News Exercise #138

You may have seen on the news recently that British Prime Minister David Cameron had been overheard telling the Queen that Nigeria is “fantastically corrupt”. (In this case, “fantastically” is similar to “unbelievably”)
This is perhaps the most difficult news topic so far because of his Nigerian accent. His English is correct but not so clear. Don’t worry if you can’t catch much, but it’s good to experience not only British and American English.

1. What three areas is he working on improving in Nigeria?
2. When asked “What is the scale of corruption in Nigeria?” he answered:
“It’s ____, and I decided to ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____, and that’s when ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____. Other details, we have to wait for ____ ____ ____ ____ ____, hopefully, to ____ ____.”
3. How does he plan to find evidence of government money being transferred illegally into Europe and America?
4. According to him, how does Britain minimise the possibility of their financial aid being taken by corrupt people?

Answers:
1. What three areas is he working on improving in Nigeria?
Security, economy, and mostly end financial corruption.
2. When asked “What is the scale of corruption in Nigeria?” he answered:
“It’s enormous, and I decided to comprehensively address Nigeria on the 29th of May, and that’s when I will reveal some of the details. Other details, we have to wait for documentation that would lead us, hopefully, to successful prosection.”
3. How does he plan to find evidence of government money being transferred illegally into Europe and America?
He will try to get evidence from financial institutions (banks), through their shipping lines (methods of transfer).
4. According to him, how does Britain minimise the possibility of their financial aid being taken by corrupt people?
They are ensuring that the money is used for building infrastructure. British have been in Nigeria since before their independence in 1960, so they are capable of understanding the exact costs of infrastructure, thus minimising the possibility of corruption.