CORRUPTION AND THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY
King Phrost
WHAT IS CORRUPTION?
TYPES OF CORRUPTION
It is customary to focus any discourse on corruption only on financial recklessness and stealing both in the private and public sectors.
1. Political
corruption: takes place when the political process has been hijacked by
interests that have no consideration for public good.
2. Judicial
corruption: happens in a situation whereby the sacred altar of justice has been
bought over by the powerful and influential people. As a result, the poor
cannot get justice. It means the last hope of the common man is lost. This will
enthrone injustice in society.
3. Economic
corruption is what has been the object of reference whenever people talk about
corruption as we are doing in this course. It takes place in a situation whereby
the economic system has been subjected to abuse and shady practices such that
transparency and accountability has no place in the scheme of things.
4. Moral
corruption is prevalent in an environment whereby the regular norms and mores
of a society have become so assaulted to the extent that there is moral
anarchy. It is the enthronement of immoral values and actions as if they are
the real norms at the different levels of society beginning with the family.
5. Electoral corruption:
There is electoral corruption when some of the key rituals of democracy such as
free and fair elections have not been allowed to prevail. This has been seen in
many instances in Africa where there is fragrant vote-buying, intimidation of
voters and political opponents, monetisation of the electoral process and so
on.
6. Educational
corruption: In some instances, the educational process has been so corrupted to
the extent that the attainment of true knowledge is no longer possible. The
result has been indoctrination and deformation of the mind instead of a proper
cultivation of it. Educational corruption also takes place when the real
yardstick for measuring good education has become short-changed by entities
within the system. The prevalence of sex for marks in our institutions of
higher learning today is one clear example.
7. Social
corruption: No one can deny the level of corruption in society when society is
not anchored by the right values. When a society is bereft of the right moral
compass and orientation, it is definitely going to self-destruct. The social
fabric of a nation coupled with the right political values and leadership must
be kept intact if a society is to grow properly thus preventing a breakdown of
law and order.
SOME CAUSES OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA
Corruption
which no doubt has become a hydra-headed monster in Nigeria is caused by a wide
variety of factors. A nation that worships money is unlikely to exorcise this
monster very quickly. Sadly, as corruption grows, poverty grows and the more
any hope that it will abate fades by the day. Let us discuss some of these
causes among others.
1. Lack
of Patriotism: It has often been said that Nigerians have no patriots. While
one might say this is an overstatement, there is a high degree of truth in it.
Patriotism is simply putting the interest of one’s country or nation ahead of
one’s own. Those who are corrupt clearly do not see why the interest of the
country should come before their own. Their sense of greed and personal
aggrandizement takes the better part of them that they do not see what harm is
done to the entire country through their acts of corruption.
2. Sense
of mental poverty: Poverty is not only physical, it is also mental. In most
instances, those who pilfer the resources of this country are the elites who
are already comfortable and can afford the basic necessities of life. The
problem they have is mental poverty. They still feel they are poor and so in
need of more money to satisfy their artificially created needs. For instance
someone who has a house in London wants to acquire another one in New York
simply because his friend is boasting of having one there.
3. Weak and ineffective legal and judicial system: While we pride ourselves as a nation of laws, it is sad to point out that our laws do not respond to current realities we face as a people. In many cases, the laws are weak and ineffective. We operate a country where the law is at the service of the highest bidder. There is no rule of law. How high you are in status would largely determine what kind of justice you get. Once the law is not made supreme over all, a leeway is created for many to corruptly enrich themselves believing the system cannot effectively sanction them. This has been worsened by unconscionable judges and lawyers who do not care of the good of the country but are rather interested in lining their pockets with the ill-gotten wealth of corrupt Nigerians.
4. Sense
of ostentation and vanity: Nigerians no doubt are a jolly good people. They
want to enjoy their lives to the full. Our taste for big parties and expensive
life-style and dressing makes us the most flamboyant people in the world. We
love the best of jewelries, champaignes, wines, colourful clothing materials,
Choice mansions, exotic cars and no one cares how you get them. If you have
money, you will soon be noticed by the traditional king who will give you a
chieftaincy title of “Otunba, Ogbuefi, Lolo, Yeye, Seriki” and so on. This is
in turn another occasion for lavish spending. Generally, our sense of
ostentation clearly encourages corruption because people believe with money,
you can do anything.
5. The
weakening of the traditional practices and disconnection from our traditional
backgrounds: Today, most Nigerians are far from their cultural backgrounds. The
sense of being far away in Abuja or Lagos in some ways encourage people to
steal from the commonwealth because they do not feel any sense of being
connected to their local or traditional background. In most villages, if you
suddenly become rich overnight, no one would have any respect for you because
they believe your wealth is ill-gotten. This highly applies to ‘politically
exposed persons.’ The fact that ‘honour’ no longer means that much to many
people is a serious problem. This is one of the important values that is
treasured in many traditional societies.
6. Poor
governments and bad leadership: Chinua Achebe has clearly pointed out that the
problem of Nigeria is a failure of leadership and the lack of the ability of
our leaders to lead by personal example. To say that we have had a good
government since independence is to deceive ourselves. Poor government which is
a result of bad leadership has allowed a free rein of corruption in Nigeria
both in the public and private sector.
7. Poor
law enforcement Agencies: While we have a barrage of law enforcement agents in
this country, they have not been able to deal with the problem of corruption
because they are also a part of the corrupt system. A policeman extorting 20
Naira from the commuters or okada riders cannot enforce any law. He is already
tainted and morally compromised. The same thing goes for other agencies:
Customs. NDLEA, Civil Defence, EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau etc. These
agencies have become toothless bull-dogs. The fact that they are incapable of
dealing with the problem of corruption is a further encouragement of the act.
8. The
Problem of poor literacy and advocacy: The level of illiteracy in this country
is still very high. A lot of people still do not know their rights from their
privileges. The more educated and enlightened you are, the more likely you are
going for fight for your rights and ask for accountable governance. Education
is the most potent tool for liberation and empowerment. Sadly, many of the NGOs canvassing for the
rights of the people make so much noise and achieve so little because they seek
their funding from foreign governments and some of these monies are sometimes
poorly managed. When this is discovered, it becomes really difficult to get
their message out with the kind of integrity required.
9. Ethnicisation
of corruption cases: Ethnic, tribal and nepotistic considerations have always
tainted most important issues in this country. There is always a change of tune
the moment the accused comes from one section of the country hence dealing with
the problem objectively becomes a problem. As a result of this attitude, people
are more encouraged into acts of corruption believing that their ethnic group
will come to their rescue whenever their corruption is exposed or put forward
for trial.
Presumption of guilt until innocence is proven: In the legal world, every suspect is innocent until he is proven guilty. This has helped in deepening the culture of corruption in Nigeria. There are some apparent cases in which the guilt of certain persons was so palpable yet the principle of innocence saves them from being indicted and convicted immediately. Reversing this principle will go a long way in discouraging corruption in Nigeria. Corrupt persons should be deemed guilty until they are able to prove their innocence.
12. Poor
treatment of Pensioners: It is one of the open sores of our country that those
who have served this country meritoriously have been treated very shoddily by
the non-payment or in some cases poor payment of their dues. Many people have
died on the queues while waiting to be identified in order to receive their monthly
pension for which they have worked. Those who are presently in service are not
likely to take any lesson away from this than to steal in order to ensure a
comfortable life after they have left service. This in turn causes corruption.
The case of Maina who escaped with the pension fund of some many people some of
whom have died as a result is very fresh in our minds.
THE ORIGIN OF CORRUPTION IN OUR LOCAL CULTURES
The claim has been made that in indigenous Africa, the generousity of people when it comes to appreciating the favours received cannot be overemphasized. People show their gratitude by offering something back in cash or kind. This is what by Yusuf Ali called the “Kola concept”. He explains it in this way: “the level or measure of acceptance a guest enjoys from his host or someone who has done him a favour is normally determinable by the number and size of the Kolanuts presented.” It must be said that while this has to do with appreciating favours received, the intention is far more than this. It is a way of throwing water down so that you can you can step on wet ground in future. While it may be done to appreciate present favours it is also anticipatory of future ones. As Ali would say, our indigenous tradition is very big in offering gifts to signify acceptance, gratitude and cordiality. Sadly, in many cases, this has been interpreted as a ‘gesture of inducement’. This could be considered a subtle preparation for what is now called grand corruption today.
Allied to this issue of “Kolanut” culture is the culture of gratitude. For many people in most traditions in Nigeria, gratitude is very important. It is of vital importance to thank people profusely for whatever good or favour they have done you. Anyone that fails to show gratitude is often seen as an ingrate. While this may not be seen within most Nigerian communities as corrupt, it is nevertheless seen in this light of how society is today. Any action done in order to weaken people’s moral resolve or solicit for help or assistance in any way is corrupt. It doesn’t really matter if it is done before or after any act, what matters is that an action is done to accept or curry unusual favours and the intent is corrupt.
THE
EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF CORRUPTION
In some quarters, corruption has been categorized as a crime against humanity and this to me is stating the obvious. Every evil act must engender a serious consequence for everyone in society. As far as corruption is concerned, it is not only the poor masses that are affected by the evil act of corruption but the rich as well. Many years ago, a former minister in Nigeria who was a high-ranking military officer was killed in a terrible car crash occasioned by a deadly pothole on the road. He was General Abdulkareem Adisa. In other words, the rich and the poor are victims of corruption perpetrated by just a few of us. It is very apparent that while many countries in the developed world are making a quantum leap in terms of per capita income as well as the provision of the basic necessities of life such as drinkable water, electricity, good roads, good healthcare facilities, rail transportation, qualitative education and so on, we are going backward daily in the provision of these important necessities of life. If we look at Malaysia, China, Thailand just to mention a few, we would see that at a point in the seventies, they were far behind Nigeria. What stands between us and them is corruption. While they plough their resources into building up their infrastructure so that they can make them a haven for tourists, people are busy stealing our resources through multifarious acts of corruption. While they are busy investing for the rainy days knowing that one day, the resources of today may deplete or be in scarce supply, our elite are busy stealing our country blind. Just see what the Emirates have done. Our elites are eating our resources with their two hands as if there is no tomorrow and we are watching helplessly. Our country has become a laughing stock because the degree and height of our corruption is not only scandalous but almost next to none.
So as a nation, corruption has
crippled us and slowed down if not make impossible our advancement towards
economic and social progress. We make so much money from the oil and other
sectors of the economy yet there is nothing to show for it. We are one of the
biggest producers of crude oil in the world but we have to import refined fuel.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti the late Afro-beat
music legend sang about corruption over three decades ago and it is still the case
or far worse today.
For everything that is wrong in this country
today, there is always a trace to corruption at its roots. Let us sample some
of these problems in different sectors of our national life.
1. Infrastructural
deficit and decay: It is pretty obvious today that we have some of the worst
roads in the world a lot of which are clear death-traps. Why are our roads as
bad as they are? The answer is simple? In most cases because contracts are
awarded but not executed. Where there is any execution at all, the quality of
work done is so poor that in no time, the new road is worse than ever. Whoever
dies on a road of this sort has been killed by the rogue contractor who has
refused to do his work well or did not do anything at all. This is first class
murder. People like this have blood in their hands. Corruption provides the
quickest road to death.
2. Poverty
multiplication because of poor power supply: The provision of power in most
developed nations of world has multiplier effects on the manufacturing sector
and other critical sectors of the economy. The provision of regular power
supply has been made to look impossible in Nigeria due to the corruption of our
leaders. At a point it was ECN, then NEPA and now PHCN. The truth is that there
has been no serious investment in this sector while a lot of what was meant to
be used to build up the infrastructure is being taken away into private pockets.
Worse still, the privatization that was embarked upon was poorly done and our
collective patrimonies were sold for peanuts to the cronies of the Jonathan
administration. This is indeed corruption. Epileptic or no power supply at all
is due to corruption. Power supply in turn checkmates criminality most
especially at night.
3. Poor
quality of education: The downward trend in education at all levels in this
country today is because of corruption. Clearly, what is budgeted for education
at the Federal and state levels is far below what is stipulated by the United
Nations. It is why there are no adequate facilities in our schools and the
moral of the teachers is abysmally low. More investment in education will lead
to more capacity development without which unqualified people will man every
sector of our economy. This is a recipe for disaster. Creating mass illiteracy
is capable of creating a more divided society with more people being
disadvantaged and falling below the poverty line. Creating such a crowd means
that more people are open to manipulation by the political elite most
especially during elections. More so, it makes it more difficult to create the
needed capacity needed to run the various sectors of the economy. Mass
illiteracy will inevitably lead to mass poverty if care is not taken because
good education is veritable passport to a brighter and better future.
4. High
child and maternal mortality: It is unheard of in many parts of the world today
that mothers die while giving birth or that children die at birth. This is
increasingly becoming very common in this country because of ill-equipped
hospitals as well as poor quality staff.
5. Poor
health facilities: It is popular knowledge that our public health sector is
nothing to write home about. It is ill-equipped, poorly managed and hardly
enough for the population. Corruption has something to do with this fact that
society is underserved by our poor health sector. With frequent doctors and
nurses’ strike, many have been forced to look for greener pastures. Those who
have been courageous to stay behind have become frustrated because of so many
factors that assault our health system. Medical tourism is prevalent because of
our poor health sector. This is clearly one of the consequences of corruption.
6. Insecurity
of lives and property: By and large, Nigeria is counted today as one of the
troubled spots in the world. The Boko Haram palaver has been allowed to fester
because of corruption. The case of those who shared the over two billion
dollars meant to purchase arms for the soldiers at the theatre of war fighting
Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East
as evident in the current prosecution of Colonel Sambo Dasuki is still
fresh in our minds.
7. Poverty
created by poor governance leads to less opportunities for many resulting in
taking to desperate means to survive. In a country as rich and blessed as
Nigeria, there is enough for everyone to live by if there was no corruption.
Rolling out millions of barrels of crude oil on a daily basis, our income can
provide, good housing, education, effective transportation system, adequate
power supply etc. It is a place where people should want for nothing. But
corruption has made Nigeria a vale of tears, a place where the citizens would
wish it were better for them to be citizens of other countries where things
work than their very own. Because of the massive unemployment today with over
60 million unemployed, many have taken to all sorts of criminal acts,
prostitution have become more prevalent because many women are of the view that
they have no choice to use their bodies to get financial independence: the
saying is “use what you have to get what you want.” Many have become robbers
and fraudsters out of the thinking that if there is no way out of their
poverty, they will create a way somehow. For anyone who has done anything
untoward, the blame should be put squarely at the shoulders of those who corruptly
enrich themselves with the nation’s resources. They are the real enemies of the
people and could rightly said to be committing genocide and crimes against
humanity. The poverty created by corruption dehumanises. This point should be
clear to all.
SOLUTIONS AND THE WAY-OUT
Lest
we despair about the economic state of our country and the harm that corruption
has done to us as a people, is there any silver lining and way out of our
present predicament of corruption and brigandage? To throw up our hands in
despair will be unhelpful. As I earlier stated, corruption is a human problem.
This means that most countries of the world especially Western democracies have
been like we are today. With the gradual efforts they were able to reach a
level whereby corruption is frowned at and severely sanctioned. If they could
navigate their way out of the quagmires of corruption and poverty, then we can.
The first solution to this serious
problem is embarking upon a programme of thorough ethical revolution. Right
from the elementary schools, programmes and courses should be designed to
create the awareness that poverty is indeed harmful to all citizens including
those who are engaged in corruption. This programme should also be designed for
secondary and tertiary levels of education as well as vocational and technical
schools. There is the need for a new consciousness which I would call
“Conscientization.” It must be engrained in people’s consciousness that
corruption is dangerous for society and anyone who is truly human must shun
corrupt enrichment and of necessity hate it. People must be encouraged to
report corruption cases as part of their civic responsibilities. In other
words, the ‘whistle blower’ policy must become an official policy of the
country and by that very fact every citizen. An ethical rebirth and revolution
will do a lot to change the direction of our country from the perilous path of
corruption to a new culture of probity and accountability. In the end, it seems
what will help deal a heavy blow on corruption in this country may not be the
multiplication of corruption fighting agencies but a personal attitude that
will engender that people to see avoiding corruption as a way of building a
better society.
Another
solution that has been suggested is the “Russian Solution”. In Russian, the
government made it an official policy for those with ill-gotten wealth to
plough a large percentage of what they have stolen into the manufacturing
sector. With this, they are part-owners of the business but a good proportion
of the proceeds will go to government.
Are these the only solutions? The
answer is NO. There are other radical solutions. It has been said that those
who engage corrupt enrichment cause poverty which apparently can and thus lead
to death. Since Nigerians love the good life, many have felt that poverty is
the reason why we have a low quality of life in Nigeria, those who indulge in
corruption should not be allowed to enjoy the fruits of their stolen wealth
which actually belongs to all of us. This is why people have proposed the China
solution which is DEATH SENTENCE. It has been said that by embarking on this
policy, the Chinese Communist Party has been able to deal decisively with the
problem of corruption as a result of which it has been reduced to the barest
minimum. Once Nigerians see that the way of corruption is the quickest way to
death, those who are attracted to corruption will think twice before indulging
themselves in this evil act.
Sentencing people who are guilty of
corruption to death will come with a lot of complications. Who will present
such a bill and pass it into law? The present national assembly has no good
supply of men and women of integrity to do so. Many of them are corrupt
elements. Some are standing trial for corruption at the moment most especially
the ex-governors. These people are not likely going to pass any law which may
be used to convict them. We therefore need more cleansing and sanitization in
our politics to vote in men and women of integrity into all arms of government:
executive, legislative and judiciary so as to be able to make laws that can
positively impact on society. Nigeria can be a far better country and indeed
the envy of the world in a matter of years if corruption and bad leadership are
dethroned. We must conclude the course on positive note that all Nigerians must
see the defeat of corruption as something that can be done only if we are all
determined. Determination and creating the right disposition will help us in
the attainment of this seemingly tall but lofty goal.
As young men and women who will form the next generation of leaders, see corruption in whatever form as an enemy that must be fought and evil to be avoided. Be it in the form of examination malpractice, stealing, fraud and other sundry practices, corruption is not and cannot be a force for good but ill. Thanks for all your attention.
please subscribe to the channel
Comments
Post a Comment