Nigeria - Public Corruption Editorial
Dr. Kardasz:
The following editorial by a Nigeria journalist provides interesting insight into corruption there.
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Corruption, Anti-Corruption And Pro-Corruption
October 8, 2006 from www.allafrica.com
By Simon Kolawole
Lagos, Nigeria
Never has the corruption discourse hung so loosely and dangerously above our heads as the case is today. We know corruption is not a new entry into the lexicon, but its dominance of public discourse in recent times has elevated it to such a height that no one can miss. A few guesses may explain this. One, we are in a democracy where the laws of the land allow us to debate. Under military regimes, the citizens were not empowered to ask questions. Dirty things were done to public coffers and the mess was neatly covered up. We all could smell the stench but were unable to point a finger at the mess. Two , Nigeria has been swimming in a flood of petro-dollars for seven years now. A natural consequence is the outbreak of squandermania, given our way of life in Nigeria . Three, the Obasanjo administration has dramatically mouthed its stance against corruption. It is one sweet song everybody wants to hear and this government has actually turned it into a full concert. We have all become experts on corruption.
Almost everybody traces the roots of Nigerian problems to corruption. Our development is stunted because of the selfishness of public officers who would rather cater for their bellies rather than common interest. If we all so expertly know the problem, why don't we know and apply the solution then? Various methods have been adopted in the fight against corruption. One is the instruments of law, as we can see in ICPC, EFCC and Code of Conduct Tribunal. The most prominent is EFCC. The strategy is to bring to book anyone found fiddling with public funds. We have different opinions on EFCC. While some think EFCC is doing a marvelous job, others would rather see it as a formidable political handcuff in the hands of the president. Nothing has divided the opinions of Nigerians as much as EFCC in recent times. But that is not the focus of this article. Rather, I think that the EFCC, no matter how well intentioned, cannot tackle corruption effectively. There are 774 council chairmen, over 8,000 councillors, 36 state governors, hundreds of commissioners, a thousand of state legislators, hundreds of federal legislators and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of civil servants and bureaucrats. Let's face it: even if EFCC is not a rifle in Obasanjo's hand, public service is too broad and populated to be adequately scrutinised and cleansed by the anti-graft body.
Scapegoating is one option I have often favoured: deal brutally with a corrupt official and others will be scared to death. This may achieve temporary results, but it is subject to abuse. It is also more of a short-term solution to a monumental problem. And if scapegoating works very well, how come more and more looters are emerging everyday? Another strategy is to increase salaries and benefits so that corruption would be less tempting to public officers. It is being suggested, for instance, that if police officers earn good salaries, they would stop the N20 business at checkpoints. Salaries can be increased, sure, but this may still not achieve the desired results. A former Police chief was said to have amassed N17 billion while in office. How much would you pay him that would have taken his attention away from bribery? A police officer who takes home N10,000 per day from checkpoints will need to earn at least N10,000 a day, or N300,000 a month, to match that. A former governor who allegedly forfeited N50 billion would have needed to earn the entire state allocation to shun corruption. When the circumference of your stomach has been over-enlarged, it is very difficult to fill it up with normal content. You will keep craving for more.
I was discussing the issue of corruption with a friend last week and he drove home a point that is very critical. The quest for accountability, he said, should be a two-sided equation: demand and supply. Initiatives like ICPC and EFCC are on the supply side, employing the instruments of law to fight corruption. This has been going on for sometime now, but significant progress and sustainability are a different ball game. However, there is a demand side that is inactive. The people must demand accountability. The people must not celebrate corruption in any guise. The people must make the community very uncomfortable, even discomfiting, for corrupt public officers. How do I mean? I am a journalist. I live in a rented house. I drive an official car. Now, let's say I am given a political appointment today. The first thing is that I will open the newspapers tomorrow and see my face in full-page congratulatory adverts sponsored by my former "classmates". Why? They are rejoicing with me for getting a "plum job". They are very proud of me that I have been called up to serve my fatherland. They are positioning themselves to "partake" in my "patriotic service" to fatherland. They want contacts and contracts.
Let's also say in one year, I have bought houses in Abuja and built mansions in Lekki. Nobody will ask me questions. Let's say I have acquired a convoy of cars. Nobody will say, Come, is this not the same Kolawole who didn't have a personal car? How much is he earning now that he can afford all these? No. Instead, people will be thronging my house to slice their own share of my loot. Youth organisations, women groups and town unions will all be paying solidarity visits to me. They will present me with a life-size portrait in the full glare of the media. Pastors will become my spiritual consultants, uttering more flattery than I can imagine. Fuji and juju artistes will start to sing my praise: "Kolawole o, baba l'oje!" They will release a whole album with one side dedicated to "Simon", the other side to "Kolawole". They will even address me as "Chief Kolawole", even though I may not have a traditional title. O, that is not a problem. I can easily organise a chieftaincy for myself. With a few millions, kings-who are supposed to be custodians of traditional values-will be falling over each other to give me titles for my "contributions to humanity", even if I have not contributed anything to humanity. Universities will give me honorary doctorate degrees as a "role model" in exchange for donations. I will be featured in all these all-colour, all-gloss magazines under the headline, "The Amazing Riches of Simon Kolawole", decorated with pictures of my state-of-the-art mansions and computerised cars. My child's naming ceremony will be live on TV, with the help of a few wads. Nobody will ask: is this not the same Simon? Rather, everybody wants a share of the loot.
The society expects, encourages, promotes and nurtures corruption. The society condones it. The society budgets for it. If you go into public office and don't come out rich, you are a failure. Your immediate and extended families will curse you. Your community will alienate you. "You're stupid," they will say. "Opportunities come but once. You missed your chance. Look at what the minister from the other community accumulated during his time in office. You must be a fool!" So, we keep dragging the country down, down, down. We keep envying developed countries, wondering why our own country is not making progress, wondering why schools don't have laboratories and libraries.
This pro-corruption attitude of the people, says Professor Jerry Gana, is a major hindrance to the anti-corruption war. The PDP presidential aspirant, in a chat I had with him, believes the society tolerates corruption too much. "The best way to fight corruption is to be intolerant of it. The whole society, not just the government, must hate corruption. There must be no consolation or support for corruption anywhere. Right now, we tolerate it in the community. If it is your daughter or your son, you don't ask questions as long as they are 'reporting back' nicely. We must eschew it. We must react to it. Religious leaders, both Muslim and Christian, political leaders, social leaders, we must all take a stand against it. There must be leadership by example, a transparent way by which our public and private lives are ordered."
He suggests a multi-faceted approach including decisive punishment. "People must know we have tremendous respect for things being done properly-due process, integrity, honesty. Then there must be punishment. Those caught must be punished firmly and very decisively. It is very important. There should be no favouritism. Justice must be prompt and conclusive. Fear of punishment is a major deterrent, even in developed countries. If you break the law, there is no question of begging, unlike Nigeria where your community will come begging for you. The press also has a role to play. The biggest rebuke is public disgrace. People fear being disgraced publicly. Everybody wants to be respected. The press must help out. There must be a sense of shame. It's a powerful way to restrain people. People must begin to resign from office when they are indicted. Once we get to a level of consciousness, that will be a deterrent."
Many will quarrel with him over his proposed role for journalists. We are perceived as very corrupt. We are seen as blackmailers and dishonest people who will do anything for money. The perception is that all it takes to turn a journalist into a praise-singer is a few thousand naira. It will be very hypocritical of me if I say we journalists are above board. We are part of the problem and we are as guilty as charged, although we still have a few decent ones out there. But then, the entire society is thoroughly rotten and we are all products of the society. We have willfully damaged the values that are very African: sense of community (not selfishness), honesty and integrity. Journalists, police officers, customs officers, mortuary attendants, messengers, all of us are products of devalued communal ethics. Something has gone wrong fundamentally. That is why things are the way they are.
Like Professor Gana suggested, the anti-corruption fight must be multi-faceted. Yes, let's have EFCC and ICPC. Yes, let's have the courts. Yes, let's have the rule of law. But the most effective weapon, in my opinion, is for the society to drain itself of its pro-corruption mentality. For as long as public office is seen as the most desirable way of making money, no EFCC can rescue us from corruption. Supply and demand must meet somewhere. The people must demand accountability. The people must hate corruption with perfect hatred because, as the saying goes, "with corruption, everybody pays."
Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
Retrieved October 12, 2006 from http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200610100162.html