunities exist to make money. Therefore people simply aspire to work in the public sector where all the money is.

Any Nigerian president who makes stable electricity a reality, would go down in the nation's history as the best president ever.

[RedShadow]

To name a few things i would do:
1. Break ties with the U.S and its oil intrests in the east. Then nationalize the industry.
2. Nationalize other foreign sydicates.
3. Dissolve the old tribal barriers (whilst keeping the culturally important tribes themselves) through the workforce.
4. Unify the Christians in the west and Muslims in the east. Again through labour, and setting up workers unions.
5. Increase trade with other West African countries to slow immigration.
6. Disarming of rebel groups, except for MEND (which can act as a military force in itself, in the east)
......, etc.

[Potemkin]

Any Nigerian president who makes stable electricity a reality, would go down in the nation's history as the best president ever.

"Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the Soviet Union" - V.I. Lenin.

[Bosnjak]

Throw the corrupt bureaucrats in jail for 20-30 years if any of them were convicted, that is what alot of the danish kings used to do, there was a penalty of life in jail if any state official was caught stealing from the king's treasury. That certainly seemed to limit corruption, Denmark is currently the least corrupt country in the world.

I think the North European states know at best how to deal with corruption.

Draconic punishment is necessary.

Reducing the number of state employees and paying better the remained officials.

In many developing countries are the wages so low they have to be corrupt to survive.

The fewer the corupruption the better the general and economic outlook of a country.

[Igor Antunov]

Syphon billions into my private bank account.

THEN I would try to lower corruption. Perhaps commision russia or the Us to nuke it from orbit while i'm out of the country. Corruption, poverty, bad infrastructure...all gone.

Then start over from scratch.

[J Oswald]

If I were President of Nigeria, there are a few steps I would take to rectify the problems:

1. Cut the public sector employment rolls by 40-50%, keeping only the most qualified bureaucrats in their positions.

2. At the same time, increase the salaries of the remaining workers by a significant amount, as a positive incentive against corruption.

3. Make corruption and the offering of bribes a capital offense, and strictly enforce the laws.

4. Hire a medium-sized number of Westerners as overseers for the police force, to help root out corruption in that organization.

Of course, even these rather draconian measures probably wouldn't do more than make a dent...

[Bosnjak]

If I were President of Nigeria, there are a few steps I would take to rectify the problems:

1. Cut the public sector employment rolls by 40-50%, keeping only the most qualified bureaucrats in their positions.

2. At the same time, increase the salaries of the remaining workers by a significant amount, as a positive incentive against corruption.

3. Make corruption and the offering of bribes a capital offense, and strictly enforce the laws.

4. Hire a medium-sized number of Westerners as overseers for the police force, to help root out corruption in that organization.

Of course, even these rather draconian measures probably wouldn't do more than make a dent...

This could be a cure for corruption, but we should not forget what Sun Tzu and Confucius teach: "The Leader has to be a positive example", if he breaks his own laws (being him self corrupt) so will his officers follow him.
Most 3rd World Leaders are extremly corrupt, they steal billions and hide the money in Switzerland.