Corruption; A Societal Moral Fallout - Tola Ogunnubi

For several years now, Nigeria has consistently been rated by Transparency International (TI), in their perception index as either the most corrupt or one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

Corruption has totally permeated all aspects of our national life, it has eaten deep into our national fabric from social, academic, industrial, and religious to political, diplomatic and even commercial fabric. It is the compelling factor that has condemned Nigeria to this shameful and shabby existence. In rejecting his nomination for the 2004 National Honours Award, eminent scholar and professor of literature, late Prof. Chinua Achebe said “Corruption in Nigeria has passed the alarming and entered the fatal stage and Nigeria will die if we keep pretending that she is only slightly indisposed”.

The latest news in town is the exposure of “some” of the corruption that went on in high places of governance and politicking, from the Office of the National Security Adviser involving the dramatis personae, and the high level of allegation against erstwhile government officials and former occupants alongside friends of the immediate past government. Those in government are the worst hit in this latest scams from the federal level to the states and to the local governments.

The corruption we are talking about is as a result of the low level of integrity coupled with a very low level of accountability and impunity which has led to the high level of attraction that the public offices enjoy hence, we have career bankers going into politics, oil magnates, successful academics and even celebrated journalists all jettisoning their careers for political offices in order to protect their interests and acquire easy and cheap money. But those of us watching the happenings in the political field believe that two kinds of players succeed in the political arena: those who believe that politics is a thug’s game played by gentlemen and those who believe politics is a gentleman’s game played by thugs. Those presently being indicted? They are probably a fish scapegoats.

The kind of pressure people mount on public office holders is too much. In order to meet these alarming pressure all from the family, peer and even personal pressure so as to impress those around them, these public officers go out of their ways and do what ordinarily they shouldn’t do. And because it is a societal moral fallout, public office holders and even those in the private sectors who connive with them don’t see anything wrong in what they do. They even go to the extent of “begging and buying” chieftaincy titles from the once sacred traditional institutions but which has now become a liquidated empire as a result of the activities of the contract seeking traditional rulers.

In our society today, because of the failure of some parents due to their inability to meet he needs of their children, they cannot ask the source of income of their children, they no longer have the moral strength to ask their children how come they have what they have in their possessions because they themselves are direct beneficiaries from such possessions. People stay in mansions that are too big to maintain.

I am a Christian, but I must confess the church has not lived up to expectations, the society seeks to see and take succor in the church for their problems but very few churches are living up to that billing. Majority of these churches are business centers. Holiness, righteousness and dedication to the works of God have for a long time been a thing of the past. You can imagine a ‘church’ buying shares in a blue chip company to the tune of 2.8 billion naira. I have been perplexed ever since I heard about this and I am still perplexed, surprised, disappointed and ashamed. Let us look at these, where did they get the money from? Why did they buy such shares? Won’t the “Bishop’s” son/ daughter become a director in the organisation? How would the dividends be shared? Has the church too become a profit seeking entity to be expecting profit in form of dividends from that company? I stand to be corrected, answered or enlightened on all these questions. It is now a thing competition for all religious groups to have their own private universities at an unaffordable fee to the majority of their members, who cannot afford it for their children/ wards.

Another misplaced competition going on in the religions grouping especially the churches is ownership of private jets in the midst of prevailing poverty. The other day, a pastor received a Porsche car worth several millions of naira as a birthday gift and even went to as far as Dubai to celebrate the ‘Man of God’s birthday. All these are not necessary, to me they are highly uncalled for. I think it’s high time, the Joint Tax Board and especially the FIRS started looking in the direction of our religious centers. You can imagine how much that can be generated to finance some of our national development programmes. After all, Jesus Christ paid tax in the book of Matthew 22:21.

The corruption we are talking of in Nigeria today is a massive one involving highly respected persons and our society role models. To me, I think these stealings are not necessary but it is borne out of ignorance. Yes, ignorance because for how long can a man live? Abacha’s loot is still being returned 18 years after his death. What a collective shame.

Corruption in Nigeria has gone beyond selfishness, gone beyond greed and self-sufficiency but has graduated from wickedness to madness. It is purely to oppress people. It is a case of class struggle to make the majority of the people subservient to them, to lord themselves over us, or how else can you justify an idle sum of over a billion naira sitting in an individual’s account with no need for it in the nearest future. I kid you not, 1billion is a huge amount of money no matter the current value of the Naira. We are so heartless and have deleted our conscience to the poverty around us that we no longer know we are to be our brother’s keeper. Where is our African culture of welcoming ourselves? Where is our African culture of looking after ourselves? Why did we destroy our African moral compass? When did we condescend to this low level of individualism?

Restoring optimism is the beginning of progress, like an American president once said, there is the need for government at all levels to support each other and one another in tackling these societal ills called corruption, and because these fight goes beyond the federal government’s ability alone, everybody should come to stand up and fight corruption so that the federal government’s effort will not be seen as succumbing to media trial and trial by mass appeal from a particular political party as the opposition PDP is proclaiming.

–Ogunnubi is a social and public consultant

AUN and 'Selfie' Generation

It was a colourful event last Monday at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, during which new students (tagged the class of 2020) were formally admitted into the institution. WINIFRED OGBEBO writes on the celebration and wise counsel handed out to the lucky students.

The dean of student affairs, American University of Nigeria (AUN), Mr Byron Bullock, set the ball rolling in his address to the freshers when he said: “I’ve come today to celebrate a new generation of young people, appropriately titled the ‘selfie’ generation.”

A ‘selfie’ generation? The Oxford Dictionary, it was in 2013, that proclaimed ‘selfie’ as the international word of the year. It is a word that is most used today and which has become universally accepted. Bullock who is also the vice president of AUN’s campus life described a ‘selfie’ generation as one that has become obsessed with taking of self-portraits with the use of smart phones and tablets and uploading same on social media like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or SnapChat, and which would change the world.

“This selfie generation I know will truly change the world. All of us as educators have a responsibility to change how these children see the world,” he stated, underscoring the need for the students to be properly guided to make it in a highly competitive and digitalized world.

Byron said it was the responsibility of educators to move the generation away from the spirit of self-centeredness to one of self-empowerment and provide them with the tools to become empowered and motivated at every level as they move to change the world.

“We have moved away from the sharing of ideas to these new ones. We have become obsessed with the sharing of our images rather than our content. Many believe that this generation has become self-centred, egoistical, mean, selfish and only focused on me, me and me.

“We are to teach these young people that as they grow and develop, their aim shall be defined by their actions and not by their pictures. It is important for them to know that those who act are remembered in this lifetime and those who react are forgotten.

“We are to teach them that they must move from a spirit of self-centredness to a spirit of self-awareness. Young people, as you grow and develop here as part of the selfie generation, you cannot just focus on your outward self, you must also bring a great attention to your inward self. What motivates you? While you are here, use it as an opportunity to find that out. Find out what pushes you. What pushes your body will lead you to discover the process you never knew you had,” he philosophized.

Admonishing the class of 2020 to be prepared to identify the person in that ‘selfie’ they post, Bullock said they should use the opportunity of their education at AUN to strive to find answers to such questions “who are you, what are your strengths, what are your weaknesses, what motivates and frustrates that person in those pictures?”, adding that would guarantee their happiness and success in life.

As part of their selfie revolution, he told the freshers never to lose sight of the importance of self-respect, as he asked: “Do those pictures you post on social media speak well of your character, how do they define to employers and graduate school deans who have the same access to the information you have?

The dean of student affairs told the students “every opportunity to be engaged in this educational experience and in developing in the university both inside and outside of the classroom will only extend who you are and enhance your self-value. In addition to taking advantage of every educational opportunity afforded to you in the classroom, find a way to make a difference in community service and engagement. Find a way to make a contribution in leadership involvement”.

He added: “The world that awaits you when you graduate from this place will not be so kind to you. You have to be prepared for the realities of the real world. Therefore, be at peace with God whatever you conceive him to be and whatever is your aspiration in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its charm, gradually and broken dreams, it’s still a beautiful world.”

The president of AUN, Prof Margee Ensign who talked about the institution’s quality of education, described the university as a very unusual place because of its focus. “It’s a university focused on creating a new and better future for all of us,” she stated.

Referring to the challenge of widespread poverty, insecurity and underdevelopment in the northern part of the country where the school is located as part of its focus, she asked: “How do we help ensure the peace and security of this region of Nigeria? How do we foster greater prosperity in a region where people are so very poor? How can we provide better health care, sanitation and nutrition in a part of the country where child and maternal mortality rates are so very high—among the highest in the world?“

With oil the slump in oil price in the international market, the AUN president wondered how the institution could contribute to building a better economy in Nigeria. “How can we insure honest government throughout the land—how have other countries done this? What are the solutions for unemployment and youth despair? How can we deal with the advancing Sahara desert to the north and the pollution of the Niger Delta in the south?, she asked.

Also identifying other challenges like global warming, Ensign noted that last year was the hottest ever recorded in human history and asked “what do we have to do now to stop global warming? How can we have economic growth without destroying our planet? How can we best use the Internet and its amazing powers to make people’s lives better?”, adding “this is your moment—this is Nigeria’s moment, this is Africa’s moment.”

She commented on the school’s motto which is “Excellence, Integrity, and Service,”, pointing out that AUN had been doing extraordinary service of feeding hundreds of thousands of hungry Nigerians, giving women employable skills and income, giving thousands of boys and girls the opportunity to play and learn together in peace through sports, giving street children a meal a day and chance to learn to read, and some hope in Feed and Read, a project recently funded by the Irish government.

On his part, the president, Student Government Association, Mr Basil Abia, commended his fellow students for their active involvement in research achievements at the AUN, noting “we’re fast becoming a research force amongst international universities and thanks to the world class digitalized library coupled with the state of the art laboratories and facilities; we are really on the right track to becoming Africa’s development force.”