July 2nd-8th, 2018, Transparency International (TI) Summer School student Nosakhare Jefferson Osemwota from Benin City, Nigeria, is attending the annual Transparency International (TI) Anti-Corruption Summer School held at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU).
Now working towards his Master's Degree in Estonia's Tallinn University of Technology (TUT), Nosakhare decided to spend part of his summer attending the Summer School in Vilnius.
Discussing corruption in Europe and Nigeria, he said that looking at Europe, for example in Spain, there is corruption, but there is still running water and health care that works...basic services.
"In Nigeria, nothing is really working - look at health care, look at running water, look at basic necessities. The problem is that the elite is wicked and they don't care. The problem of Africa and also of Nigeria is not corruption, but the wickedness of elites," said the eloquent Nigerian student.
Nosakhare said that if corruption were the problem, then Nigeria would be "far better developed than it is today."
From my personal experience, from my travels to Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Russia, Denmark, I wanted to understand the problem of Nigeria and if it was corruption, he said.
As for the solution, he said that capital punishment for corruption offences would provide "a huge solution."
"I know my people. If Nigerians are scared of one thing, they are scared of death."
In addition, he said that Nigerians do not identify themselves as Nigerians so much as by tribes.
"To see the dividends of democracy, it will take some time," said the 26-year-old student. "Nigeria is very big and Nigeria is deeply divided," he added.
'In Nigeria, corruption is embedded in the foundation stones of the country," he added.
Therefore, the TI Summer School which is packed with information about politics and money, was helpful.
"This has been a very good breeding ground," he said. "The environment here has been conducive to have this knowledge," he added.
"It's been a good journey so far," he said content with the knowledge he has gained during a short time in Vilnius.