Expectations of Nigeria-UAE pacts

…also published in Daily Trust

A few days following President Muhammadu Buhari’s return from his recent medical vacation in Britain, he ratified some treaties and pacts with a number of organizations and countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Unsurprisingly, due to the particularly obvious anti-corruption dimension of the bundle of bilateral agreements between Nigeria and the UAE, it attracted more media attention hence more public interest in Nigeria. It includes Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters, Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Extradition treaty.

Over the years, many corrupt Nigerian government officials aided by their accomplices among some businessmen have exploited the UAE’s liberal foreign investment system to launder huge amounts of stolen public funds and/or invest in the country’s various economic sectors especially the real estate sector. Either directly or through accomplices, they own expensive properties in different locations in the country including some of Dubai’s most expensive areas e.g. Emirates Hills, The Meadows, Palm Jumeirah, JLT, Marina etc.

Likewise, many Nigerians also conduct international financial transactions in and through Dubai, transacting in huge amounts of money from questionable sources in Nigeria. Needless to say, there are often many incidents of finance-related crimes involving many Nigerians in the country especially in Dubai city.

Though I have no idea which between the two countries had taken the initiative to propose these agreements, appropriate documents of the agreements were signed by relevant UAE and Nigerian officials in the presence of President Buhari during his three-day official visit to the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi early last year.

What is, however, quite clear is that the two countries pursue two different, yet not conflicting agendas in the agreements. The UAE, on the one hand, is apparently more interested in safeguarding its global reputation as a reliable and attractive foreign investment destination, especially in view of some allegations that it has become a destination for laundering and investing illicit wealth, and also a sanctuary for fugitive foreign government officials facing corruption charges in their various countries. It has, therefore, apparently realized that it simply can’t afford to be in any way linked with the notoriety the name Nigeria unfortunately represents globally as a result of the activities of some Nigerians.

This is even though it (UAE) already realizes the implications of the implementation of these agreements on the inflows of resources from Nigeria, which will certainly decrease drastically. After all, its economy is too rich to be affected by the exit of corrupt Nigerians’ investments from it. Besides, the estimated worth of Nigerians’ investments in the UAE is massively exaggerated.  Interestingly, the staggering amount of $200 billion estimated worth of Nigerians’ investments in the UAE, which even some Nigerian media often claim, is too ridiculous to comprehend.

Anyway, one the other hand, the Buhari administration makes it clear that, by ratifying these agreements, it seeks to retrieve the illicit resources stolen by corrupt Nigerian government officials over the years, and stashed away in UAE banks or invested in any economic sector there, as it also seeks to secure the extradition of those involved who are still staying in the UAE back to Nigeria to face prosecution. 

It now remains to be seen how Nigeria would handle the necessary legal and diplomatic processes to achieve these. I, for one, believe it isn’t going to be difficult. After all, there are already some reports indicating that several suspected corrupt Nigerian government officials and their properties in the UAE had already been identified. Therefore, all eyes are now on the Nigerian institutions and agencies concerned e.g. the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to see how they will handle the processes. At this juncture, it’s highly recommended that Nigeria sets up an EFCC coordination office in the Nigerian Embassy, Abu Dhabi for prompt and more efficient coordination with relevant UAE agencies and institutions in this regard.

On a lighter note, Nigerian citizens serving various jail sentences in the UAE prisons may not welcome the implementation of the particular part of the agreements that provides for the transfer of sentenced persons between the two countries, because it simply means transferring them from the UAE’s “luxurious” prisons to the hellholes called prisons in Nigeria, to complete their jail sentences, whereas, the UAE citizens serving jail sentences in Nigerian prisons, if any at all, will definitely welcome it.