14th UNAFEI UNCAC TRAINING PROGRAMMEON“EFFECTIVE LEGAL AND PRACTICAL MEASURES AGAINST CORRUPTION”
CLOSING CEREMONY
09 NOV. 2011
Thank You Remark by Ms. Sharon Onyubeke Ogiri-Okpe from NIGERIA

Hon. Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Mr. Tatsuya Sakuma; Director of UNAFEI,Mr. Osamu Shimizu; President of the Research and Training Institute of Ministry of Justice,
Mr. Hisanao Noda; Deputy Director of TIC, JICA,
UNAFEI Faculty and Staff members,
JICA Staff members,
Distinguished guests,
Fellow Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen

My task here tonight is very simple yet very heavy; I feel very honoured and privileged tostand before this elite gathering to make a remark, yet, I feel burdened what a paradox! This isbecause I am to give a vote of thanks on behalf of the participants of the 14th UNAFEI UNCAC
Training Programme. Thank you speech comes only at the end of an event- therefore thank you
speech tonight means “SAYONARA”. I hope you do understand my difficulties. I just wish tostate in the beginning that we are not making this thank you speech as a mere formality but we1

genuinely and deeply wish to express our gratitude to all people and organizations that made thiscourse a success.

We want to first express our profound and sincere gratitude and appreciation to theGovernment of Japan, its people, JICA and last but not least UNAFEI for providing us with thisunique opportunity for comparative study in the fight against corruption.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this training course has 22 participants from 11
different countries, including Japan. We are also of different professional backgrounds such as thejudiciary, public prosecution service, police, investigators from ACAs, etc. The diversity innationality and professional background has broadened our views and enriched our knowledge andhelped us in better understanding the response of criminal justice in its fight against corruption.
Leaving familiar environment to a new place always has a measure of apprehension.
However, as participants arrived from different directions, we were met with efficient and friendly
welcome provided by JICA staff at Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Center.
On arrival at UNAFEI, what a welcome party met us at the entrance, it was royal! Thenlater at night, we were introduced to the famous Lounge B. Ladies and gentlemen, Lounge B is anexperience! If you have not been there, I recommend you make acquaintance with UNAFEI
quickly so you can gain entrance in. The warmth and sincerity exhibited by the management andstaff of UNAFEI immediately helped us to cast off our differences in culture, background etc andwe began to sing and dance. This broke the ice and therefore created a foundation for bonding
which is a key to networking.

2The theoretical and academic aspects of the training course was covered by Individual
Presentations, Lectures, Group Workshops and Report Back session, while practical learning wasdone by a carefully planned and executed Visits of Observation/Study tours. In particular, ourvisits to Tokyo District and Supreme Courts, Hiroshima High and District Prosecutors Offices,
Kyoto District Public Prosecutors Office, Mine Rehabilitation Program Center, Tokyo
Metropolitan Police Department and Kobe Customs. This visits deepened our understanding ofwhat we learnt through the lectures. And also to appreciate practices employed by the Japanesecriminal justice system.
Ladies and gentlemen, we must mention the awesomeness of the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum. Walking quietly through the many chambers of the museum, I had a glimpseof what the people of Japan went through as a consequence of war. The experience has enabled us
to appreciate much more the need for peaceful coexistence and peaceful resolution of disputes. It isindeed very saddening to have seen what the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki went through andit is our prayer it will never happen again to anyone. The world has a great deal to learn from theJapanese! We definitely cannot forget the breathtaking beauty of Miyajima Island. Nor can weforget the adventure with different Japanese dishes.
On behalf of the participants, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ACPF again
for hosting us to the first dinner party at UNAFEI and an elegant party at the gorgeous Meiji
Kinenkan. We have also noted that ACPF has supported UNAFEI with a lot of equipment
including some of the ones in our rooms. Mention must also be made of the hosting by Rotary3Club of Tokyo Fuchu at Tokyo Horse Race Course. We were delighted to be recipients of such
wonderful hospitality.
It is a great honour and privilege to have you as our Director, Mr. Tatsuya Sakuma. We
thank you, Sakuma san for your dedication to professionalism, friendship and quiet fatherly
presence in all our activities including those at Lounge B. We are also thankful to the Deputy
Director, Mr. Ukawa, a man of clean and crisp language, and a professional to the core, yet with avoice that can sing my pains away. To the rest of the Professors of UNAFEI, its amazing how you
found time and joy to attend our lectures and also joined us in social activities including taking us
out on sight-seeing. To you, we say “ARIGATO GOZAIMAS”!
Ladies and gentlemen, special mention must be made of our Programming Officers,Professor Harada and Professor Tada, who did not just work with the “letters” but also, with the“spirit” of the training programme. You helped us to take the first steps that have led to theimmense success of this programme. Never tired to attend to the minutest issues concerning us.
Professor Harada and Professor Tada, we thank you.
Professors Izumi and Yanaka, you were always at hand with your wise and caring attention.
Thank you. Professor Sakonji and Ms Lord, we thank you.
Tani San, who went about her duties with brisk precision and gentleness. Thank you.
We wish to thank our professional photographers. Thank you for the so many cameras you had tohandle at the same time.
Distinguished guests, permit me to mention our dear coordinator, Shimoda San for herpatience and kindness which made us felt at home. A challenge whispered to her, was a problem

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solved. When we went out on activities, Shimoda San together with Sasabe San or Tashima San
would take a roll call thus: Aweh San… Thalib San…Katala San…Sumitomo San…andeverybody would join in chorusing the names, but they would not stop until they were sureeverybody was in the vehicle. Thank you Shimoda San, thank you
Because of the calibre of guests here tonight, it would be impolite to make long speeches, I
am to make just a remark. Therefore do not feel less appreciated if your name is not particularly
mentioned. We acknowledge and appreciate the kindness shown by all staff of UNAFEI. They
made us felt special and loved. When we took trips out, they sent us like we were never comingback and yet received us back at the entrance with big smiles and a warm welcome no matter how
late the time was. The Secretariat, Secretarial Staff, General and Financial Affairs, Training andHostel Management Affairs, International Research Affairs, Interpreters and Catering Staff havedone a wonderful job demonstrating the depth of Japanese hospitality. “ARIGATO GOZAIMAS”
for the great selfless job done by each of you.
Permit me at this juncture to appreciate our Japanese colleagues with whom we have sharedexperiences these past four weeks. Each one of you is a wonderful caring person and we havecherished and enjoyed every moment spent with you. Thank you very much, friends, for all you
have done.
Ladies and gentlemen, today, we stand between two moods; one, of joy and excitement, theother, of sadness. Joy and excitement because we have acquired so much knowledge on the bestpractices in combating corruption which is now a global concern. We can hardly wait to return toour respective countries to begin to lay the foundations that will bring transformations to oursocieties. On the other hand sad because the memorable days we have spent in UNAFEI as a5

family have come to an end. However, we would like to make a commitment that the tolerance,respect, cooperation and friendship that we have shared for the past four weeks will not end here.
The Laughter and happiness we shared will remain in our hearts forever. As we know, corruptionis an offence without borders. Therefore, we need to strengthen our ties, cooperation, share
information and broaden our knowledge to meet the future challenges we will face. The fightagainst corruption is definitely not an easy one, but with commitment, determination andcollaboration, near zero level corruption can be achieved in our societies!
Let’s stay in touch and remain friends for the rest of our LIVES!
Thank you very much!

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