Americans are in no position to joke about Nigerian corruption

President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner recently conducted some high-stakes diplomacy in Pakistan to bolster a delicate ceasefire with Iran, this despite having no formal job or title in the administration, no legislative confirmation and significant business ties to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, four countries directly affected by the war.

In an October interview with CBS News, Kushner sought to reframe his conflicts of interest as “experience and trusted relationships that we have throughout the world,” as if the billions of dollars his investment fund has taken from Middle Eastern governments doesn’t raise questions about whose interests he’s advancing.

Kushner, it turns out, is not the only one with a blind spot.

When I mention to Americans that I lived in Nigeria for four years, where I directed government-funded anti-corruption programs for the U.S. Agency for International Development, it often elicits vaguely coherent jokes about Nigerian princes and scams. It’s true, Nigerian society has been badly disfigured by corruption. But an honest look at how U.S. government resources have been redirected for private gain reveals uncomfortable truths about a country that is in some ways more corrupt than Nigeria. Yet we fail to appreciate the effects of corruption here, particularly its insidious contribution to breaking the trust Americans have in each other. The joke is on us.

I first crossed into Nigeria as a young journalist about 20 years ago in the worst way possible — by land. It was a bit like running an obstacle course, with less running and more bribing. A half-dozen men on the side of the road each proclaimed to be passport control, and each confiscated my documents until I “dashed them small,” donating a few dollars to their wallets.

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