STAKEHOLDERS have called for stronger legal frameworks across West Africa to safeguard whistleblowers and boost the fight against corruption.
The stakeholders made the call on Tuesday, November 26, at a two-day conference, organised by African Centre For Media And Information Literacy (AFRICMI)
The call came as the region continues to grapple with systemic corruption that hinders economic growth, stability, and democratic development and also the increasing witch-hunting of whistleblowers.
In a keynote address, Etannibi Alemika, a professor and a stakeholder in anti-corruption and governance, highlighted how corruption continued to stifle economic growth, security, and democratic processes in the region.
Alemika pointed to the crucial role that whistleblowers play in exposing corrupt practices. He said they often prevent financial losses and inefficiencies before they escalate.
However, he cautioned that without robust legal protection, whistleblowers in many West African countries face retaliation, intimidation, and harm, deterring citizens from coming forward to expose corrupt practices.
Despite adopting anti-corruption measures like the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and regional agreements, Alemika noted that many countries in West Africa had yet to establish solid frameworks to protect those who expose corruption.
He pointed out the shortcomings of Nigeria’s Whistleblower Policy, which has faced challenges despite being a step in the right direction due to inadequate protection for informants and weak implementation.
Alemika argued that the lack of whistleblower protection laws is one of the key reasons corruption persists in the region. He added that many West African countries struggle to hold people accountable even with laws prohibiting corrupt practices due to weak enforcement and a lack of effective monitoring mechanisms.
“Existing anti-corruption legislations in most West African countries lack adequate provision on whistleblowing and whistleblower protection. Consequently, the potential of whistleblowing in preventing and combatting corruption has not been adequately explored, developed and realised.
“Protection of whistleblowers is vital to the success of its use as an anti-corruption measure. Perpetrators of corruption are politically and economically powerful and do not hesitate to carry out reprisal against whistleblowers,” he said.
According to him, the purpose of whistleblower protection legislation is to guarantee the confidentiality and anonymity of individuals who provide information on corrupt practices and also to defend them when they face reprisal and persecution from those involved in corruption that they reported.
He stressed that without protection, very few individuals will be willing to engage in whistleblowing.
Only Ghana has whistleblower law among ECOWAS countries
On the issue of West African countries not having laws that safeguard whistleblowers, AFRICMIL coordinator, Chido Onumah, stated that only Ghana had pioneered the protection of whistleblowers law among ECOWAS countries.
Onumah, while giving his opening remark, emphasised that despite the West African bloc’s commitment to promoting transparency and accountability, the absence of protective legal frameworks in most countries hindered the fight against corruption.
He said lack of accountability and transparency in the management of resources by the governments in power often impacted negatively on the development of countries in the sub-region.
“Of the 15 countries that make up ECOWAS, only Ghana has a whistleblower protection law. This is not a good advertisement for ECOWAS, whose region is consistently rated poorly on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and the majority of whose member countries are still considered as the most corrupt countries in the world.
“The pervasiveness of entrenched structural corruption in most countries in West Africa, despite abundant endowment in mineral and natural resources, has no doubt made it a region infested with poverty. Lack of accountability, integrity and transparency in the management of resources by the governments in power are mostly identified as the reasons for this deplorable trend,” he said.
Meanwhile, many speakers at the event, including panellists, called for a regional push to improve legislation on whistleblowing and whistleblower protection.
They also urged West African governments to adopt comprehensive measures that prioritise transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in the fight against corruption.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M