Nigeria: Who is not corrupt? by Niran Adedokun

If we were to be honest with ourselves, it is hard not to be corrupt in Nigeria. I imagine this would cause a lot of anger in many honest compatriots and it is understandable. However, this sometimes impulsive, other times hypocritical posturing is itself, one of the core problems of Nigeria. A problem acknowledged is half solved but like the ostrich, most Nigerians bury their heads in the sand when corruption is brought up. That failure to accept our reality is a major impediment to dealing with this cankerworm.

So, these past two weeks, we have had fantastic stories and allegations of corruption in high places. From the shepherd in charge of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, now alleged to be a wolf amongst the flock, to the Niger Delta Development Commission that has been turned into a bazaar, to the minister who allegedly thinks a female official is part of the perks of his office, to the chief law officer who sends out invitations for his son’s wedding on his official letterhead, these events call for a deeper intellectual look at the sociology of corruption in Nigeria.

While it is a fact that tens of millions of Nigerians are indeed neither actively corrupt nor corruptible, the temptation to fall into petty compromises that translate into corruption becomes higher in Nigeria by the day. It is in fact getting to a stage where those who elect to play by the rules are subjected to mockery and ridicule. That is in addition to the very painful reality that as price for their refusal to bow their knees to Baal, they are made to suffer undue delays or get so frustrated as to abandon their objectives. Corruption as well as the condoning and abetting of it have become an unwitting way of life to many Nigerians. This does not mean that Nigerians are peculiar, but years of bad governance and erosion of the values have brought three things that encourage corruption upon us, in my opinion.

The first is that poverty has become so endemic that everyone with an opportunity to fleece the state grabs it with both hands and legs. This is worsened by the fact that politics has become such a big business attended by ostentation that motivation is not service but getting a hand on the pie.

People argue that politicians who steal money are not poor but only wicked. While I agree that there is a callous, if not deranged spirit behind the selfish appropriation of resources meant for the people, the level of poverty in this country creates so much paranoia about the future in many politicians, most of whom were jobless and poor before finding their way into public office with the help, mainly, of a godfather. But while in office, they would have tasted comfort from the benevolence of office and are ultimately just one or two steps away from returning where they started from once out of office. This prospect is increased by the fact that poverty-stricken relatives feel entitled and make demand from politicians. Worse of all, there is hardly any civil or public servant in Nigeria, who earns a living wage, not even staffers of the EFCC saddled with the responsibility to prosecute government’s war against corruption.

This point was made by the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, at the inauguration of the N24bn headquarters of the commission in 2018. The former Speaker told the gathering, which included President Muhammadu Buhari, former President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and the embattled acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, that: “… emphasis must now be moved to those wonderful men and women who are sacrificing so much in order to ensure the war is sustained and won. We have the active responsibility, and should take measures to insulate men and staff of this agency from temptations…by ensuring a practical means of engagement and service for them.”

At another forum organised by the EFCC, the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, told of a story where his plane stopped to refuel in an unnamed African country. While taking a walk round the plane, a policeman, oblivious of Kageme’s identity came to beg him for money.

“But this left something in my mind… during a cabinet meeting, I told them the story. Since we have a mission to carry out against corruption, there are things I saw in this: a policeman on duty begging for little things. I told them maybe that was even happening in our own country. That would mean that maybe we are making too many demands on these policemen, we’re not paying them well, they are literally impoverished and they have to keep going around begging, and maybe, later on, they will use that gun…we don’t have so much, but we can share the little we have, so that even the policeman feels that they are being taken care of…” the Rwandan President recounted.

And none of this is too difficult to comprehend. You only need to recall American psychologist, Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation and the hierarchy of needs to see how far a man would go to meet the expectations of his family and friends.

Now, the attainment of this basic requirement for the esteem of man is made difficult by the collapse of virtually every institution of state. This is the second reason why it is near impossible not to compromise in Nigeria. From getting a job, attending antenatal clinic in public hospitals, sending your children to school, getting healthcare, obtaining a driving licence, obtaining a passport to travel or getting the police to carry out the most simple case of law enforcement, Nigeria has imposed roadblocks of inefficiencies and compromises that have turned the people into helpless collaborators in the destruction of their country. Nepotism and pecuniary considerations rather than merit form the basis of decisions, while the collapse of public education and health systems imposes a lot of strain on the poorest of our people who, desiring the best for their children, go to any possible length to patronise private entities.

What is still worse even now is that rather than re-build institutions, Nigerian leaders prefer to lionise individuals, who end up demonised. Just check it: 17 years after its establishment, the EFCC has no discernible character or ethos. All it boasts of are eras, all of which have ended in some discredit or the other.

Finally, corruption has become so endemic here that most people have even forgotten what it means! For instance, while the Nigerian Immigration Service has managed to remain an embarrassment when issuance of passports is concerned, does that person who pays N40,000 to fast-track his application realise that he just aided a corrupt act? Granted though, the system left him with no choice, but this is the unintended way that corruption grows.

Truth is whether grand, political or petty corruption, Nigerians actively or unknowingly participate in and abet corrupt. We are all in the dance of corruption. The civil servants who will not move files without a greased palm; the director who would not approve payment for a contract without ten percent; the company director who marks up a project budget by 30 per cent; the clergy whose god is money; the doctor in a public facility who demands money for appointments and diverts resources to his private clinic; the immigration officer who manipulates procedures; the customs officer who allows contraband into the country; the teacher who awards marks after “obtaining” the student; the parent who purchases questions for their child; the student who cheats in examinations; the reporter who pushes their conscience out of the way and sells their newspaper space to the highest bidder in betrayal of public trust; the traditional ruler who sacrifices the interest of his people for a mess of pottage and so on, all contribute to the sorry state of Nigeria.

Having said that though, to effectively fight corruption, government must show more than a passing interest in the people’s welfare. It must also revitalise and reposition national institutions for service. Sustainable and effective social welfare schemes, which see to the education, healthcare and shelter needs of citizens, are key to any impactful fight against corruption. So is a severance and pension systems that give confidence about the future to public and civil servants. The fear of tomorrow leads many into all sorts of vices, many of which a caring society can anticipate and plan for.

Adedokuntweets @niranadedokun