War Against Corruption; Erasing corruption in the Public Service - Adekunle Lukman

The perfection of open corruption on a huge scale was the most destructive legacy of past civilian and military administrations in Nigeria. The result was the near annihilation of the national psyche, the complete loss of faith in honesty, and the almost unshakeable entrenchment of cynicism toward the leadership and the entire system itself. It is common knowledge that, the objective of most aspirants to public office is to share in the disbursement of the proverbial national cake.
 
In October 1986, at a debate on Nigeria’s political future organized by the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), respected statesman, Dr Samuel Ikoku (now late), shocked his audience when he rhetorical asked: “Can anyone of us here who is rich” he said pointing his finger challengingly at the bemused crowd, “tell us that, he has not stolen money directly or indirectly from the national coffers”.
Judging from Ikoku’s speech, everybody in Nigeria and even Africa (except few saints if there are any) both poor and rich have been involved in one corrupt act or the other. The truth is that, poor people steal with the same regularity as the rich. It is merely a question of “access” which ultimately determines the degree of theft. This terrible blight, for which Nigeria has become notorious, has touched and ruined every social institution, including the family system. But we cannot as a nation allow this malady to continue unchecked.
Several reasons have been adduced for the continued presence of corruption and corrupt persons in the country. One of them is the rise of public administration and the discovery of oil and natural gas which empowered people with so much money that decency and moral uprightness were thrown to the dustbin. Over the years, the country has seen its wealth withered with little to show in terms of living conditions of the people.
 
A former Nigerian political leader, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo raised a salient issue when in 1982 he said that since independence; “our governments have been a matter of few, holding the cow for the strongest and most cunning to milk”. Under such circumstances people run over others in quest for self aggrandizement.
Another school of thought hinges corruption on advent of colonialism. According to this view, the nation’s colonial history may have restricted any early influence in an ethical revolution. Throughout the colonial period, most Nigerians were stuck in ignorance and poverty. The trappings of flash cars, houses and success of the colonists might have influenced the poor to see the colonists as symbols of success and to emulate them in different political ways.
Involvement in the agenda of colonial rule might have also inhibited idealism in the early stage of the nation’s development. A view, commonly held during the colonial days was that, the colonists’ properties were not ‘our’ property.
Thus vandalism and looting of public property were not seen as a crime against society. This view is what has degenerated into the more recent disregard for public property and lack of public trust and concern for public goods.
Whichever way it is looked at, the fact remains that, corruption especially among public servants, cannot continue to exist side by side with national development. Time has come when a stop must be put to wanton looting of pubic treasury. In this regard, we make the following recommendations:
1.Federal government must convince Nigerians that, a genuine attempt to stamp out corruption is in progress and must be made to identify with the effort.
2.It must be recognized that, corruption can only be seriously tackled by assault from various fronts and through varied complementary intervention strategies.
3. There is no doubt that, good leadership and good governance usually evoke positive and dynamic response from the governed. In the battle against corruption in public life, the highest echelons of President Jonathan’s administration must show a commitment to uprightness as well as dedication to the war against corruption.