Corruption As Phenomenon

Prior to now, some people had thought that the most dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was the only ailment mankind had ever known to be incurable. But it is apparent now that AIDS has a companion in corruption that has become a phenomenon.

Corruption depreciates the value of life globally. The thinking before now was that corruption affected only Third World countries. Truly, it is prevalent in those countries. But it takes root in advanced countries as well. For instance, the United States of America (USA) has had its fair share of corruption scandals that had rocked its greatness.

When hurricane Katrina struck some years ago, the abysmal performance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency responsible for the provision of relief to the natural disaster victims was a shock many could not come to terms with. It was later discovered that those who were put in charge of the relief operations were inept political cronies of the leaders. This is one example among many.

It is the responsibility of every government to provide services and infrastructure to deal with situations of natural disasters or calamities. But government’s responsibility does not end with the provision of the said facilities. Thus a government has the power to police or monitor the way these facilities are used to achieve desired end.

Though sometimes this is not always the case particularly in situations where it is not accountable to the people it serves. The truth is that a government that is responsive to its people will ensure that responsibilities assigned are executed.

This is the case with Nigeria’s election, referred to as repository of corruption. Many government officials or politicians compromise financial probity in order to prosecute their electioneering campaigns. Some trade favours for cash needed to win election and they end up using the cash to purchase votes.

The fight against corruption, especially electoral corruption, can be contained in this country if our electoral body, INEC, will ensure transparency in our electoral process. The press and religions organisations could add to the fight against this monster by forming a bulwark against despotism upon which corruption has often thrived.

Another way to fight corruption is to provide sound education for all. Certainly, poor and illiterate persons are highly vulnerable to manipulation by those who are economically well-off or those who hold political power.

There is a sense in which a people could be said to control their government through their wishes and aspirations. But when poverty and illiteracy characterise such persons, the government demonstrates a high propensity to despotism.

Governments become despotic because the people lack the means to keep the government in check. This results in a circle where poverty causes bad governance and bad governance causes poverty.

Transparency International, an organization devoted to the fight against corruption and the strengthening of civil society groups has provided the measure to ascertain the quality of governance in over 150 nations.  Such measure highlights the extent of corruption perpetrated in countries. The periodic corruption index released by the body has always shown that the poorer a nation the lower the ranking.

Further analysis reveals interesting patterns. It has been acknowledged that countries in sub-Sahara Africa are less corrupt than their counterparts on the same level in other parts of the world.

The reason corruption is low in some poor countries is because they protect civil rights groups. If President Goodluck Jonathan must succeed in the fight against corruption, he must go beyond employing the EFCC to prosecute the fight, and guarantee greater freedom to civil rights organisations and the press.

When people have the freedom to speak and assemble, society benefits by increasing the range of ideas and keeping corruption in check. This is why corrupt regimes always clamp down on the press.

Arnold Alalibo