Opinions: The Nexus Between Culture and Corruption in Nigeria
Corruption–one of the most discussed issues in Nigeria–is perhaps felt the most by ordinary citizens. Paradoxically, Nigerians hate and condemn corruption, yet they are complicit in the same act they condemn. To exonerate themselves from the act, they always point fingers at others while claiming that “they are not corrupt”. While corruption, especially financial, is much more prevalent at the political level, the same happens outside of the political space in our everyday lives. It has plagued almost every part of our lives, from schools, markets, civil service, to hospitals, etc, which is ominous to our progress. The causes are not only due to Nigeria’s rising inequalities buoyed by unfair redistribution of wealth, but they also take deep root in our culture, a culture that supports, celebrates and harbours perpetrators of corruption.
Corruption has eaten into our psyche; we glorify it and celebrate those who perpetrate it, while sadly being the biggest victims. As highlighted in one of my previous articles, The Precariousness of Expectations in Our Society, our excessive collectivism, which encourages extreme expectations, is not helping matters. Expectations encourage the patron-clientelism nature of our society. A commissioner for agriculture once said, “Even if I wanted to avoid the practice of awarding contracts on the basis of favouritism, I could not. My people would say that I am selfish and foolish. Who gets to such a position of power and then refuses to help his people? Only the worst kind of person.” That we think favouring our kinsmen or people when in a position of power is a heroic act shows how we are complicit in the act we condemn. It is expected of you to share the national cake with your people, and that way, it won’t be considered corruption by them but by others. Your kinsmen will only be upset and call you out for corruption if you do not extend the national cake to them. And because awarding contracts is one common way to share the national cake with your friends and cronies, we have turned our governments into what an analyst called “Contractocracy”– a government of contractors, for contractors, and by contractors.”
Have you asked your uncle, who works at a “juicy” federal agency, how much he is making in a month? How is he able to spend lavishly on the family? Or have you wondered why, all of a sudden, your father, who was given a political appointment, is now worth hundreds of millions or perhaps billions? Of course, you wouldn’t ask those questions because you are enjoying the chocolate-coated cookies. It’s favouring you. We only complain about corruption if we aren’t part of the beneficiaries. Recently, I spoke to someone whose father was a former top elected official in a state, and the person insisted that their father is not corrupt. They wouldn’t be in their eyes because, again, they are getting a share of the cake. This person has never questioned how the father gets all the money he spends on them. To them, he’s earning legitimately even when he’s probably inflating almost every contract awarded for kickbacks.
I am aware that one of the factors that continues to enable corruption is the alarming level of inequality in the country. We cannot be serious about confronting corruption if people are not well paid. Emoluments are very demeaning, to say the least, especially for civil servants and menial job holders. We cannot expect people not to be complicit in corruption when their salaries cannot even feed them, let alone pay their rent and other needs. This is not to justify corruption in any way, but hoping that corruption will disappear or diminish without people getting well paid is like having a bubble of TNT yet hoping that it wouldn’t burst. To successfully crack down on corruption, labour has to be standardised, and people should earn reasonably well in whatever job they have chosen as a source of livelihood. The irony is that those who are meant to champion the fair redistribution of wealth and standardise the society have no incentive to do so. They benefit from the existing, staggering yet growing inequality. We have seen those who portrayed themselves as anti-corruption czars get elected to offices and become the supposed criminals they ousted. If we are serious about rescuing our crumbling nation, our attitude towards corruption has to change. As a people, we have to refrain from celebrating those who have perpetrated corruption, rewarding them with chieftaincy titles, even if they are our kinsmen. We have to condemn the act and stop being complicit in it. I know it’s easier said than done, which is what troubles me the most, especially considering how deep patron-clientelism runs in our society.
Note: Do you know that “419”–the widely used term for corruption or any deceptive act–is named after the section of the Nigerian Penal Code that deals with such crimes.
Reference:
Smith, D.J. (2007). A Culture of Corruption: Everyday Deception and Popular Discontent in Nigeria. Princeton University Press