|
Corruption and National Responsibility By Samuel Uwhejevwe-Togbolo mfyai@yahoo.com
Nigerians need to have a good sense of humour in what ever they are doing in life. National accountability is working for the interest, coexistence of the country and not for selfish interest, if our moral attitude is anything to write home about and a sense toward national values. We need to have individual values and integrity as individuals if we are able to ascertain a high level of moral, there would not have been any reason whatsoever that would galvanised us into cheating our follow compatriot.
National Accountability by Public Officers
To be accountable to duty tends to streamline the process of good democracy. Accountability therefore is a product of a process “public or private agency entering into a contractual agreement to perform a service will be held answerable for performing according to agreed upon terms, within an established time period, and with a stipulated use of resources and performance standards”. Our political class has ignored the responsibility of being accountable to the masses; the electorate has no voice of their own to ask the elite of what is going on in our political terrain. However, the public has a right to know what actions those they have entrusted have taken. For example, citizens have a right to know what those entrusted with public office (Political Office Holders) have accomplished with their resources. In a way, accountability is similar to an audit; it requires results in relation to incurred costs and established objectives.
Accountability deals with honesty and reliability. If we are honest to ourselves and take our work very serious, there will not be any trace of corruption in the society. Unreliability is another factor of dishonesty; to be reliable is to be trusted. On the other hand, being held accountable may encourage one to perform, including assuming responsibility for accountability. If an actor perceives the standards to which he/she is being held as relevant to his/her performance, he/she is more likely to accept responsibility for accounting for the events or actions' results. Similarly, an actor is more likely to assume responsibility for accountability if he/she perceives an event or action as important. Our leaders should see themselves as an actor that is accountable to its responsibility while the audience watches the scene with keen interest
National Value system
A value system in essence is the ordering and prioritization of the ethical and ideological values that an individual or society holds. While two individuals or groups may share a set of common values, they may differ in their determination of which values in that set have precedence over others. The two individuals or groups are said to have different value systems, even though they may have many values in common, if their prioritization of values differs, or if there are different exceptions. Every nation has a value system, individuals also have a value system; it may change due to interaction affecting them. the. Leadership and follower-ship are inter-twined, as a nation; our individual and national integrity value system had been eroded without value and transparency. If there is a better value system in our society; every bodywork according to their stipulated responsibilities without any form of fraudulent act detrimental to our societal value system, there will not be any form of corruption in the first place not to talk of fighting corruption. Value should start from our various homes and individual training; our ethics should be doctored along a good contest. Charity they say begins from home.
Traditionally in the village, we have good people who do their work in good faith. They wake up in the morning, go to their farm work as the case maybe without any assault of any kind. Comparing the present day Nigeria to the pre-colonial days, our value system was very fascinating, but the transition period is worst than the formal.
Youthful Menace
A youth characteristic is a reflection of what we see in the society. The level of decadence is our national value. You do not give what you do not have. The leaders are the ones using these encouraging words to gain their selfish interest. They employ the services of youths to carry out their dubious act. Our schools have become a battleground where thugs and armed robbers are trained. Cultism is the order of the day on campus, killings and raping of innocent citizens is not a new thing; these are all corrupt act inimical to the interest of the society. Sometime ago the federal government instituted an anti-cult crusade in all tertiary institutions in the country, the crusade was held; my question is what is the outcome of the crusade? Could it be that, the federal government had an interior motive or better still, the money, which was disbursed, was siphoned? The government should do something concerning cultism in school; revisit its former stand on anti-cult crusade in honesty. The worst of this cult activities is that, it has been introduced in towns, for example in Port Harcourt Mile Three (3) to be precise there is ADEBAM and ADEWELL; Benin City also have cultist in there major streets.
We cannot isolate social life from campus life. These were the crop of people that will fit into the society and make impact. Policing the school environment will make student to learn at ease, the government should design way of curbing campus restiveness by planting security officials in our campus on identified to the student; with this cult activities will be brought under check. For example, during the tenure of Prof U.A. Igu of Delta State University Abraka as Vice Chancellor, spies was planted among the student as informant, he was able to achieve his objectives of curbing cultism with this method.
National Integrity
National integrity has to do with personal principles that are inherently good, most likely take the long, straight and narrow road and does not cave into cheating; tell the truth over a lie despite the consequences. Integrity is something that a person builds and maintains during lifetime. You can consider integrity as a building (society) within a person’s heart that starts when the person is young. This “building” begins with the first hole that is dug. Once the hole is dug, the foundation is laid, usually by the parents and other leaders (church, school teachers). The walls follow with windows (National Assemble) and doors added along the way. The window (National Assemble) allows for transparency and serves as a type of checks and balances. The doors (National Constitution) would allow for modifications if a persons definition of integrity to easily take place-hopefully for the better. The roof (Executive Arm Of Government) is added later and serves to protect form outside forces.
With integrity on the full play, there will be no corruption. Corruption is everywhere even in the church, mosque, school; we have what I called “system induce corruption” we should not trade Ideas, eventually everybody is corrupt as a people, we are all carrying the virus of corruption, it is personal and national. Living the fight on corruption to the Government alone will not make any difference rather; it should be curbed by the home that is “train up a child the way he should go, so that when his grownup he should not depart from it”.
Corruption is like cleaning the stairs; we are all victim of corruption in the light of basic amenities and infrastructure for the Nigeria society is corruption. Public office holder have to be accountable to the electorate, they are personalizing the authority that has been giving to them, due to the long term of military rule, has hampered the Nigeria society to the extend that we cannot positively questioned the authority of the public officers. Building integrity in a nation is a collective assignment; we know the problems of our country, the encomium to solve this problem are the beginning of a better society. The term that everybody is corrupt started with our leaders, they make the economy harsh on the masses scanting to survive. If our economy is stable, we will be able to solve the corruption. Corruption infested is like a heroin, when sprayed; it kills the insect while the home will have the smile of the insecticide. Most of our leaders are corrupt because of stolen mandate by implication leads to unaccountability their foundation is feeble. Rigging of election is corruption, the body responsible for election matters should make sure that the mandate of our beloved citizens is not stolen the federal government should also fashion ways of stemming this antics if its anti-corruption programme most succeed.
The absence of good governance is making most people to appreciate the glorified looters of public finance, if the government is viable appreciate its citizens by enacting developmental project to better the life of the people, nobody will tend to appreciate the glorified looters to the extent of confining in them chieftaincy title. Corruption should be seen as a holocaust, through all the tiers of government. Individuals should try as much as possible to wipe out corrupt act from their daily activities. A multi-facet approach need be put in place in form of a policy, punishment should be meted for any erring person; there should be a radical revamping and structure put in place both in our micro and macro society to eliminate corruption. Our integrity, accountability and attitude need change towards better societal values, this will give birth to a just and egalitarian nation.
Movement for Youth Actualization International (MYAI) a Non governmental organization (NGO) in Delta State-Nigeria
|