IS CORRUPTION THE PROBLEM WITH NIGERIA?

There is need to create a national spirit for people to take ownership of government, contends Wilfred Usani

Nigerians are honest, loyal and committed to those things which they consider “their own”. They are committed, loyal and honest to their businesses, their families, their ethnic communities or tribes, their social and religious organisations and so on. But they are not committed, loyal and honest when it comes to government. I believe that Nigerians lack an intrinsic sense of “ownership” of government as it is in Nigeria today hence that sense of disloyalty. There is the sense at the back of the mind of the average Nigerian that government is an “alien” institution that does not belong to them. It appears that government lacks that beneficial social connection, that cultural and traditional connection or affinity with the Nigerian people that can inspire in the ordinary Nigerian a sense of loyalty and commitment to government or a sense of “ownership” of government such as may be inspired by the ethnic community of the Nigerian or his personal business or social club or association. I hold the opinion that what manifests as corruption in all its variants in contemporary Nigerian national life are symptoms of the absence of a “Nigerian national spirit” in the average Nigerian and this is why he/she does not see government as “his/her own”. The mindset of most Nigerians is one of “government business is nobody’s business” and because it is “nobody’s business” nobody cares about it. In my view, this mindset is the root cause of corruption in Nigeria in the scale in which it is in today.

In the scenario I described earlier about my hometown, our people were and are still inspired by the sense of their being from Ugep and the desire to improve “their community”. They have confidence in their traditional system of administration of the town which is autochthonous to them and protects and provides for them and allows them to express themselves and fulfill their aspirations. They came together and created a structure for themselves which they understood and for their own benefit. They came together united by that spirit of being “Ugep people” to do something to better their community and because it is “their own” they are fiercely loyal to it and would protect it tenaciously.

While this “communal” or “ethnic national spirit” exists among Nigerians in relation to their various ethnic groups, it does not exist in a “Nigerian” sense hence my position about the absence of a “Nigerian national spirit”. People see themselves as Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Bini, Nupe, Efik/Ibibio, Tiv, etc. “Nigeria” is an alien construct which they found themselves in through no cause or choice of theirs and so when they engage with it, the engagement is exploitative for their personal benefit, those of their friends and the benefit of their ethnic groups! “What did he do for his people?” is a popular refrain in judging public office holders in Nigeria.

In my view, this is the fundamental problem with Nigeria and indeed many African countries. The challenge of leadership and nation-building today is to create this national spirit in Nigerian national life, to create a sense of a “Nigerian nationhood” in the mind of the ordinary Nigerian.

In discussing this with some family and friends I have had several differing opinions on the subject. Some hold the opinion that corruption exists in the scale it does in Nigeria because of the failure of government

I HOLD THE OPINION THAT WHAT MANIFESTS AS CORRUPTION IN ALL ITS VARIANTS IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN NATIONAL LIFE ARE SYMPTOMS OF THE ABSENCE OF A ‘NIGERIAN NATIONAL SPIRIT’ IN THE AVERAGE NIGERIAN AND THIS IS WHY HE/SHE DOES NOT SEE GOVERNMENT AS HIS/HER OWN

to enforce the laws relating to corruption in the country. Some advocate for orientation and reorientation among the citizenry to deal with the problem. I agree with these prescriptions but the thrust of my argument is that these prescriptions will only work in circumstances where the people themselves see government as an institution which belongs to them and they are willing to protect it!

My argument is that the Nigerian state along with the government that maintains it has been constructed in such a way that it is disconnected to the people and so the people will never seriously enforce any laws to curb corruption and no amount of orientation or reorientation will make the people feel loyal to a government or nation to which they feel no beneficial connection. In my view creating a national spirit is necessary to make the people take ownership of government and it is when the people take ownership and claim government as their own that the laws relating to curbing corruption will be faithfully implemented in order to protect “what belongs to them”.

We are witnesses to what is currently going on with the Buhari Administrations’ efforts to “fight” corruption in Nigeria today. PMB is viewed as “wicked” for catching people who have stolen! “Is he a saint?” “Is it his money?” are questions which I have heard people ask! By blocking easy access to government “free” funds he is seen as a wicked man who has made things “hard”!

The defence of those who have been caught stealing is that they are not the only ones who stole but that their fellow thieves are in the PMB government and therefore their arrest and prosecution is “biased”! These people are supported by many ethnic and socio-cultural organisations and groups, civil society organisations as well as religious and traditional rulers! PMB himself is in a very serious dilemma. If he locks up everyone who has stolen from the government, he stands the risk of finding himself without a government to preside over. He stands the risk of having no supporters.

I think you can liken the situation in Nigeria today to that of a house with a room full of rats. No matter how many rat traps you buy and put in place to catch and kill the rats, the rats will still swarm the room so long as the food which they want to eat is still kept within their reach. The best way to deal with the rats is to first clean out the room and take away the food that attracts them or preserve it properly. When they cannot reach what they want, they will leave. Then you can buy the rat traps and set them for the very die-hard ones which will still dare to come in to search for what else they can destroy.

What I am saying is that when we structure the country and the government in such a way as to foster a national spirit and the peoples that make up Nigeria take ownership of it, we then eliminate the root cause of corruption. After that the laws against corruption can faithfully be implemented as they will then have the moral force of the will of the people backing their enforcement. Creating a national spirit will ensure that corruption becomes the exception and not the rule in public life as is the case in other climes. Usani is Senior Partner in the Law Firm of Ethan & Magdiel and former Special Adviser and member of the Cross River State