The fight against corruption: Why every Nigerian should be involved

Since the creation of modern public administration in the country, there have been cases of official misuse of resources for personal enrichment. Nigeria is ranked 139th out of 176 countries in Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, tied with Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal, and Pakistan.


While it is a known fact that political corruption is not a recent phenomenon in Nigeria, the scale and ramification are becoming more alarming daily. Billions and trillions of Naira are voted annually by the different tiers of government for infrastructure rehabilitation, upgrade and renewal, but the nation has little to show for the huge resources expended, largely because of corruption.

While on the surface, most Nigerians appear to abhor corruption but deep down and in reality; they tolerate it and in most cases are willing to turn a blind eye. Why do we say so?

The Publisher/Editor-in-chief of ionigeria.com, Charles Igbinidu was at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos about a week ago. A major upgrade of the terminal is ongoing. In the course of discussing with different individuals at the airport, they kept saying that the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah is performing and that she must have made some money too. In the words of one of the workers at the airport, "we are not saying that they should not eat, they should work". 'This view was dominantly shared by a cross section of people spoken to. Lets rephrase it, it is permissible for public office holders to be corrupt as far as they are performing'.

When a Nigerian is given political appointment, his friends and members of his community of origin, celebrate because they see it as an opportunity for one of their own to corruptly amass wealth. If at the end of his tenure, it is discovered that he did not primitively accumulate capital, he is ridiculed and dubbed a fool. If he did, he is further celebrated and given all sorts of chieftaincy titles.

This signifies that we live in a society that tolerates corruption. Consequently, efforts by various institutions such as the EFCC and ICPC are bond to fail. For the fight against the evil of corruption to make an impact, there is a need for a complete reorientation and attitudinal change by the populace. We need to go back to the practice in our various traditional communities whereby corrupt members of the communities are labeled and socially ostracized. This will send the correct message to public office holders that as a people, we are intolerant of corruption.

We are however not unmindful of the fact that the absence of the rule of law embolden individuals to commit all sorts of crimes. Many former governors and other public officers have been taken to court by the EFCC and ICPC, how many of them have been convicted? The inability of the law courts to convict and send corrupt politicians to where they really belong is not only a catalyst for more mind-boggling corruption but has also made the fight against corruption laughable.

In conclusion, we posit that every Nigerian must be involved in the fight against corruption because it hurts everybody. Many Nigerians have died untimely because of the deplorable state of our roads. Our roads are so deplorable because of corruption. The situation is the same in every other sector of our nation.Therefore, we should purge ourselves of the belief that 'it is permissible for public office holders to be corrupt as far as they are performing'.