The Youth And Negative Perspective Of Corruption War

There was a discussion between some young men recently that should get any well meaning Nigerian  ponder about the future of this country.  We were at the office of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, waiting to  procure our drivers licences. As  usual, there were many people and series of procedures which  usually make  it unimaginable that one would leave the place in less than three hours. Except for people that are connected, most applicants spend greater part of the day there. So  there was plenty of time for people to chat, argue and talk on all manner of issues, both the important and unimportant ones.

So these young men, about five of them, were having a great day,  dwelling on all kinds of issues. After sometime, one of them asked what they thought about the  on-going fight against corruption in the country.  Hardly had he finished talking when the others echoed “Bring Back Our Corruption.”  Of course, the slogan: Bring Back Our Corruption, has been trending on the various social media platforms for sometime now but these young people, brought another dimension to the campaign which was indeed worrisome.

They argued that before the advent of the current administration and resumption of the anti-graft war by President Muhammadu Buhari, people at the corridors of power embezzled government funds which they invested in estate development and other ventures through which a lot of people were engaged.

In the words of one of them, “these big men when them get money , them  go carry am do project like estates and when you go there you go get job, make money to feed your family. Them they share this money reach every body . Now they no dey do any  project again because they no want make EFCC or Buhari arrest them. When corruption bin dey, we dey  get money chop and do other things but now wey we dey fight corruption, hunger dey kill people”

That  discussion just exposed the state of moral barenness  in the nation.  These were youths , the supposed leaders of tomorrow instead of  condemning the criminal acts of those who looted our treasury and have made life hellish for them and their future generations, publicly applauded the looters  and canvassed that corruption should be brought back.

And these misguided youths forget that the money that was being shared to them by the so- called big men, was Nigerians’ money which was supposed to be used to build schools, hospitals, good roads, provide electricity and other amenities that would have made life more meaningful.

They forgot that when these facilities are provided, employment will be provided and lives will be saved.    They never reasoned that had these monies not been stolen, had they been put to judicious use,  youths would not need to feed on the crumbs from the rich men’s table. Rather they will have adequate electricity supply to grow their own businesses. Our roads will not be death traps as they are today, people will not be dying every day due to poor facilities in our hospitals,  our children will not be learning under trees and dilapidated buildings.

l am not realy an apologist of the present administration under which alot of things have changed for the worse, but l know there are many reasons why there is hunger in the land other than the fight against corruption.

Before now , the price of our oil was high.  Today, the price of oil all over the world has crashed. Nigeria has  ceased to be the largest economy in Africa and the largest producer of oil in the continent.  The quantity of oil the country produces has dropped drastically, no thanks to the dastardly activities of militants and agitators in the Niger Delta.

Price of food and other items have become so exorbitant in the market  while income has reduced not  because of the fight against corruption  or solely because of today’s  poor management, but also because of yesterday’s in competence,  mismanagement and embezzlement of funds, shortsightedness, lack of proper investment and greed.

Of course,  l agree with some financial analysts that Buhari’ s government could and should  do more to save our economy and bring us out of the present woes, but laying the current economic crisis at the doorstep of the president and his political party will be very unfair.

So it is my opinion that instead of blaming  Buhari for our predicaments, our youths and indeed all Nigerians should join hands in ridding our society of corruption which has been the bane of our development. Let us tag corruption as wrong  and work hard to eliminate it instead of promoting it  and adoring corrupt people.

It goes without saying that it is only in a corrupt -free society that people like the youths that have good skills can get good jobs;  candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions can gain admission without having any god father or giving bribe.

lt is only when our country is rid of corruption that jobs will be given to the deserving graduates instead of  reserving them for children of politicians and the wealthy.  Moreover, there will be more jobs because the numerous investors who have fled the country will return knowing that their investments will be safe.

However, for people to have more confidence in the government and believe in the fight against corruption, there is need for transparency and accountability.  Making the fight  look one, sided and like a political vendetta will only cast doubt in the minds of the citizens about the sincerity of government and the anti-graft officials towards the fight.