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Winning the War
Against Corruption In Nigeria Through The Promotion Of Our Ethical Values By Ugboja Onuche
Gideon What are the major problems facing
our country? How do we know the ways defining the problem, identifying the
problem, and generalizing possible solutions? As years go by, steadily, it
becomes a challenge to empathize and integrate faced experiences of the
country into our repertoire of what we thought we already knew about the
nation. Who would have guessed that winning the war against corruption in
Nigeria through the promotion of our ethical values would offer insights on
the subtle connections that makes every facets of the economy inconsistent. Many of us have never had to
contemplate taking extreme, even unthinkable measures in order to unite
together with one voice as one citizen formulating ideas with solutions in
the areas that would correct government weaknesses. Many of us, possibly,
have also never had to consider engaging in behavior that exhibit our morals,
values, or fundamental beliefs about what is right or wrong, and what is a
sin or a necessary evil. Many others, however, have
had to do so on a daily basis because they exist in
a world where socially, culturally, and economically, they have no other
alternatives. Promotion of our ethical values
against corruption is the key to create new opportunities for sustainable
economic development, political stability, and so on. The rise of corruption
and inconsistent government policies has not only developed a dramatic
increase in the incidence of deteriorating activities. Both the increase in
the incidence of deteriorating activities and the possible appendage of
corrupt practices pose challenges in all sectors, while promotion of our ethical
values can radically shift in the ability to change and control a government
by elevating the entire sectors of the economy. For Nigeria, a nation in the
process of achieving good governance, corruption is not a strange word.
Simply put, it is a dishonest or illegal behavior, especially of people in
authority. It is an abuse of public office for private gain which usually
involves embezzlement of public funds, nepotism and falsification of facts and figures, etc. Corruption has no doubt done incalculable
damages to every facets of the country Nigeria. It has undermined democratic
institutions retarded economic growth and development (Samuel, 2011); and
cause poverty in the mist of plenty. It has prevented the country from making
political, social and economic progress and ultimately brought about high
level of massive unemployment in the country. It has denied millions of
Nigerians access to education, housing, health, food and infrastructure
(National Standard, Oct. 15, 2007). For the most part, corruption has
disrupted Nigeria’s political faculty posing immoral acts by government
officials such as aforementioned instances. Perhaps the real
challenge with tackling corruption in Nigeria is that most of the
campaigning leaders against corruption (in the form of the policy makers, the
legislators, the police and the judiciary) pressed into service are
themselves not exactly clean. These are the realities that
have stared past and present Nigerian leaders on the face as they moan about
corruption and pretend to fight it. Indeed, promotion of our ethical values
against corruption is most apparent by its absence. National prestige remains
disturbingly preoccupied with corrupt practices, as much the value of Nigeria
today. For the past years and in the
recent times, our country (Nigeria) has been blind-folded
by an act of indiscipline attitude. Some exceedingly bright and thoughtful
people -- psychologists, educators, sociologists, students and others --
matters of deeper importance contributing to the advancement of what is
morally right in the society. No one at the annual Ethics-Moral
conference in my school (Kogi State University, Anyigba) early last month,
aptly subtitled "the menace of corruption in recent times,'' disputed
the significance of lawful state in general or psychological explosion in
particular. Government's policies and the other measures of relentless
progress remain profound facts of today's life. And
focus actualization directed towards this path in a real sense knowledge,
will always help define what happens. But John Oyibo, a student of public administration at kogi
state polytechnic Lokoja, who was in attendance, asked a crucial question
about the outgrowth of corruption: "How can it really be curbed in the
governmental affairs?'' For most of us, the answer has been mixed. I was an early adopter of Ethics-Moral,
because I saw how helpful it could be in my behavior and in my wish to keep
learning. Sometimes, in my most thoughtful moods, I
convince myself that properly, ethics and moral will be the literal salvation
of the human race, at least in a material sense, and for corruption to be
curbed in the governmental affairs, it requires the Government doing what is
morally right and generally acceptable in the society (enhancing corrective
and competitive measures) like ensuring equitable allocation of resources in
all sectors, encouraging political stability, utilizing the citizen's
welfare, and so on. And I would bet that most
of the conference speakers and audience shared a similar sentiment, despite
entirely rational worries -- prodded by several speakers -- about problems of
corruption. War against misappropriation of resources, strategies used for
curbing nepotism, check and balance, and the likes are as much on the horizon
as the ability to improve the processes of discipline attitude and learning. But when we ask what it means to win the war against
corruption, we are looking into something more mysterious. We are asking,
ultimately, about ethical values. Whether or not you share the faith
of Apostle Destiny founder and president of NJH Ministries and a profound
Apostle of God in Africa and across the globe, you probably share his notion,
as I do, that being disciplined is not about being
creators in the cosmic sense but adding to what has been fashioned already --
to be creative. "To be Disciplined means we have a moral
responsibility to create, imagine and evolve,'' Destiny said. "We accept responsibility for recognizing good and
evil," he continued, "seizing the future but recognizing our
faults." Because the concept 'ethical
values' almost has not been adopted in everyday governmental policy
executions -- today, at fast pace -- it is much more difficult and rewarding
questions than wondering about the Next Big Thing. Let's assume ethical values is neutral, said Kayode Ife,
director of Young Students Economic Forum, which is based in KSU. "I'll
grant that it is,'' he said, "if you'll grant to me that human beings
engaged in the modern state are part of a moral community and they must make
moral choices in the face of astonishing change.'' "Overall, the human race is
becoming more ethical," Ife said. "But is
it the pace of ethical improvement keeping pace with Government's policies?
No. Witness," he said, "the ability of a single individual at a
keyboard to create a damage on a scale once reserved
to nation-states." "As humans, we may be better
than our ancestors, but that may not be good
enough,'' Ife said. Questions of right and wrong are
easy to decide. But some conflicts occur between
right and right, when each choice can be justified as meeting some positive
value. Those are the difficult choices, Ife noted. One of these days as a result of
this conference, the government may begin to develop a consciousness -- the
creation of what some have called "Reformation'' inside the economy
sectors. What happens then? "We have to start thinking about what this
consciousness is, and how it can have a conscience,'' said Attah Ojonugwa,
fellow student of Kogi State University, department of economics and a
largely incorrigible optimist about ethics and moral impact in our lives.
"If it doesn't, it may find us inadvisable. It
may decide we are irrelevant and get rid of us.'' "But to expect this 'Reformation' to develop a
conscience, government will need to formulate right mixture of policies. For
example, establishing electronic platform by which government agencies would
use to detect and prevent corruption; things like the Government Integrated
Financial Management System, would be a great start," Enema said (fellow student of
Economics department). Government will have to change some of the ways they
operates formulating policies, notably on economy policies. As a practical matter, he said,
Nigeria (our government) have to revise economic thinking and when this
occur, it will cause a radical change concerning all aspects of the economy.
They should "place less emphasis on the sum at the bottom and either
come up with ways of measuring so-called externalities or a willingness to
recognize that something can be meaningful even if it can't be measured.'' Furthermore, below are some
sourced statements. Causes of corruption Often times it has
been noted that, Nigerian leaders in both past and recent times, keep
on forfeiting promises as to curb the menace of corruption. It does not
appear that any serious effort has been made to
address the real causes of corruption. Thus without right mixture of policies
against the causes of corruption, trying to fight it becomes problematic
rather than being solved. The strategies adopted so far in fighting
corruption in Nigeria lack this concept 'right mixture of policies'. We must
now attempt to answer the questions that Nigerians should be asking their
crusaders of corruption. What indeed are the domestic causes of corruption in
one of the world’s most corrupt countries? It is necessary to observe that
aside from the quality, or lack of it, of people running the Nigerian
political-economy terrain, there are some systemic conditions in the Nigerian
polity that promote corruption. To start with, it is unfortunate that power is governed arbitrarily by decision makers who in reality
are not directly accountable to the ruled as it is often seen in
non-democratic regimes. This shows Nigeria’s shortcoming since
independence to always conduct credible, free, fair
and uncontroversial elections to political offices in the country. The most
essential point of the Nigerian status quo regarding the problem of
corruption is the overarching crude oil economy and politics. It is often heard that crude oil has been the major source of
political concentration and patronage in Nigeria since the 1970s oil boom.
Indeed since the advent of the oil boom in the 1970s, Nigeria as a nation has
been at stake in terms of total commitment by the Government given to the oil
sector and posing little or no care for other sectors. As a result, Nigerians
have developed what is called 'inequitable
allocation of resources'. With the spending of Nigerian oil incomes in the
Gowon days being declared to be a problem, Nigerian
agriculture (the former mainstay of the Nigerian economy) was abandoned and
the many assembly plants that camouflaged as manufacturing industries soon
followed suit. Indicating what is right as a significant phase, Nigeria today
needs to enhance right mixture of policies because mistakes
of the past keeps on rising up-till-now. I don't seem to understand why the neglect of other sector do not bother the government so as to serve generating beneficial factors like the oil
sector. For example, Agricultural sector, power sector and so on are
beneficial sectors and should serve as an integral part of federal
government's agenda as the oil sector. The effects of corruption The continuous pace of corruption
on an economy shows the awkward shift of development. In the political realm,
it shows that, the source ingredient of democracy and good governance is
misused and therefore lacking formal processes. Corruption in the sensitive
faculties of Nigeria's system of rule, especially in elections and in
legislative bodies reduces appropriation in policymaking; corruption in the
judiciary undermines or suspends the rule of law; and corruption in public
administration results in the unequal provision of services. Additionally,
Corruption is not only practiced in the government affairs
but also practiced in the private sector. In the private sector,
corruption increases the cost of business through the price of illicit
payments themselves, the management cost of negotiating with officials, and
the risk of breached agreements or detection. Although some claim corruption
reduces costs by cutting red tape, an emerging consensus holds that the
availability of bribes induces officials to contrive new rules and delays.
Where corruption inflates the cost of business, it also distorts the playing
field, shielding firms with connections from competition and thereby
sustaining inefficient firms. How to wage a credible war
on Corruption through the promotion our ethical values can
be focused on these aspects. They are as follows: (a) Prevention, and
(b) Detection. Prevention of corruption Corruption can
not be prevented in Nigeria until various bodies like the social,
business, and bureaucratic environments embody hostility against corruption
rather than taking it likely. From the above point of view, it is induced
that, there must be certain legal instruments to be put in place to enable
unfettered corruption detection, arraignment and conviction to be facilitated.
In this regard, The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, uttered on the
17th day of February 2015, that corruption has
persisted in Nigeria because it lacked the institutions, systems and
processes to prevent it. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala made this known
when she spoke on the topic: Preventing Leakages in the Nigerian Economy at
the Catholic Caritas Foundation Forum in Abuja. The minister gave the verdict
despite the country having in place two key anti-corruption agencies – the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other Related Offences Commission. According to her, the absence of
the relevant systems and institutions that will help check corruption has
created opportunities for people to engage in the act. “This thing has been with us and
we must crack it. This is not something that started in this country today;
but it is something that we must crack,” she said. “Fundamentally, we have to
ask ourselves, why has this continued to be a problem? I am convinced that it
is because we constantly look at the symptoms and not the cause of the
disease. The cause of the disease is we don’t have in place the institutions, the systems and the
processes to block and prevent it in the first place. That’s the only
difference between us and the people abroad.” The minister assured that people
would be compelled to do the right thing always if the appropriate systems
were in place to block and prevent corruption. She urged youth in the country to
ask the relevant questions that would help tackle corruption. She said:
“This is so important now because of technology and I am a total fan of the
use of technology and electronic platforms to block the leakages in this
country. We must use them the way they are being used in other countries.” Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said that the
introduction of the Government Integrated Financial Management System had
helped to reduce physical movement of cash to make payments and curb
corruption. She said that the Integrated
Personnel Payment System had also helped government to remove ghost workers
from the system and save money in the process. She said, “We have been able to
weed out about 62,893 ghost workers till date saving N208.7 billion and we
have not finished in the system. That is addressing the root cause.” The minister said that the names
of the persons found to be involved in the act had been
sent to the ICPC for further action. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said that
through the electronic wallet system introduced by the Ministry of
Agriculture, government had been able to reduce corruption in fertilizer
distribution in the country. According to her, 10.5 million
farmers have been registered under the system with
more than 6 million being able to access the product personally. This, she said, had contributed to
increased food production.The minister said that with the creation of the
Pension Transmission Administration Department as demanded by law, issues
with old pension were being handled systematically. She said that 14 people were
presently under trial for various pension scams in
the country. Commenting on the outcome of the
forensic Audit on the alleged $20 billion missing oil money, she said the
ministry had written to the NNPC asking it to remit the amount as directed by
the auditors (NAN). [Sources: PremiumTimes news 2015].
Furthermore, appropriate legislation should be enacted; for example, A law
should be enacted, declaring all crimes of corruption “federal crimes”
justiciable in federal courts or tribunals. And also,
a law should be enacted creating Federal Tribunals for Corruption offences
(FTCO). The powers of such courts, sitting in Abuja and State capitals, and
the form of sentences within their scope must be carefully
spelt out, and the court or courts of final appeal specified. It
is relevant to mention that virtually every American is wary of the US
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), because it can land on anyone’s doorstep, at
any time and indeed, the IRS has the power to examine anyone’s lifestyle and
to ask for explanations about one’s sources of income, and woe betides anyone
who is unable to account for any newfound wealth. That in a nutshell is the sort
of social environment that must be established in Nigeria if a credible start
is to be made in the difficult job of corruption prevention and eradication. [Sources: How to tackle corruption effectively in Nigeria by
Samuel Ejike Okoye]. Detection of corruption Detecting corruption in a wide-sense strips to ensure imbalances of political
governance being curbed . As it is said, we know not an undercover event until strategies
is being undermined to seek forth the root of what is hidden. Unfortunately,
we are living in a world filled with stagnation and there is no prove that
the recovery will occur anytime soon. The only thing at this
very hour that seems to be the antidote of stagnation, e.g. corruption; is
the promotion of our ethical values. Nigerians are not in the
consistent attitude of questioning the sources of sudden wealth. Rather,
those by main characteristics of unexplained sudden wealth are extolled.
Moreover, it has to be made clear that corruption is
a criminal act to observe thoroughly. When corruption is radically high in a
country, that country's situation becomes radically pathetic; but observing
her situation extremely gives room to discover yielding solutions. The
problem with Nigeria is that when top officials are involved in corrupt
practices and they are caught, they are not dealt
with severely. As it is always observed time to
time, the law making bodies go through the motions but disengage necessary
plans bringing the offenders to book. Severe sanctions that are actually
required to act as a deterrent are not applied. Goodluck Jonathan
Administration (2010-2015). In 2014, Nigeria's rank improved
from 143rd to the 136th position on Transparency International's Corruption
Perceptions Index. [1] In late 2013, Nigeria's
then central bank governor Lamido Sanusi informed President Goodluck Jonathan
that the state oil company, NNPC had failed to remit US$20 billion of oil
revenues, which it owed the state. Jonathan however dismissed the claim and
replaced Sanusi for his mismanagement of the central bank's budget. A Senate committee also found Sanusi’s account to be lacking in
substance.[2] After the conclusion of the NNPC's account
Audit, it was announced in January 2015 that NNPC's non-remitted revenue is
actually US$1.48billion, which it needs to refund back to the Government.[3]
Upon release of both the PwC and Deloitte report by the government at the eve
of its exit, it was however determined that truly close to $20 billion was
indeed missing or misappropriated or spent without appropriation.[4]
In addition to these, the government of Goodluck Jonathan had several running
scandals including the BMW Purchase by his Aviation Minister, $250 million
plus security contracts to militants in the Niger Delta, massive corruption
and kick backs in the Ministry of Petroleum, Malibu Oil International
Scandal, and several scandals involving the Petroleum Ministry including
accusations of sweetheart deals.[5] with select fronts and
business people to divert public wealth. In the dying days of Goodluck
Jonathan's administration, the Central Bank Scandal of cash tripping of
multilated notes also broke out, where it was revealed that in a 4 days period , 8 billion naira was stolen directly by low level
workers in the CBN. This revelation excluded a crime that is
suspected to have gone on for years and went undetected until revealed
by whistleblower. The Central Bank claims the heist undermined its monetary
policy.[6] Nevertheless, corruption like crimes relating to
sedition and national security is often hatched in secrecy and without an
effective intelligence facility, it would be difficult if not impossible for
government to expose and scuttle corruption. Because corruption is a very
serious crime, its detection must follow a similar route as the detection of
other crimes which are often aided in the advanced countries by “wire
tapping” and the use of secret informants. Hence
Nigeria should give the country’s law enforcement agencies the leeway to use
electronic intelligence gathering techniques to catch offenders of corrupt
practices. In looking for evidence of corrupt deeds of accused persons,
government should set up a corruption intelligence agency similar to the “E
Branch” and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Nigeria Police
Force. In other words, there is a need for government to
establish a well funded Anti-Corruption Intelligence Agency (ACIA) which can
be a stand-alone agency that could have a relationship with the present
Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as
well as the EFCC, but which preferably should report to the Federal Minister
of Justice (which ideally should be different from the Attorney-General of
the Federation).The legislation establishing the ACIA should provide for
powers of arrest and detention (for a limited short period) of accused or
indicted persons as well as the power to use electronic intelligence techniques
to apprehend their quarry. Efforts should also be made by the
Presidency and the National Assembly to ensure that funding of the ACIA is
made part and parcel of the national security vote. But if different, the ACIA funding must be comparable in
size and handling to the security vote, since corruption in the end impinges
very significantly on overall national security. Confirming all the points
mentioned above, it can be conclusively said that, ethical values seeks the
power of dignitary of a nation's standard and thereby administering positive
effects of what can be observed as fast developing measures, e.g. economic
growth, political stability, national security, and so on. References: PremiumTimesNews. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/177045-nigeria-lacks-institutions-systems-to-prevent-corruption-okonjo-iweala.html How
to tackle corruption effectively in Nigeria by Sam Ejike Okoye. http://www.gamji.com/article4000/NEWS4930.htm National
standard (2007). Nigeria: 47
years After... National Standard Magazine 15/10/2007 4(12), 14-15 Samuel, A. (2011). The Democratic challenges in Nigeria and steps toward achieving
the vision 20:20:20. Kubani journal of Arts and Social Sciences,
1(1):14-22. 1.^ Chima, Obinna (4 December 2014). "Nigeria Records
Improvement, Ranked 39th on Corruption Index". This
Day Live. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
http://www.this day
live.com/articles/nigeria-records-improvement-ranked-39th-on-corruption-index/195767/ 2.^ Tim Cocks and Joe Brock (6 February 2015). "Special
Report: Anatomy of Nigeria's $20 billion "leak". Reuters. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBNOLAOX820150206?irpc=932 3.^ "NNPC Audit: No Missing $20 Billion". Nigerian Bulletin. Retrieved 8 February
2015.
http://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/nnpc-audit-no-missing-20-billion-%E2%80%93-blomberg./07644/ 4.^
http://aguntasolo.com/2015/04/29/this-yam-this-goat-this-country-part-1/ 5.^http://africaoilgasreport.com/2015/01/kickstarter/looking-beyond-the-diezani-tenure/ 6.^http://www.punchng.com/news/cash-assistant-others-have-post-property-in-safrica-efcc/ |