President Kagame early on Tuesday arrived in the Nigerian capital Abuja, where he gave a keynote address at the opening of the National Democracy Day Anti-Corruption Summit, which was hosted by his counterpart, Muhammadu Buhari.

During his address, Kagame stressed that corruption requires about four key principles: Culture, responsibility, accountability, and effectiveness.

"We must discard the myth that corruption is endemic to particular cultures,” said Kagame.

Kagame demystified the myth that corruption is an African thing, saying that corruption is not part of the destiny for Africa as a continent.

"Corruption is a universal weakness, not an African one, and it is not part of our destiny as a continent. Indeed, research has shown that some of the biggest sources and beneficiaries of corruption are outside of Africa, and this has always been the case,” he said.

Held under the theme "Curbing Electoral Spending: A panacea to Public Corruption” the summit is organised by the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in collaboration with the Presidential Inauguration Planning Committee.

According a statement from the Office of the President, President Kagame was invited to speak about Rwanda's fight against corruption which has led to Rwanda emerging among the three less corrupted countries in Africa for the last two years by the global anti-corruption body, Transparency International.

Rwanda was also the first country in Africa to introduce the e-procurement system in 2016.

In 2018, President Buhari championed the African Union theme "Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.

On the second day of his visit, President Kagame is expected to attend the official inauguration ceremony of President Buhari who was reelected in February of this year.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com