The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Paul Arkwright, has said the corrupt reputation of Nigeria had been preventing British investors from coming to Nigeria to invest.
Apart from this, he said the fight against corruption should not only be about sending high profile offenders to jail, but the country should build strong institutions that would outlive the leaders of the country.
The envoy said this while delivering a lecture titled “Brexit: Lessons, Challenges and Opportunities for Nigeria”, held at the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State on Friday.
He noted that corruption remained a major impediment to the socio economic development of the nation, stressing the readiness of the British government to assist Nigeria in fighting the scourge.
According to him, Britain had been working with the federal government to ensure that the problem is solved and the country is able to develop.
Arkwright said his country had been assisting in the areas of institutional reform, investigation and repatriation of Nigeria’s assets in the United Kingdom (UK).
The British High Commissioner, however, said his country had left the European Union and was not prepared to rejoin the body.
He explained that while brexit did not mean that Britain was departing Europe, the country took the stand because it doesn’t want to follow other countries’ models.
He said the development would enable Britain to engage in fresh thinking, as it was ready to face the challenges associated with the decision.
Speaking on the opportunities that brexit has for Nigeria, Arkwright said the UK partnership with Africa would continue as it was committed to fighting poverty in the continent.
He stated that Britain had given no fewer than 5.8 million people access to education, 23.7 million people water and sanitation, while 30 million girls and women had access to nutritional support.
He said many thing would not change despite brexit, adding that the £4 billion per annum trade with Nigeria by his country would not be affected.
He said, “UK wants to increase its market share in Nigeria to further encourage investors. Our exit from EU will not in anyway affect Nigeria and our relationship with the country, it can only be better”.
He however said there was the need to make it visa issuance process by Nigeria easier, simpler and quicker as the country look forward to expanding its economy.