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Nigeria: Corruption As A Consequence Of Greed By Akintokunbo A Adejumo
“To Serve and Protect with Integrity”
The above is the motto of the Nigeria Police Force, emblazoned vividly on most Police vehicles and other police properties that you see in the country today. The motto is laughable at worst and risible at best. I could not help but laugh everytime I see this motto on the rickety patrol cars, parked on side roads, while the men who say they protect and serve the Nigerian public with integrity are busy waylaying, intimidating and harassing not-so-innocent commercial drivers and collecting twenty naira. They are more like highwaymen than highway patrol. I even understand the twenty naira reaches way up in the hierarchy. Then they harass innocent private motorists, especially if you are driving a nice car, saying they are carrying out random stop and search duties. The fact and reality is that the Nigeria Police Force do not “serve”, they do not “protect”, and they do not have any “integrity”. In fact they do not have anything at all. They are ill-trained, ill-educated, ill-oriented, ill-equipped, ill-prepared and ill-paid. They are even ill-uniformed. It is therefore not surprising that the Nigeria Police Force represents the notorious and most visible face of corruption in Nigeria. You cannot beat them in this nefarious game. I have always wondered that if they could change the name to “Nigeria Police Service”, maybe this will change their general outlook and performance, or maybe the name change will rub off on them a little bit.
In a way, I could not help but have some sympathy for the men and women of the Nigeria Police Force. They work very long hours; in fact they do not seem to have any laid down working hours or pattern. They are very poorly and irregularly paid and their pay is not commensurate with the risks they are supposed to take in a country beset by sophisticatedly equipped armed robbers and militants, while their bosses are carting away billions of Naira, and strutting around and making merry in the Police Officers Mess. Talk to Tafa Balogun, he will bear me out. Or ask former Oyo State Police Commissioner, a Mr Jonathan Johnson, who was rumoured to have received 40 million Naira (and they said this money went way up to the then Inspector General of Police in Abuja) to ensure that Adedibu’s thugs in Ibadan have a free hand in making Oyo State unliveable for those opposed to Adedibu, or his god-son, the now Governor of the state, Chief Otunba Dr Adebayo Alao-Akala, himself a sacked policeman.
However, this article is not really about the Nigerian police and their corruption. I deign to vilify only the Nigerian police when it comes to corruption, the reason being that since the Nigerian police is a product of the society that they live in, it is safe to postulate that because the society that harbours them is corrupt, then they will necessarily be corrupt. Afterall, it is not only the Nigerian police that is corrupt. Enter the politicians, the civil servants, the Customs and Excise (The Comptroller-General of Customs and Excise is currently being investigated by the EFCC and ICPC for a fraud to the tune of 28 billion Naira that occurred in his service), the Immigration Service, the Road Safety Corps, the Prison Service, and in fact just about everybody or organisation in Nigeria, even the business and financial communities. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is riddled with fraud, and it is controlled by the very people saying the Niger Delta is neglected. Nobody is exempt, from the look of things.
My recent travel to Nigeria confirmed my worst nightmare. Corruption is alive and well in Nigeria, despite the efforts of the anti-corruption crusade of Obasanjo’s Presidency. The moment I landed at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, I knew. The Customs and Excise Officers were lying in wait for the passengers. Their first question to you is “Oga, wetin you bring come for us?” My simple answer when I was asked this seemingly innocuous and friendly question was, “Nothing, bicos I no know say you go dey here waiting for me”.
On my way out of the country, several officers, whose organisations I could not even identify – too many people in different uniforms – asked me, “Oga, wetin you chop remain for us?” Again, my simple answer was “Who tell you say I don chop?”
These might seem to be petty demands for some gratification, but woe betides you if there is something wrong with your travel documents or you are carrying very heavy and many suitcases.
Nigerians can be forgiven if they are suffering from corruption fatigue. Almost daily, they seem to be bombarded with yet another official scandal. The problem is that, nowadays in Nigeria, people or leaders who are accused of corruption do not even feel ashamed, nor do they exhibit or express any remorse for the pain and suffering they have inflicted on millions of Nigerians through their corrupt actions. We all seem to accept both corruption and being exposed as part of our normal life.
In order for political culture to change like it did in such countries as South Korea and Poland, Nigerian people must rise and take to the street and demand change on the kinds of leadership Nigerian people want. If Nigerian people fail to protest on the streets of Nigeria, things will continue to be the same way and we will continue to have criminals as leaders. For example, the President of Senate David Mark who stole hundreds of millions during Babangida's administration and has foreign Bank accounts, which is against Nigerian laws and constitution and refused to declare his wealth/worth still remains the President of Senate
Such is the corrupt life in Nigeria. And we see what is now panning out as far as former State Governors are concerned. They have been looting their states treasury for some eight years and stealing us blind. Of course, Nigerians have always known this; we just stand by helplessly and watch. It is only those who are profiting from the looting of these politicians who will not blink and who continue to sing their praises to heaven. It is not so much the act of the thievery that is shocking, it is the sheer amount that they have stolen that boggles the mind. It all boils down to greed; greed of the highest order. Monumental greed beyond belief. Please, tell me, what does one man and his family want to do with 172 properties including houses, schools and even a university? Why didn’t he just steal the whole state? How on earth was he allowed to do that over eight years unchecked? Immunity? How can one man be so greedy as to transfer 17 Billion Naira belonging to his state into his private account in one day? How can a man be so greedy? It boggles the mind. I have never seen a million Naira in cash before, not to talk of a billion.
These people are not stealing millions; they are stealing billions, for crying out loud. One of them, a South-South Governor, before the PDP primaries in November 2006, was rumoured to have returned 23 billion Naira to the EFCC, and his Presidential ambition permanently grounded. It is still rumoured that he may be asked to return more that 100 billion Naira. This is money that he was elected to spend for the benefit and development of his oil-rich state. Lord have mercy. How greedy can you be? How can they sleep at night, with no conscience whatsoever, while thousands are dying around them for lack of water, food, good medical care, good roads, good education, etc? They should be hanged in public.
A jolly “Man of God”, who calls himself a “Reverend”, our very own ex-Governor of Taraba State, Jolly Nyame, has now admitted looting his treasury, and willing to return some of the loot. Very nice of him, isn’t he? A little belatedly.
A friend of mine, now in the Senate, once told me that from the position of Local Government Chairman upwards, our leaders do not need to steal. Apart from their untouched high salaries, these people, our so-called leaders, are living virtually free of charge. They don’t pay rent, don’t buy food or water, don’t buy petrol, don’t pay for electricity or water rates, and don’t buy clothes from their salaries. They have free use of vehicles, etc. All these are on government expenses. A very expensive democracy, ours. For State Governors, you might as well be living free in the world. Apart from all these perks and trappings of power, contractors are always giving them gratifications and usually more than 10 percent. Then, they each have 65 million per month to spend as Security Vote (whatever that means) which they do not have to account for. In all cases, said my friend, it is impossible to spend half of the Security Vote in one month. So what is left is theirs to put in their banks. But greed will also let them dip their hands into the Statutory Allocations, Excess Crude Accounts and Local Government Allocations which they get from the Federal Government every month. You see, it is not enough to put 35 million away every month from the Security Vote; our leaders have to steal billions. Assuming you take 15 million of the Security Vote every month and you put it in your personal account, this is N180 million per year. If you are a governor for 8 years, this translates to N1.4 billion. Isn’t this enough? And you are not even touching your salary. And other gratifications and perks are still coming in. And we are vilifying the policeman who collects 20 naira on our roads?
Allow me to quote
this from a patriot who sent this to me: “Politicians in
Nigeria steal public
funds and most especially on how the Governors from the Niger-Delta states
don’t have anything to show for the $28.8 Billion Dollars allocated to
them from 1999 to 2007. The amount of money N644 Billion ($5 Billion
Dollars) (N522 Billion from the Federal govt & N120 Billion) that has
gone into Delta State since 1999 is enough to turn Delta State to
something close to Dubai. But the money have gone into private pockets,
the sad thing is that we the people from Delta State know the people who
have been pocketing the money since 1999. That is why the current Governor
Dr. Emma Uduaghan who was not worth N 5 Million in 1999 before he was
appointed as Commissioner for Health by James Ibori (his first Cousin) in
1999 and of course was reappointed again in 2003 as Secretary to the State
Government can today boldly declare N 9 Billion as his assets to the Code
of Conduct Bureau, and nobody is asking him where he got this money from.
That is why James Ibori could write a cheque of $150 Million (N20 Billion)
in one day to buy Wilbros International in Port Harcourt that was
divesting from Nigeria in October 2006 while still Governor of Delta
State”.
Another frustrated Nigerian wrote “Another problem we
have in
Nigeria is lack of
credible opposition parties. What you call opposition parties are not
opposition parties rather, a group of people who are angry that they are
not in a position to steal more money than their rivals in power are
currently doing. In the United States, it is the job of opposition parties
to introduce legislations that mirrors popular opinion. The Nigerian
public want all these governors to be prosecuted for the crimes they
committed while in the office, I do not recall any opposition party ever
spoken out against corruption; the only thing they talk about is
complain about past rigged election. So long as no politician is speaking
out against corruption, it will never end.
On the other hand, Nigerian people are not protesting on
the streets against corruption or demanding laws against corruption. The
government of United Emirates have one of the toughest laws against
corruption and that is why Dubai is one of the world’s richest cities,
full of jobs and thriving.
Again, please read this News Item:” Assets of former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu have been frozen by the EFCC following a court order. Kalu is facing graft charges. Assets frozen include Sun Publishing Limited, publishers of Daily Sun, Saturday Sun and Sunday Sun, Slok Air Nigeria Ltd, which was grounded four years ago by the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Firmbase Inter Ltd, Slok Marine Vessels, Reality Organisation Nig. Ltd, International Insurance Com-pany Ltd, Tanji Resort, Gambia, Banque International in Gambia and Sierra Leone and many companies allegedly registered in the name of his wife and children. The EFCC said the assets will be handed over to Abia State government if Kalu is unable to substantiate sources of funds for the companies” The Editorial of The Guardian, Wednesday 25th July 2007 has this to say, “Hiding behind the fortress proffered by the immunity clause, so many of such officials, only a handful of whom have now been arrested and are being tried, allegedly perpetrated barefaced thefts and acts of money laundering. At the end of the day, so many of them became multi-billionaires, with great financial and fixed asset investments in and outside this country. In the event, most of the ex-governors reportedly left empty treasuries for their successors, with scant traces of accomplished developmental projects to show for their huge spending. For many elected public officers, May 29, 2007, marked the end of the potency of the immunity clause, which screened them against the law. All of those against whom a prima facie evidence has been found may now be prosecuted, either at once or in batches. The EFCC has plumbed for the latter approach. We have no quarrel with its choice, provided that all the 30 governors already caught in the web of corruption are eventually prosecuted. Not a few Nigerians are happy about the turn of events, manifesting in the fulfilment of the EFCC's pledge to bring all of thieving officials to book upon the lapse of their constitutional immunity from punishment for malfeasance and executive brigandage. Very few citizens of this country, if any, have doubted the usefulness and effectiveness of the EFCC. Those who criticised its operations during the last administration did so by reason of what amounted to selective treatment of offenders by the Commission. In its present crusade against corruption in the country, the EFCC should give a wide berth to selectivity in its arrest and prosecution of economic and financial criminals”. The Guardian editorial continues, “The EFCC must appreciate the many rivers to cross: the empty or near-empty treasuries bequeathed by ex-governors to their successors; the literal denudation of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF); the illegal and unconstitutional withdrawals from the Excess Crude and Federation Accounts; the over N1 trillion allegedly spent on road construction and rehabilitation; the whopping sums of money reportedly spent on the repairs of the oil refineries in Port Harcourt and Kaduna, etc. All of these, including the billions of Naira allegedly spent on the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), must be carefully investigated, and the culprits, whatever their stations in life, must be exposed to the severest penalties imaginable. That is the only way to cleanse the stables. The additional point must, however, be made that the success of the EFCC in its renewed war against corruption would depend on two crucial factors: effective investigations and an independent Judiciary. The EFCC must diligently and conscientiously undertake investigations into the activities of all the accused elected and unelected public officers before their arraignment and trial, and the Judiciary must put its best leg foremost to dispense justice without fear or favour. That is the quickest way to restore and sustain the citizens' confidence”. A greedy man will necessarily be corrupt. Ironically, all our leaders, past and present, have been brought up with strict moral and religious beliefs. They go to church and mosques. They went to schools and even did courses that teach good governance. Most of them know exactly what to do to alleviate the problems and sufferings of their people, but instead, turn their backs on doing these things for self-gratification, selfishness, greediness and utter lack of sympathy for their people. How I wish Jerry Rawlings was a Nigerian? Greed is selfish, excessive or uncontrolled desire for or pursuit of money, wealth, food, or other possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to others. It is generally considered a vice, and is one of the seven deadly sins in Catholicism. (People who do not view unconstrained acquisitiveness as a vice will generally use a word other than greed, which has strong negative connotations.) Greed is a selfish desire for more than one needs or deserves. Greed can make honest men murderers. It has made countries with rich valuable resources into the poorest countries in the world. We are taught it is bad and not to practice it, but what do we have in Nigeria? People revel in it. People worship it. People praise it and it has been elevated to a form of art. Some desire to increase one's wealth is nearly universal and acceptable in any culture, but this simple want is not considered greed. Greed is the extreme form of this desire, especially where one desires things simply for the sake of owning them. Greed may entail acquiring material possessions at the expense of another person's welfare (for example, a political leader embezzling state funds rather than fix the problems of the people he was elected to serve) or otherwise reflect flawed priorities.
Greed is
also defined as a fear of failure, a fear of need.
There are at least three forms of greed: So do I hate rich people? Definitely not. So do I hate corrupt leaders? Definitely yes. But I do hate to see people; especially those entrusted with other people’s welfare, greedily stealing millions and billions of Naira from their people. I hate to see Governors, civil servants, local government chiefs, etc committing crimes to make extra cash that they don’t even need. I hate to see people who wield power and are in government giving their cronies and family government largesse, while abandoning the lower classes, the people who truly need the most help. The former administration claimed to have spent trillions on improving electricity over his eight year tenure, yet we know the reality. There is still no light in most parts of Nigeria, and in fact it has got worse. Anenih (dubbed “the most dangerous politician in Nigeria”) and Ogunlewe claimed to have spent trillions in improving our roads, but look at the Sagamu-Benin and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressways as well as many Federal roads in the South eastern part of the country. They are not even worthy of being called roads, not to talk of expressways. Ojo Maduekwe, despite his failure as a Transport Minister and his duplicity during both Abacha’s and Obasanjo’s administrations, is now, again, our Foreign Minister in Yar’Adua’s government. Obviously, some people are born to forever be in governments, one hundred and fifty million available people notwithstanding.
I, and I am sure, millions of well-meaning Nigerians, would like for this selfish, greedy and deadly “game” to finally end. Will it happen anytime soon? I know that it won’t. But I do have the power to control my own actions. I have set high goals for myself with my career and in my life. Coming from such modest background and moral upbringing that I have, I know that I will better appreciate whatever wealth and/or position I attain or find myself. Whether or not I make it to be a very rich Nigerian, I am certain that I will never forget the struggles that millions of Nigerians endure on a daily basis for the past 47 years. Our future and that of our children depend on this single factor. The spectre of corruption hangs over us in our every day life, and it won’t go away until more drastic steps are taken to tackle it.
We can at least take some consolation in that apart from the five ex-governors who have been arrested and arraigned, ex-Governoor Alamieyisegha has bagged 2 years in jail. Others should, and indeed, must follow, including all the Federal Ministers, State Commissioners and Local Government Chairmen. Even Senators and Representatives and House of Assembly members must have EFCC and ICPC torchlight turned on them. Then after the eight years of Daniels, Oyinlola, Agagu and probably 4 years of Alao-Akala, those ones should follow too.
But will the current Governors and other politicians learn from the plight of their predecessors? I doubt it. You see, greed makes you think you are smart, whereas it really makes you careless. The looting spree will continue. Watch this space in four years time, God sparing our lives.
God bless Nigeria.
Akintokunbo Adejumo, a social and political commentator on Nigerian issues, lives and works in London, UK. He is a graduate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1979) and University of Manitoba, Canada (1985). He also writes on topical issues for newspapers and internet media including Nigeriaworld.com, Nigeria Today Online, Washington Nigerian Times, Wise News Today, etc |