Evil (corruption) thrives in Nigeria simply because there is a positive reward attached to it; often there are no effective sanctions and it has become profitable to be corrupt. All over the world, no human being will be less corrupt when s(he) realises that corruption has no negative penalty strings attached, that is why there is no country that assumes her citizens will not be corrupt simply by having no laws and stiff sanctions against corruption.
In some societies like China, Saudi Arabia and Cuba, corruption is equivalent to committing murder and the sanction is death penalty. In praxis, if you embezzled millions meant to procure drugs for public health institutions, scam funds meant for good roads and drinkable water and people consequently die in millions as we have in Nigeria, then what the corrupt has done is to commit mass murder. Corruption is an instinctive, reflex action in many Nigerians.
Watch a Nigerian coming to your office for the first time, it is common s(he) fiddles with your private documents on your table. It was not like this before now, it grew during the Shagari years and blossomed in the Babangida era. We focus too much on corruption by politicians not to deal with corruption at its roots: your mechanic who claims to buy fuel pump for 30k when the cost is 5k, you buy the construction material for your engineer at your site to save cost, but he sells them off, you buy petrol and the attendant tells you ‘no change’ so as to steal your money.
The fight against corruption must be seen as the battle to create a new Nigerian renaissance, in schools, public institutions, civil service, media, private institutions like banks where MDs get phoney housing grant above sometimes above 500m every year and yet they live in their private homes, banks who declare ‘unclaimed dividends’ in billions simply because they scheme not to pay up, worship places who ask faithful to pay tithe 100 percent when what the Holy Books recommend is 10percent.
We win the battle through strategic focus on Private and Public Institutions. The state govts are doing nothing to fight corruption. They leave everything to an already overburdened EFCC. Unfortunately, the EFCC is like a hunter that kills the monster in a community only when there’s an extended invitation. EFCC is not empowered to initiate cases of corruption unless prompted by a petition.
What will drastically change this malaise of corruption is to see certain untouchables go to jail in our very eyes and to see people goaled for crimes like collecting graft common among journalists, police and civil servants, which we think is normal. Corruption is our biggest monster. It is linked with social unrest, unemployment, violence, poverty and even terrorism.
Three tiers are critical to fighting corruption. The President, EFCC and State Governors. The first two tiers, we are damn lucky to have Buhari and Magu, the last, the state governors, are a sham! We either tame the monster or it will set on fire the entire potentials of the country.
Credits: Adewale Adeoye, Ekiti Forum
Adewale Adeoye, you are absolutely right when you stated “Three tiers are critical to fighting corruption. The President, EFCC and State Governors. The first two tiers, we are damn lucky to have Buhari and Magu, the last, the state governors, are a sham! We either tame the monster or it will set on fire the entire potentials of the country.”
Nigerians need help in fighting corruption at the Governor’s level. A good number of them loot State funds with impunity. All Governors should be audited each year to ensure that they have spent State budgets for the programs for which they were allocated. Security funds should also be monitored and streamlined; they are currently too bogus.