By Dr. Emmanuel Okoroafor
Corruption has woven itself into the tapestry of the Nigeria narrative such that it has become the eternal plague of this most populous African country.
For decades, this malady in its various manifestations -embezzling, back-handedness, kickbacks, internet fraud, thievery and all what not―have defined us more than our characters, capabilities, and accomplishments. It is so bad that even one UK Prime Minister had the cheeks to brand us “fantastically corrupt.”
For a country touted as the giant of Africa, the tragic flaw of corruption has whittled down Nigeria’s goliath stature to that of a Lilliputian. Today, it has become the gangrene eating away our corporate structure, the poison oozing from every pore of our collective body, and the bile in our cup of wine. What is worse, even the younger generation has gradually bought into the corruption franchise. It is now fashionable to hear young people say, “If I get there (public position), I go chop (embezzle) my own.” Which means “if you can’t beat them, then join them.”
Many others argue that the perpetrators tend to go scot-free. These vermin―kleptocrats who steal the country blind; politicians who feed fat on our commonwealth; public office holders who put their hands into the national coffers and pilfer the national wealth (or is it national cake?) for their generation unborn (little thieves in uniforms who abuse the power of the state to rob the lower class of their hard-earned kobo) live among us. They oppress us with the opulence of their ill-gotten wealth, and not anyone of them has been brought to book. So why shouldn’t we join them? A compelling but lame argument.
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In truth, nemesis awaits every one of them, because corruption is a vicious cycle, a beast with ugly fangs, and a grave sin with consequences that does not and will not spare the perpetrators, especially those in the middle rungs of the ladder, in civil service and the corporate institutions of the private sectors. They will all receive their just dessert at the end of the day―oh, yes!
Recently, I was out with a couple of old friends. Naturally, our conversation turned to the worrying situation of the country and how corruption has become the bane of this great nation. We dug into our repertoire of experience, with a focus on bribery in government places and the corporate world. As we did, we had many stories to share and tell.
My friend who runs a construction firm explained how a corrupt government official had denied him a lucrative contract that would have been a breakthrough for his then two-year-old struggling company at the time.
“I got to the Ministry that should endorse our papers and the “Oga” was unresponsive and unwilling to help. I understood his motive. He wanted a bribe, but the sum he mentioned was outrageous. We tried hard to negotiate a reasonable sum for that piece of vital government paper, but he wouldn’t budge. Eventually, we lost to a rival, for a contract that we were duly qualified for. It took us another five years to have another opportunity.”
His story is familiar to that of most Nigerians. But in his own case, payback time came 10 years later.
According to him, “Just last week” the same government official, now retired and no longer enjoying the perks of office, appeared at his company requesting to speak with the CEO of the company about employing his son who since he graduated five years ago couldn’t secure a job. Unbeknownst to the former mandarin, he was seated before the same person he tried to force a bribe from years ago, and whom he punished for failing to comply with his corrupt demand.
“He sat before me complaining about how things are bad, people are corrupt, the system is broken, blah, blah. I kept quiet, remembering how this man treated me 10 years ago. His rambling brought back flashbacks of how I had pleaded with him on that day to no end; how he remained unmoved when in frustration I’d told him – the way you people are going, very soon there will be no businesses in Nigeria.”
To cut a long story short, my friend told him there was no vacancy. And truly there was none.
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“I could have referred him to another friend of mine who at the time was looking for young graduates for employment in a branch of his real estate office in Lekki, but I was not motivated to help him. I had done enough by not embarrassing him, by not bringing up that episode from ten years ago,” he explained.
The second corruption story of the night was of a “big boy” who worked in Shell and habitually frustrated vendors and service companies seeking contracts with the “Oil Giant”. His demand for bribes was inordinate.
This story came from our friend who owned a logistic firm in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.
“I needed him to help win a contract. He stated his price, but it was a huge sum we could not afford,” we heard from our friend.
Five years later, the fixer was retrenched by Shell. With the reversal of fortune, this bribe taker went cap in hand to friends, acquaintances, and old clients. But it was payback time for him. Time to reap what he had sowed.
“He came straight to us for a job as a consultant. Yes, he had experience, having worked with Shell, and trained abroad, but we rejected him flatly. I asked a junior staff to attend to him. And my instruction was to dismiss him as quickly as possible. You don’t reap where you don’t sow,” our friend justified.
Our discussion, lasting into the night, was a jeremiad against grifters in government offices and the corporate world who reinforce corruption. These clogs in the system frustrate righteous people, who do not want to jump the queue but rather do what is right.
You find these stumbling blocks everywhere today. They occupy offices, big and small, wielding power over the future of an individual, a company and even the country. They forget that corruption kills the hope of a better tomorrow and in this country of ours, tomorrow offers no guarantee. Blinded by filthy lucre, they forget that they will not occupy their privileged seats forever. These tin gods frustrate businesses, forgetting that when businesses are stressed, they fail; and when businesses fail, people will lose their jobs. They weaken government institutions and good governance because one act of corruption triggers a chain reaction that harms and weakens the system. But sooner than later, they end up victims of their greed.
“He who lives by corruption is consumed by corruption in the end.”
We all remember the story of the Army General (Name withheld), who was once the Minister for Works. Under him, a stretch of an important road was awarded for reconstruction. However, in the warped culture of contract malfeasance in Nigeria, it was an opportunity for him to give a piece of the national cake to his cronies.
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“He awarded contracts, got the money out, abandoned the projects and repatriated kickbacks to officials of government”.
This cycle was repeated with a few citizens lining their pockets with the budget for unexecuted projects, just as it was with our super military minister.
But a few years later, when he was out of uniform and retired into civilian life, the aura of invincibility gone, he joined the civilian horde plying the bad road. The same bad road he had the power and authority to repair or reconstruct but chose to fritter the money away. He died on that same stretch of road. What an irony!
Corruption is a monster that spares no one. This is a message to those who sit in high offices thinking they are untouchable; those in government who feel unconcerned about the plight of the masses. The rot in the system has a way of coming back to haunt them.
Several lessons abound from the scourge of insecurity bedeviling the country presently. When the problem started, the poor and the defenseless were the immediate victims of the perpetrators. But over time, the noose widened for the neck of the bull (rich).
Today, relatives of these “big men” are among the captives of bandits. Many of them, politicians inclusive, have paid ransoms to free their wives, children, cousins, and associates. Police and military officers have been kidnapped in the past five months and even the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been threatened by bandits/kidnappers. Corruption spares no one.
By now we ought to have learnt our lessons. Our economy is in shambles, the country is a big pot of mess, and our young ones are leaving in droves to other lands in search of greener pastures.
The root of our national tribulation is corruption, a self-inflicted problem.