Corruption in Nigeria

We live in a country that is quick to blame corruption for everything thing that is wrong in the country. Really, if corruption is the trouble with Nigeria, then I believe our trouble is half-solved. And again, I don’t quite believe we know the meaning of corruption because if we do know that corruption is the biggest of all our challenges and we know the meaning of the word then we can give it all it takes to save the country from corruption.

 I want to believe that corruption indeed is the biggest challenge that has bedevilled Nigeria, because former president Olusegun Obasanjo did all he could to raise hell against corruption. And his arch enemy at the time, NLC President Comrade Adams Oshiomhole never faulted the claim that Nigerian’s biggest challenge was corruption, he only posited that Obasanjo anti-corruption campaign was a one-man orchestra.

However, both former president Obasanjo and comrade Adams Oshiomhole never found their way around this huge beast called CORRUPTION. Despite all the many anti-corruption programs; the bills, the campaign, the EFCC, ICPC, the panels and what have you, corruption seems to be waxing stronger in Nigeria. And now the Dana Air crash seems to be heading the way of corruption again. Negligence and mismanagement which is now blamed on corruption is now under investigation which will of course be swallowed up by the so-called corruption again.

For many concerned Nigerians, the question in our heart is one, what is the way forward? How do we ensure that corruption wouldn’t keep eroding the sanctity of the country we all call our own? Everything that is wrong in Nigeria, corruption is to be blamed. Nigerian Aviation or FAN issued clearance to faulty aircrafts, it is corruption. The security forces couldn’t contain the Boko haram catastrophe, it is corruption. Criminals who embezzled billions walking the streets as legends while those who stole stipends died in prison, it is corruption.

Bad constructions, poor maintenance, negligence of duties by civil workers etc are all the fault of corruption. Any sane person would then asked, if corruption is taking all the punching what are we doing to put it to sleep? It is a known fact that anti-corruption cannot stop corruption. Mother Theresa once said, ‘if you have anti-war rally don’t call me but if you have pro-peace rally then call me’. She knew that anti-war will only bring more wars and that the only way to move against war was to be pro- the opposite of war, which is peace. Under this context therefore, to alienate corruption, we must be pro-honesty and morality. There is no way we can fight corruption when we don’t promote honesty and morality. We have tried anti-corruption and failed, it is time to be pro-honesty and morality.

It was Dr. Martin Luther King who once said, that ‘The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.’ Any attempt to fight corruption while relegating morality is nothing but self deception. We must bring values like honesty and morality back to our society. We must start rewarding honesty and moral behaviours. We must encourage honesty by becoming the needed example the society should look up to.

We must all join our hands together and save Nigeria from this beast called CORRUPTION. The time is ripe, the time is now. Let’s stop allocating blames, let’s rise to the occasion, and live right, becoming the examples that posterity will reward. Join SHE Foundation as we introduce the HONESTY & MORALITY Campaign by rewarding honesty in schools and workplaces.