- Written by Fry N. Ndubuisi
CORRUPTION has become a re-curing decimal in our quest for greatness and nationhood. It is here with us in every facet of our national life. No matter how much lies we want to tell about it, Nigeria is seen and rated as a very corrupt nation all over the world. We can call it ‘common stealing, ‘official dereliction of duties’ ‘embezzlement of public funds’ ‘favouritism’ ‘unfair treatment,’ ‘unjust treatment’ ‘dishonesty,’ corruption has not allowed this nation to move forward. It comes in different forms, but it is tragic that when we talk of corruption our mind goes only to misappropriation of public funds. That is part of the truth, definitely not the whole truth about corruption. From whatever perspective we view it, corruption revolves around dishonest use of opportunities to our advantage. The issue is how honest have we been in the running of the affairs of the nation. The world is now a global village, we can no longer hide our activities from the binocular of the international community. Thus Nigeria was ranked 144 out of the 177 most corrupt nations in the world, by Transparency International’s 2013 corruption perception index. We should be worried about this as it says a lot about us.
How much both in resources and development has the nation lost as a result of corruption. The public service is seen as a fertile ground for corruption. Nothing is done the way it ought to be done, even in recruitment of personnel; favouritism and considerations other than merit is the order thereby allowing wrong and incompetent hands to be in charge of very sensitive positions. It is an open secret that before you get hired in some establishment you must know key personnel there, or be ready to bribe your way through. I just remember an incident that took place sometime ago about a friend that told me he needed the services of a young accountant in his outfit. I recommended someone I was convinced would satisfy his need. After all the protocol and oral interviews, he decided to employ who was close to him, not who can serve the purpose he was after. That is the trend in Nigeria both in the private and public sectors. What gives you jobs now is who you know and not your competence and capacity to prove your worth.
The impact of corruption has hit this country most hard in infrastructural development. In spite of all the measures the government claimed to put in place: due process, and all that, it is a brute fact that contracts are not awarded to the best and the most competitive firms. Lobbying is more vital than competence, skill and experience. That explains why there are series of abandoned projects or half-heartedly executed projects all over the country. In some rural areas, boreholes only pump water the day they are commissioned. After that, the equipment is allowed to rust away until another politician decides to revisit them. It is sad, that the government wastes billions of naira and time to execute projects and such projects are either abandoned half way or cease from functioning a few months after they were commissioned. Doors and keys of public buildings become useless a few weeks after being fixed; painted halls washed away by rains few months after being commissioned. Yet there are designated officials that must certify such works before certificate of discharge is issued and final payment made.
Some have reasoned that there is overt official policy to promote corruption in the country. How do we make sense, out of government’s low cost housing project that sells for N50 million per unit and civil servants, that earn less than two million naira are meant to buy this. The mortgage banks are in business and they know who their funds go to. And really, Nigerians have been quite clever beating the government to its game. Imagine a city like Abuja that could be seen as civil servants city, what apartments go for, the people that live there and the wonder on wheels they cruise on.
Nobody asks question as those that are supposed to ask are more guilty of the offence that alleged. Some have argued that it is an herculean task to tackle corruption in an environment such as ours, where there is no social security, where public services such as public schools and hospitals are below standard. It is survival of the fittest, many have reasoned.
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