How Double Standard Nurtures Widespread Corruption that Entrenched Poverty in Africa

Abstract

Using secondary sources of data or information such as articles, reports, research papers, and working papers obtained from the internet, this study conceptually explicates how double standard nurtures widespread corruption that entrenched abject poverty in Africa. The paper argues that while the West including its media has been conspicuous for taking punitive actions (sanctions, freezing accounts) on corrupt African leaders, it has also been conspicuously silent on the role played by Western financial institutions and corporations that facilitate the transfer and laundering of stolen funds from Africa. The paper also argues that the tens of billions of dollars that leave the shores of Africa could have been used to address or tackle poverty in Africa. As such, the paper opined that the failure of the West to institute penal action against Western financial institutions and corporations that facilitate the transfer and laundering of stolen funds from Africa validates hypocrisy and the double standards of its stance of fight corruption in Africa. Therefore, the paper concludes that Africa reliance on the West to help fight against widespread corruption responsible for abject poverty is not only an illusion but must be viewed with serious skepticism.