By: YABAWA ISMAILA BORNO
The Chairman of the Nigeria/Korea Parliamentary Friendship Association and Deputy Speaker of the Republic of Korea National Assembly, Lee Ju-yong, has called on Nigeria to find its own ways of tackling its corruption problem from within as it is a huge impediment to growth.
Speaking in Abuja, during a visit to the Korean Cultural Centre, Mr Lee, who led a delegation of South Korean parliamentarians to the May 29 inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, said his country has had corruption issues and has taken a tough stand against the practice and hence Nigeria must also find solutions that work for it.
Former Korean President Lee Myung Bak was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison for graft and other offences while two of his successors, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were also convicted for corruption after leaving office.
While commenting on the recent peace talks in the Korean Peninsula, Mr. Lee is skeptical of the sincerity of the North Korean leadership over nuclear disarmament in the peninsula saying, “Denuclearization is essential but I am not sure the North Korean leader has real intentions to disarm.
The world, including Nigeria, has a role to play in nuclear disarmament. North and South Korea are technically still at war since the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, with hostilities ceasing following the signing of an armistice in July 1953.