Dimensions of corruption -By Sulaimon Alamutu

Corruption in Nigeria is often measured in terms of how much money a government official or an influential politician has embezzled. And the hype that usually follows such discoveries in the media naturally makes us confine our perception of corruption to stealing from the public treasury alone.

The tenure of Nuhu Ribadu in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission actually threw up discoveries upon discoveries of how our leaders feasted with impunity on our commonwealth, which the media also gave adequate and extensive coverage. This situation gave fillip to our already fixed notion that corruption is limited to those in the high places. And by extension, we measure the problem only in terms of financial misappropriation at the highest level of our society.

But when we examine what goes on at the micro level, one discovers that this level appears to be the most infested with the ‘Ebola’ of corruption and we most times ignore this fact. For the sake of argument, let’s agree that corruption is only financial impropriety. What one sees in our ordinary daily interactions are clothed with corrupt practices in this regard.

Take for instance, a chairman of a community development association conniving with some of his executive members to empty the treasury of the community. The financial status of the association is not rendered to the people for years and nothing happens. Such a chairman, by our typical standard, will be the first to attack the President or the state governor if any case of financial misappropriation is raised against either of the two. Or how do we explain a situation where the head of an extended family diverts the heritage of the entire family for his personal use?

Stories abound of how various associations and organisations split because of financial corruption on the part of their leaderships. There have also been stories of cooperative societies, thrift and credit unions and local contribution groups running into crisis after some unscrupulous members default in remitting their financial commitments to the bodies or the leadership diverting the contributions to other uses.

Consider this: an engineer in charge of maintaining a company’s machines and other equipment is expected to ensure those assets work effectively. He is expected to advise the management on the best and cost-saving maintenance plan for the machines. But what one discovers is that such personnel often design ways of short-changing the company to make money. High quotations are given for spare parts. The man that supplies diesel to power the generator sets delivers below the expected quantity in connivance with the engineer, who gets his cut at the end.

The religious institutions are not exempted from this mess. In fact, it seems to be more pronounced there. Students’ union leaders see the coffers of the organisation as goldmines. The situation is bad at this (micro) level that the mentality of people has become fixated to the notion that one cannot make it without being corrupt. And unfortunately, it is this jaundiced thinking that those from this level take to the top when the opportunity comes their way.

All the above instances illustrate how degenerated we are as a society. People at the lower cadre hide or deliberately overlook their acts of financial corruption but direct their energies at those at the top at any given opportunity.

I am not trying to exonerate anybody here. But the point I am making is that until we all see this problem of corruption (this time, financial) as cutting across all levels of the society and tackle it from that point, we may not get the much desired headway.

Besides, the problem of corruption should be seen beyond embezzling public funds either at the macro or micro level of the society. It must also be understood from the point of view of morals. How do I mean? If a man has no virtues, he should be seen as corrupt. If a woman does not value her chastity and behaves licentiously in the public, she should be termed a corrupt woman.

When integrity, dignity and good manners become normal features of a society and decadence, bribery, wickedness and impurity among others are elevated to prominence, then such a society deserves no appellation than ‘corruption extraordinaire.’ The society that we find ourselves unfortunately deserves this appellation. And we all are in one way or the other contributors to its current pitiable state. Both financial and moral corruptions dictate our daily lives.

The home-front is in disarray as parents no longer serve as mirrors for their children. Some parents don’t find it shameful to purchase examination questions for their wards or buy results. Some mothers even encourage their daughters to dress indecently. Politicians and business moguls mill around campuses to pick young girls. Sadly too, old business women and politicians also have ‘small boys’ around them for indecent affairs.

The food vendors make excess profits and the guy selling carpet or clothing materials in measures reduces them to short-change his customers. The poor guy at our backyard vying for local government chairmanship, councillorship or house of assembly has one mentality, to ‘eat’ part of the ‘national cake’ as soon as he gets to power. The bus conductor will pray that a passenger should forget his or her balance while another passenger is hoping the conductor will forget to ask him or her for fare. Gambling and alcoholism have become signposts in virtually every nook and cranny of our society. The young and the old all engage in this twin evil.

We must all understand that a corrupt life is one devoid of God’s blessings. A corrupt society experiences the consequences of corruption. All the problems our country is facing today are as a result of our deep romance with all forms of corruption at all levels. If our leaders bid farewell to financial sleaze and the followers do the same, our country will progress. At the same time, if we all resolve to embrace moral uprightness in all our dealings, it is clear that God Almighty will shower His forgiveness and mercy upon us once again.