Corruption and the abuse of positions and privileges
have long been features of Nigeria’s socio-economic and political landscape. It has even gone further to pollute the religious and political environment in our society.
The leaners dictionary defines corruption ‘as the dishonest and illegal behaviour by people in positions of authority or power?
Systemic corruption and low levels of transparency and accountability have been major sources of development failure. Illegal activities such as the advance-free fraud arid money laundering have torn the fabric of Nigerian society.
According to Transparency International’s 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, Nigeria is ranked 139th out of 176 countries.
Many leaders in Nigeria have either been elected or appointed into one position of authority in order to man affairs of this country. They are addressed in very wonderful titles such as Excellencies or Honourables, meaning they are supposed to be excellent and honourable in conduct and character.
During elections, these leaders make lots of promises to the people which they never keep to or worse off, remember, once they are elected.
This attitude has become a common phenomenon amongst Nigerian leaders  who are expected to shun selfish interest and self aggrandizements to meet up with the aspirations and demands of the electorates. Unfortunately the reverse is the case.
Today, research reveals that the elected members of the National Assembly are paid 1.4 Billion Naira annually for constituency projects, N45 Million for a senator and N36 Million for a member of the House of Representatives for each quarter of the year. Then the question is, how many of the elected members impact their constituencies with the said amount. In most cases rather, majority of them distance themselves from the electorate immediately after being ‘Voted’ into the office.
Similarly, at the State and Local Government level, the legislators are given tens of millions quarterly for constituency needs but not even a standard borehole project can be identified to have been built by any of these Honourable members.
It is a known fact that these Honourable men do not consult the electorate and carry them along to know what is needed in their constituencies, most probably because their minds are already made up to misappropriate the constituency or ward project funds.
The big question here is, where is the integrity of these Honourable members who like the proverbial dog that eats the bone hung on its neck.
In the area of tax, it is a known fact that tax administration in Nigeria lacks transparency that has led either to high levels of tax evasion or tax officials demanding bribes and return for lower tax rates.
One can genuinely argue that if these tax payers money disbursed to Honourable members for constituency and ward projects were judiciously utilized, Nigeria will not be crying of abysmal infrastructural development.
It is quite disheartening that most of the gigantic edifices, private schools and five star hotels seen around Nigeria and South Africa are traceable to Honourable members, courtesy of constituency and ward project allowances.
Going down the memory, our past leaders were equally involved in these corrupt practices. For example, during the pre-independence and first republic, corruption were clouded by political in-fighting. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was the first major political figure investigated for questionable practices in 1944 when a firm belonging to him and his family bought a Bank in Lagos. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was indicted for misappropriation of fund from the Western Regional Government account.
Also, during Gowon’s Administration, in 1975 many officials of the Defence Ministry and Central Bank of Nigeria were involved in corruption scandal surrounding the importation of cement. The Shagari, Buhari, Babangida and Abacha’s Administration were not left out of this.
The present administration of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan is also not exempted from corruption practices. Remember the 50 billion dollar missing fund in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The N24 billion pension scam where the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala was summoned on the service wide vote in 2010, the diversion of 29 billion to the capital project. With all these trails of corruption passing from one administration to the other, it leaves one to wonder if it is a case of placed ‘curse’ on our country or its hereditary.
It is worthy of note that Honourable men are not associated with dishonourable behaviours as obtained in our Hallowed Chambers where negligence of duty and fighting has become a life style of most members who hardly attend sittings yet collect sitting allowances and other benefits accruing thereof.
Disciplinary measures should be meted out on honourable members who display dishonourable conduct, such as lateness and absence from sitting, like Rt. Honourable Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State did sometime ago to some Local Government Chairmen who came late for a meeting at the Government House.
One would however, think that before the current National Conference rises from it’s onerous assignment, it takes a bite on this malignant malaise in our country. It will also be useful if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its likes would beef up their services for appropriate disciplinary measures.
More so, all stakeholders – the family, the media, the educational system, the Government and its agencies and private institutions alike should ensure that these initiatives established by Government such as, Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related crimes Commission and the laws aimed at combating corruption be strengthened. Special effortsneeds to be made to inculcate these in the populace.
The 18,000 mnumum wage is a nightmare to its civil servants at both Federal and State levels. Therefore, there is every need to make legislative work a part -time affair and less attractive through accountability reduction of financial benefits and transparency in order to ensure checks and balances in the system.
The fat salaries of these honourables that run in billions compared to civil servants have no basis for comparison at all, even when in most cases the civil servants are more qualified than these honourable members.
Indeed, corruption which seems to be a  native of Nigeria has come to stay. Money has become enthroned as god. Thus making money has become a do or die affair. No wonder, there is either total misappropriation of fund meant for constituency projects or highly substandard projects in all nooks and crannies of our society today.
Having put all these in cognizance, it does appear that the beautiful ones to save this country from corruption are not yet born.
D-Akani writes from Federal Information Centre, Port Harcourt.

Oroma D-Akani