NEW FACE OF CORRUPTION

There are many unresolved problems in Nigeria, but the issue of the upsurge of corruption is troubling. And the damages it has done to the polity are astronomical. The menace of corruption leads to slow movement of files in offices, police extortion tollgates and slow traffics on the highways, port congestion, queues at passport offices and gas stations, ghost workers syndrome, election irregularities, among others. Even the mad people on the street recognize the havoc caused by corruption - the funds allocated for their welfare disappear into the thin air. Thus, many in the society that corruption is the bane of Nigeria believe it. Consequently, the issue keeps reoccurring in every academic and informal discussion in Nigeria. And the issue will hardly go away!

Some writers say that corruption is endemic in all governments, and that it is not peculiar to any continent, region and ethnic group. It cuts across faiths, religious denominations and political systems and affects both young and old, man and woman alike. Corruption is found in democratic and dictatorial politics; feudal, capitalist and socialist economies. Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures are equally bedeviled by corruption. And corrupt practices did not begin today; the history is as old as the world. Ancient civilizations have traces of widespread illegality and corruption. Thus, corruption has been ubiquitous in complex societies from ancient Egypt, Israel, Rome, and Greece down to the present (Lipset and Lenz 2000, pp.112-113). This does not, however, mean that the magnitude of corruption is equal in every society Some countries are more corrupt than others! As George Orwell notes in his widely read book, Animal Farm: All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others (June 1996, p.109).

Since corruption is not new, and since it is a global phenomenon, it is not peculiar to Nigeria. However, corruption is pandemic in Nigeria (and in many other African and Asian nations); the leaders as well as the followers are corrupt. Consequently, it has defied all the necessary medicines. If there is a lack of control of corruption in every sphere in the nation, it is then like the old saying: When water chokes you, what do you take to wash it down? (The Philosophy of Aristotle, 451-ME2783, p.355)

Definitions of Corruption

  Corruption, wrongdoing by those in a special position of trust. The term is commonly applied to self-benefiting conduct by public officials and others dedicated to public service.

The Nature and Characteristics of Corruption

Some studies have taken a holistic (broader) approach in the discussion of corruption by dividing it into many forms and sub-divisions. These are:

i)               Political Corruption (grand);

ii)             Bureaucratic Corruption (petty); and

iii)            Electoral Corruption.

Political corruption takes place at the highest levels of political authority. It occurs when the politicians and political decision-makers, who are entitled to formulate, establish and implement the laws in the name of the people, are themselves corrupt. It also takes place when policy formulation and legislation is tailored to benefit politicians and legislators.  Political corruption is sometimes seen as similar to corruption of greed as it affects the manner in which decisions are made, as it manipulates political institutions, rules of procedure, and distorts the institutions of government (NORAD, ch.4, Jan. 2000; The Encyclopedia Americana, 1999).

Bureaucratic corruption occurs in the public administration or the implementation end of politics. This kind of corruption has been branded low level and street level. It is the kind of corruption the citizens encounter daily at places like the hospitals, schools, local licensing offices, police, taxing offices and on and on. Bureaucratic petty corruption, which is seen as similar to corruption of need, occurs when one obtains a business from the public sector through inappropriate procedure (see NORAD, ch.4, 2000).

Electoral corruption includes purchase of votes with money, promises of office or special favors, coercion, intimidation, and interference with freedom of election [Nigeria is a good example where this practice is common. Votes are bought, people are killed or maimed in the name of election, losers end up as the winners in elections, and votes turn up in areas where votes were not cast]. Corruption in office involves sales of legislative votes, administrative, or judicial decision, or governmental appointment.  Disguised payment in the form of gifts, legal fees, employment, favors to relatives, social influence, or any relationship that sacrifices the public interest and welfare, with or without the implied payment of money, is usually considered corrupt (The Encyclopedia Americana, 1999).

Other forms of corruption include:

A) Bribery: The payment (in money or kind) that is taken or given in a corrupt relationship. These include kickbacks, gratuities, pay-off, sweeteners, greasing palms, etc. (Bayart et. al 1997, p.11).

B) Fraud: It involves some kind of trickery, swindle and deceit, counterfeiting, racketing, smuggling and forgery (Ibid. p.11).

C) Embezzlement: This is theft of public resources by public officials. It is when a state official steals from the public institution in which he/she is employed.  In Nigeria the embezzlement of public funds is one of the most common ways of economic accumulation, perhaps, due to lack of strict regulatory systems.

D) Extortion: This is money and other resources extracted by the use of coercion, violence or threats to use force. It is often seen as extraction from below [The police and custom officers are the main culprits in Nigeria] (Bayart et. al 1997, p.11)

E) Favoritism: This is a mechanism of power abuse implying a highly biased distribution of state resources. However, this is seen as a natural human proclivity to favor friends, family and any body close and trusted.

F) Nepotism: This is a special form of favoritism in which an office holder prefers his/her kinfolk and family members. Nepotism, [which is also common in Nigeria], occurs when one is exempted from the application of certain laws or regulations or given undue preference in the allocation of scarce resources (NORAD, ch.1, ch.2 & ch.4, Jan. 2000; Amundsen, 1997; Girling 1997; also see Fairbanks, Jr. 1999).

For effective control of corruption in Nigeria, the society must develop a culture of relative openness, in contrast to the current bureaucratic climate of secrecy. And a merit system (instead of the tribal bias, state of origin and nepotism or favoritism, which have colored the landscape) should be adopted in employment and distribution of national resources, etc. More importantly, the leadership must muster the political will to tackle the problem head-on (see report on Second Global Forum on Fighting and Safeguarding Integrity, May 28-31, 1999). Regardless of where it occurs, what causes corruption or the form it takes, the simple fact remains that corruption is likely to have a more profound and different effects in less developed countries, than in wealthy and developed societies. This is due to a variety of conditions, which cannot deviate significantly from the nature of their underdevelopment (Nye 1967). Because of the corrosive effects of corruption in national development, and given the relative limited resources or poverty in the region, Africa, and indeed Nigeria, can least afford to be corrupt.

Until President Obasanjo began his crusade against corruption via the Anti-Corruption law, "Welcome to the country of corruption" would have been an appropriate inscription at Nigeria's international airports! The anxiety of airport officials to extort money from those travelling into and out of the country, be they Nigerians or foreigners, was there for all to see. To the corrupt members of the police force, any criminal was welcome provided he paid the price being asked by the officer. And in the civil service, right from the messenger to the official at the very top, any duty performed was based on what could be extracted from whoever sought their services. In short, corruption pervaded every stratum of Nigerian society. The use of the past tense is not to suggest that Nigeria has now been transformed into a corruption free environment.

Ranging from petty bribery to virtually ordering the Central Bank of Nigeria to siphon money into private bank accounts in overseas countries, corruption takes various forms that only a specialist in the subject will be keen to detail. The usual defence of the small offender is to blame corruption on the extended family system, which puts heavy demands on meagre earnings, but when it comes to the scale of graft by those at the top echelons of government it is nothing but greed. The only reason why Nigeria is underdeveloped and indebted to the IMF is the corruption of the trustees of the national purse. Such corruption has tended to be on the increase with successive governments since independence in 1960.

The prominent politicians of the First Republic (1960-1966) were flamboyant, rode in Pontiacs and Chevrolets, and lived in big houses. Although corruption was not an issue, as regional rivalry aninter-party wrangling were the dominant themes during this era, Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, the man who directed their overthrow, nevertheless described them as "ten-percenters", i.e., they demanded ten per cent of the value of contracts they awarded. In fact many politicians, both at the regional and federal levels of government, were indicted by the military administration that eventually took over the reins of government.

The succeeding government headed by Major General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi could be said to have consisted of true professionals who were more accustomed to life in the officers' mess than the luxury of the outside. Many of the top officers never built houses of their own and were not "permitted" to stay long in office to be tainted with accusations of corruption.

The incoming administration of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (1984-85) and his new conquerors of democracy is better remembered for its tyranny and "triple standard" in political decisions than for corruption, although it must be said that the prominent actors some of whom had served under the Murtala-Obasanjo administration, refused to declare their assets publicly on assumption of office. What the era gave to the world of corruption was General Ibrahim Babangida who overthrew his colleagues in a palace coup, and established a government of his own.

      The Babangida government (1985-93), it must be emphasised, elevated corruption to an instrument of state policy. General Babangida would seem to have believed that every Nigerian had a price tag on his head. This was described by General Obasanjo as a policy of "settling" opponents. The government enriched its actors and many friends, and General Babangida himself is not doing badly in the life of unexplainable luxury into which he was forced to retire. The culmination of corruption and robbery during the Babangida era was the case of the nation's windfall from oil during the Gulf crisis - a windfall estimated at about $12 billion - which is yet to be accounted for.

Babangida was the decent operator compared with General Sani Abacha (1993-98) who transformed Nigeria into a family company in which every member was a shareholder. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria was accountable to the family, and had to make available whatever sums of money were demanded by any of its members. Revelations have continued to be made of Abacha's billions in foreign bank accounts, and the wealth of his collaborators is known to many Nigerians.

The sudden death of Abacha is a classic moral lesson about vanity. However, his successor, General Abdusalami Abubakar, would appear to have ignored this lesson. He satisfied his own urge and those of his close associates by dipping both hands into the national pie before leaving office. The Christopher Kolade inquiry set up by President Obasanjo indicted the Abubakar administration in its findings over contract awards and financial transactions that were hastily made between June 1998 and May 1999.

The entry of the civilian politicians, with President Obasanjo's emphasis on the eradication of corruption, brought succour to an embattled citizenry who had witnessed the worst excesses of authoritarian rule. Elected politicians, unlike military dictators, are accountable to the Nigerian electorate, and that is why democracy must be protected at all costs. The revelations of corruption in the Senate, which resulted in the impeachment of its president (Dr Chuba Okadigbo) and the resignation of top officers, are sad but encouraging in the sense that the Idris Kuta probe was instituted by the senators themselves. The crusade against corruption at the governmental level must be a continuous process. The crusade has not ceased in Great Britain, one of the oldest democracies of the world. What is significant in Britain is that a case of corruption, once identified, does not go unpunished. The House of Commons continues to reform itself, as evidenced by the rule requiring every member to enter into the register of interests any commitment outside Parliament, even the publication of an article in a newspaper, which brings in a financial reward of more than £500.

To fight corruption in society at large, successive governments must identify policies that seek to eradicate ignorance and poverty. The way to eradicate ignorance is for governments to invest in a system of education which, from primary to university level, teaches the citizenry about their civic and legal rights among other things. As for poverty, governments must provide opportunities for the people and social security for those who are unemployed or unemployable. The crusade against poverty must include improvements in transport, housing and health facilities, so that those on minimum earnings can still live with contentment.

Attempt to give a gift of money to a British youngster, and the ninety per cent probability is that he or she will ask you, "What for"? One can hardly say that about the Nigerian counterpart, and that is why poverty is the very root cause of corruption in society.

     During the military era people were sacred to give and accept bribes because they saw it as the duty of the military only , even those who were engaged in it had to do it secretly and with fear in other not to be used as an escape goat. In fact the only none military agencies that was fully involved in it without fear was the police. With the birth of new democracy in 1999 corruption evolved and was adopted by sectors in our society it was seen as the reason for our existence people were engaged in it freely without fear the old, young, had become agents of corruption gone are the days when the police force, nitel and nepa workers were seen as the only agents of corruption in our society. With the rebirth of corruption under a different name  parastals and government ministries have now seen the benefit of being  corrupt and as such have adopted as their Motto.    

Public office holders in all levels of the government are now proud to be corrupt  some of them even go the extent of demanding of outrageous fee before they could attend to a contractor they call it motivation fee. Even the low level staffs go to the length of hiding people files in ceiling in other for them to get force those in need of their files to part away some amount of fee before such file could suddenly reappear. Corruption have eaten deep in all aspects of our society  in our places of worship, schools, hospitals, it could be found there.

      Above all, Nigeria cannot be seen as secure and free until the people's human rights are respected and protected by the government. As Mikhail Gorbachev points out, "the world cannot be considered secure if human rights are being violated." And more importantly, the world cannot be considered secure if a many people lack the elementary condition for life worthy of man. Similarly, Nigeria cannot be considered secure if millions of people go hungry, do not have a roof over their heads and to be jobless and sick indefinitely, with the most basic human right, the right to life is disregarded" (Morrison 1988). Through it all, to tame corruption, Nigeria has to use words as well as actions a multifaceted approach. However, has Nigeria been monitoring the effectiveness of her many (but not serious) anti-corruption strategies? Finally, good governance, transparency, accountability and the rule of law are the keys to tackling corruption in the society, as corrupt leaders cannot wage an effective war against corruption.