Culture of Corruption

Below is a very interesting post on corruption in Nigeria. While the writer is talking about Nigeria, I think that a lot of points he raises are true for other corrupt countries too ( yes that includes Pakistan):

There was an interesting passage by one of the better This Day journalists, Simon Kolawole, in This Day yesterday (on the back page). He goes to the nub of the problem of corruption in Nigeria by showing how it is grounded in social expectations and conventions. Corruption stems from the structure of society itself, in terms of patronage systems and the expectations of the extended family. Until there is a break away from patronage culture and clientism, Nigeria will continue to be deeply beset by problems of corruption. Here is the passage, where Kolawole imagines what would happen if he was given political office:

"I am a journalist. I live in a rented house. I drive an official car. Now, let's say I am given a political appointment today. The first thing is that I will open the newspapers tomorrow and see my face in full-page congratulatory adverts sponsored by my former 'classmates'. Why? they are rejoicing with me for getting a 'plum' job. They are very proud of me that I have been called up to serve my fatherland. they are positioning themselves to 'partake' in my 'patriotic service' to my fatherland. They want contacts and contracts.

Let's also say in one year, I have bought houses in Abuja and built mansions in Lekki. Nobody will ask me questions. Let's say I have acquired a convoy of cars. Nobody will say, come, is this not the same Kolawole who didn't have a personal car? How much is he earning now that he can afford all these? No. Instead, people will be thronging my house to slice their own share of my loot. Youth organisations, women's groups and town unions will all be paying solidarity visits to me. They will present me with a life-size portrait in the full glare of the media. Pastors will become my spiritual consultants, uttering more flattery than I can imagine. Fuji and juju artistes will start to sing my praise. "Kolawole o, baba l'oje!" They will release a whole album with one side dedicated to "Simon", the other side to "Kolawole". They will even address me as "Chief Kolawole", even though I may not have a traditional title. O, that is not a problem. I can easily organise a chieftancy for myself. With a few millions, kings - who are suppose to be custodians of traditional values - will be falling over each other to give me titles for my "contributions to humanity", even if I have not contributed to humanity. Universities will give me honorary doctorate degrees as a "role model" in exchange for donations...

The society expects, encourages, promotes and nurtures corruption. The society condones it. The society budgets for it. If you go into public office and don't come out rich, you are a failure. Your immediate and extended families will curse you. Your community will alienate you. "You're stupid," they will say. "Opportunities come but once. You missed your chance. Look at what the minister from the other community accumulated during his time in office. You must be a fool!" So, we keep dragging the country down, down, down. We keep envying developed countries, wondering why our own country is not making progress, wondering why shools don't have laboratories and libraries."

Tackling corruption is therefore not simply a matter of the EFCC, the ICPC and other legal processes being implemented and effected. It is not enough that Tafa Balogun, Fayose, Tummy Tuck, Mrs Goodluck etc are brought to book and we get to see pictures of them in cuffs, humiliated in the face of the Law. There must also be, as a friend puts it, an acceptance of the reality of the "Abacha within all of us".

We must therefore acknowledge that the structure and expectations of Nigeria society pushes complicity in everyone's face. Everyone in Nigeria is complicit with corruption - it is not an external process that happens to a select few. Put like this: how many could accept public office without caving into demands for access and contracts from friends and relatives?

And it seems to me that religion is entirely complicit with the system of corruption in Nigeria. For instance, the Church in its many denominations wields extraordinary influence over people's ethics and perceptions of right and wrong, yet how many pastors are actively campaigning against corruption? Instead, every day we read another story of yet another corrupt pastor in the news. Beyond the increasingly powerful net of the law, Nigeria needs a transformation of ethical values which views public office as a force for the common good, not a means to enrich one's circle of friends and the extended family. Religious leaders should put this message at the front of their preaching. Getting people to sign an 'anti-corruption pledge' might be an idea - anything that forces people to acknowledge that corruption lies within every Nigerian, thanks to the society in which they live.