Students are critical stakeholders in tackling twin problems of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) in Nigeria and West Africa, the Director General of Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Justice Kimelabalou Aba has said.
He said it is imperative for GIABA and all stakeholders, “including academia, to deepen our collaboration to effectively counter these criminals – we need a network of good people to counter the network of evil people. Criminals may be smart, but they often end up outsmarting themselves.”
Justice Aba disclosed this in an opening remark at the 4th Annual Public Awareness Lecture Series on AML/CFT held on Tuesday at the Nile University Abuja.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that the three earlier editions of the lecture series were held in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (2011), Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan (2014), and University of Benin, Nigeria (2017).
The GIABA director general said the lecture, organized in partnership with the Nile University Abuja, “specifically targets deepening students’ knowledge base at the tertiary level in AML/CFT within the region.”
He said, in GIABA, “we consider the school system as a critical stakeholder in this endeavor.” He said educational institutions “are the orchards that nurture the future human fruits of a nation – many good and bad people in society today pass through the school system, and the system would have influenced both.”
“As the foremost socializing institution in the society after the family, the school system should do more to deliver future good leaders for the society – leaders that can be trusted to deliver development and good governance for their people and not under development and misery,” the GIABA chief said.
Mr Aba said “it is our firm conviction that the ivory tower has a strategic role to play in molding the character of our youth even more so than learning because a man or woman without character will always end up destroying what he/she built. In contrast, people of character can always be trusted even with little learning.”
He appealed to the academia to take a greater interest in “promoting academic discussion and research on money laundering and terrorist financing, especially because of their negative impact on society, the fluidity of the subject matter, and the changing character of the game players.
“I wish to equally urge the university authorities to continue to show good examples in leadership, sound financial management, and transparency and accountability – you cannot do any less because you are in the spotlight of academic scrutiny – because he who loses his reputation has truly lost everything.”
The GIABA boss said there is a need for increased awareness of the negative impacts of money laundering and terrorism financing on the Nigeria in all the university communities and other tertiary institutions across the country. These are matters of importance; they are the issues of today.
He acknowledged that the journey towards countering money laundering and terrorist financing “has been slow and uneven as the Panama Papers, the Pandora Papers, and the activities of terrorists in our region will force us to acknowledge.”
He, however, said the practical implementation of AML/CFT standards within the West African region “has many unique challenges, but it can be done. What is required is dynamic, collective, concerted, coordinated, and collaborative efforts at all levels.”
He said the lecture series is a platform for the exchange of thoughts and ideas that will broaden the understanding of the adverse effects of money laundering and terrorist financing regarding economic development, prosperity, human security, the rule of law, political stability, democracy, and well-being of citizens.
Some of the key speakers at the event include the Chief Executive Officer of NFIU, Mr. Tukur Moddibo; Executive Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye; the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa; and the Vice-Chancellor of the Nile University of Nigeria, Professor Osman Nuri, among others.
