Corruption as defined by a large group of people is not only concerned with abuse of public office but also, the decadence in moral standards and values. The assumption that wealth prevents corruption is a form of misconception, which provides defensive support to corruption. It gives a warm fuzzy feeling to the public- 'we are not really corrupt; it is our poverty and the rich-poor gap in our nation which is causing it. Once I get rich, corruption will go away'! The converse is true - evidence supports that corruption itself is the cause of poverty and widening the rich-poor gap.
I've carefully observed that during the period of his youthful days, man has lots of physical, mental and intellectual developments. This period is an evolutionary one in which man experiences rapid development in his transformation. Hence, the need to provide himself with means of self-control and curbing his self-defiance as well as wise leadership that can lead him to a straight path. More often than not, most people attribute corruption to joblessness, getting in contact with corrupted people and keeping their company, estrangement between youths and elders and reading destructive book, magazines, newspapers etc.
In this world, we have many who have the ability to motivate and mould innocent minds to believe in getting corrupted to meet an end. Unfortunately, to them, 'the end justifies the means' philosophy works. In Nigeria, where poverty is rampant and millions of youths are jobless and frustrated, they are targeted to become 'most susceptible' by these people.
In the absence of any alternative avenue to vent their frustrations, the poor youths are finding the destructive philosophy of these 'fantasies' attractive. The youth are most vulnerable. It is the youth who become a great force for change, it is the youth who become self-destructive by becoming drug addicts, internet fraudsters, armed robbers, even prostitutes and now we have a new phenomenon - they are becoming 'suicide bombers'. This is a pity and to save ourselves, we all must start thinking of where we are going to and where we all want to end up.
In Nigeria, some government agencies are considered to be honest, while others are considered quite corrupt, these often include the Customs authority, Judiciary or Police. Most public officers misuse the offices either by accepting, soliciting or extorting a bribe as well as instances where no bribery occurs but public office is still misused, such as nepotism, patronage, theft of state assets and diversion of state revenues.
Most people write that corruption is not a western concept, so where does it originate? Corruption reduces the overall wealth in a country, since it discourages business from operating in such a corrupt setting. Corruption reduces the amount of money the government has available to pay good workers, buy antiretroviral drugs, develop new vaccines and purchase supplies, such as books, medicines and computers. It distorts the way the government uses its money. The results is that schools, health clinics, roads, sewer system, Police forces and many other services that government provide are worse than they would otherwise be. In addition, corruption is unfair and allows those with money or connections to bend the law or government rules in their favor. Corruption harms the environment and undermines trust in government.
To me, the underlying principle that drives people to get corrupt is that systems don’t work well and thus, creates bad incentives. More people engage in corruption under the wrong circumstances, that is, if no one would find out and if they had few alternatives. What also causes corruption is the prospect of having little chance of getting caught. This lack of accountability comes from lack of transparency and weak enforcement, when law agencies do not impose sanctions on power holders who have violated their duties. Bad incentives are also part of the corruption trail. For example, a clerk or secretary who does not earn enough to live on or who is not sure they will have a job tomorrow, supplements their income with bribes.
Most people do not have an incentive to perform official duties, but actually pay for their jobs with the understanding that they will make money through bribes. Corruption also evolves as a result of attitudes or circumstances that make average people disregard the law. Poverty or scarcity of goods may also push people to hide outside the law. So, corruption is not just about ethics. It’s about the set-up and management of the government and the need for improvement.
Corrupt officials target victims with the weakest links. Those that appear to be vulnerable and uninformed are the ones to be charged with a bribe. Consequently, those that appear poorer, less informed or socially less connected are the ones who suffer most. There have been certain misconceptions about corruption, which results in gross inaction of both public and government. These include:
• Hunger and starvation causes corruption, so we are corrupt;
• Rich-poor gap causes corruption, when we get rich, corruption will go;
• Low wages cause corruption, so it's okay since our pay is low;
• There is no remedy to corruption, why bother to change;
• Corruption is in our blood, no one can cure it; and lastly,
• Corruption has now become our culture- why worry?
While newspapers are always full of articles, about politics and intrigues of government, the same papers are empty on anti-corruption issues. It is apparent, therefore, that the above misconceptions, along with media inactivity, have managed to desensitize Nigerians into a comfortable zone of corruption. People fail to create an outcry against it. The newspapers are silent and the people unruffled! Escalating corruption is basically caused by an ineffective system of law, justice and accountability. Hunger, starvation, rich-poor gap chaotic traffic, high crime rate, extortion, bribery, poor construction, land-grabbing, famine as well as terrorism are all the result of corruption, not vice versa. Corruption is the ultimate culprit.
Basically, I've noticed one form of corruption or the other. Imagine the case of a drug peddler, either selling in a shop or in a commercial transport vehicle- these 'quacks' have no idea about chemical composition of drug or drug sensitivity to a particular pathogen or ailment. Fake drugs are distributed through them and the public faces the risks. This is a source of corruption, as some ignorant members of the public no longer go near to hospitals instead; they depend on these 'fake items'.
In Nigeria today, if one does not involve in one form of corruption or the other, you can never be the 'Man'. In politics for example, politicians make empty promises to members of the public in order to have their votes. After getting into the office, the same members of the public turn out to be critics if the government doesn’t favor them. They 'sold' their votes for a token and such a person voted to rule will have to embezzle funds to cover up all expenses spent during the political campaigns and elections.
It has also been alleged that most hospitals are selling out antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people living with HIV/AIDS instead of giving them out for free as directed by the government. The fear of not having enough money to seek medical help when facing life-threatening diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and leprosy encourages stigmatization and as a result of this, lives are lost. All these are happening because of corruption.
Citizens need to understand that corruption is a problem that lowers their standard of living and that they need to resist it in their own lives. The sources and dimensions of corruption are too numerous to mention as we come across them from morning till night in our everyday lives.
Most books we use are pirated copies, movies-pirated, fake clothes, fake drugs; petrol used to power our vehicles is mixed with other substances like kerosene, diesel or even water! Yet, everyday, we hear it in the news that government has beefed-up security along our borders. How come these fake items are smuggled into the country? Most of them are not manufactured here in Nigeria. Do you smell foul play with government officials mounted to check these insurgencies?
Corruption has indeed turned out to be a culture in developing countries and Nigeria in particular. Citizens need to take more active roles in reporting abuses, reviewing the government's work, and otherwise monitoring government performance. It is important to recognize that traditional approaches in fighting corruption case-by-case investigation are not enough. The effort needs to reduce corruption opportunities, improve incentives for good performance, and raise awareness about the need for citizens to work with government to bring about change.
Working alone to fight corruption is not an easy task but I would encourage members of the public to swallow their pride and stare the corruption pandemic directly in the face not shy away from it. Having started long and hard, and been totally disgusted by corruption's horrific face, I advise everyone to recognize the ugliness of corruption in Nigeria. We need to write to the papers, talk to the embassies, create websites and pressure groups, join forums and protest with a massive outcry against the malaise of corruption.
Personally, to fight corruption, I would refuse to pay bribes and/or report request for bribes from public officials; I would send articles on corruption to the media or start a newsletter/bulletin. I would form anti-corruption clubs in schools so that I can organize social events, stimulate group discussion, request that courses on anti-corruption, good governance and ethics be included in the school curriculum, publicly declare schools a 'corruption-free zone' and disseminate information on government procedures and entitlements to the citizenry.
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