(First published in BRANDPOWER in May 2012)
The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our indifference – Claire Safran
Nigeria’s first set of coup plotters justified their action partly by bemoaning what they considered the high level of corruption by the political elite at the time. They were labeled the’ Ten Percenters’ i.e political office holders were accused of requesting for a 10% cut from contracts awarded. I wonder what the reactions of the coupists will be if they know the scale, scope and depth of corruption in Nigeria today. It is simply incredible!
Recent revelations through televised national assembly probes about the goings-on in virtually every sphere of public and private institutions, big and small are replete with tales of extreme cases of bare-faced stealing. The figures being rolled out are shocking, jaw-dropping and even numbing. It would seem the perpetrators are giving full expression to former MAMSER chairman, Professor Jerry Gana’s admonition that whatever you are doing you should do it very well…”if you are a teacher, teach very well, if you are a boxer, box very well…” It is clear that what we are faced with is a situation where it seems many Nigerians in privileged positions don’t just steal but they steal… very well. The press is awash with stories of stolen monies in hundreds of millions to billions and now trillions of Naira. God have mercy!
It would seem no institution is spared; no level of government is immune. They steal from the IPP projects, PTDF, The Ecological Fund, ETF, COJA, PPPRA, NNPC, SEC, National Hospital, Police Pensions Commission, Ministries, the Legislature, The Judiciary, the Presidency, banks, even the EFCC, big corporations, small companies. They just steal. It is even alleged that religious organizations are steeped in corruption. This confirms Charles Caleb Colton’s position that “Corruption is like snow, once it is set rolling it must increase”. It would seem that corruption has evolved into a thriving industry of its own in Nigeria.
Little wonder that despite the huge amounts being budgeted year after year, we have not much to show. How can people steal so mindlessly knowing the effect it is having on the institution, the nation and the citizenry he is stealing from? Nigeria is hemorrhaging badly from the cancer of corruption. Something just must be done to arrest the lurking danger of self annihilation. I personally believe that we face a greater danger from corruption than Boko Haram. The rampaging sect is decimating Nigeria in tens and hundreds but corruption is killing hundreds of thousands annually from the bad roads that are not fixed, the hospitals that are not functioning, the potable water that is not available, the hopes that are being dashed and the extreme poverty that is being generated by extreme corruption. Extreme corruption can only lead to extremely negative consequences.
In a previous write-up on this page I had noted that corruption is not a Nigerian creation. I still hold on to that view. Cancer is not usually born with its host body but if it is not diagnosed early and treated urgently, the ailing host is sentenced to certain death. That Nigerian values have been bastardised by corruption goes without saying. We are doomed if we do not fight this war with all our might. The time for collective action is now!
Enough rhetoric and platitudes have been made by our leaders on the need to fight corruption. It is time for effective action. A state of emergency needs to be declared on corruption. To this end, I recommend that the federal, state and local governments should launch with urgency a programme to incentivize Nigerians to expose corruption as it is unfolding, not just after the fact. One of the reasons corruption has eaten so deep into the Nigerian brand fabric is the fact that people who had attempted to be whistle-blowers eventually got the short end of the stick. They are transferred to less attractive departments or locations, sacked outright or even killed in their bid to expose the corrupt acts. In the process everyone gets sucked in as secretaries and PAs are made conduits and accessories to stolen lucre. Since you can’t beat them, you join them. It is the same reason robbers have held siege on Nigerians as it is believed that vital information rather than being used against high profile criminals are actually passed on to them and notified of the informants who are subsequently dealt with summarily.
My take is that government should launch a ‘KILL CORRUPTION NOW’ (KCN) campaign. In it there should be a ‘See and Tell’ element which will reward and protect whistle-blowers in much the same way that police and intelligence agency informants are treated. The reward prize must be big enough for citizens to risk their lives and inform the authorities of stealing-in-progress. If someone in NNPC or PPPRA or even the bank had blown the whistle on the oil subsidy scam and was offered 25 million Naira or more, can you imagine how much we could have saved? It is important to tackle this as an all-out war as that is the only way to go. Every country has corruption at various levels, no country, not even the Vatican City is immune. The difference is that they have systems in place to ensure that anyone caught faces the penalty no matter how highly placed. I feel sickened when there is a corruption case in Nigeria and it becomes ensnared in legal gymnastics in courts and when people are convicted of stealing big money they get a slap on the wrist. Where is the deterrent? Why should the next guy not steal bigger and better? The only thing worse is how grown men rape infants and walk scot free on account of our weak laws.
Obviously, corruption in Nigeria has become systemic that is why amounts involved are colossal. The problem with Nigeria is not corruption, it is too much corruption! It is pertinent that whatever effort we choose to combat it is also systemic and strategic. For all intents and purposes, it is a war; a war in which we must take many prisoners. New laws need be enacted. New attitudes formed.
To do nothing is to court disaster of perhaps catastrophic proportions. The signs are already showing that Nigeria is about to take the bend to self-recovery. Citizens are demanding for accountability through activism, the previous attitude of collective silence by political and business leaders is fast blowing into a raucous din, finger-pointing is now more prevalent and before long, the youth will begin to see that there is a huge price to pay for being corrupt and begin to create a new path. We cannot allow our future be frittered away by light-fingered opportunists. We have to kill corruption before it kills brand Nigeria. This is the only nation brand we have. It is better late than never!
