Mass Protest Over Corruption?

The Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osibajo, a Professor of Law, was quoted recently as wondering why Nigerians have not shown enough rage over the plight of corruption in the country. There was a similar challenge from Chief Olusegun Obasanjo during his presidency, asking Nigerians to bring up any case of corruption “in chapters and verses” and then see what he would do.
To say the least, such challenges to the Nigerian masses can be described as inciting. Definitely, there are Nigerians who can take up such challenges but, the question is,what comes next?
The impression created by those who throw challenges to Nigerians to show some anger, to speak up or bring up cases of corruption in chapters and verses, is that Nigerians are cowardly. Even if that is so, the cowardice should not be interpreted as stupidity because, millions of people can hardly be cowardly and stupid at the same time. Those who hold such perception about Nigerians can be described as not reading the signposts correctly.
On the contrary, those who wonder why Nigerians have not been angry enough to go to the streets in protest over corruption in the country, probably know how such protest would be dealt with and what would arise therefrom. Those who demand that cases of alleged corruption should be brought in chapters and verses before they can be acted upon, also know that dark deals rarely leave loop-holes open.
Even when complaints about corrupt practices take the form of “whistle blowing”, the results are hardly handled with transparency. There are numerous cases where the boldness of patriotic Nigerians who tried to expose wrong-doings in the country had resulted in unpleasant consequences.
Where serious and genuine protests and complaints are not swept away as non-issues, those who organised and participated in them have been known to be “hunted” and penalized in many clever ways. If anyone doubts this fact, let such person get shocking details from a former ASUU Chairman of Rivers State University, Dr Felix Igwe.
Let us not pretend that the concept and practices of “parallel government” and “government by cabal” are strange phenomena in Nigeria. Without going into details of how these clandestine activities plague establishments, the truth is that an average Nigerian knows that politicians speak from both sides of their mouths. Only fools would allow themselves to be caught in clever traps. The fact that corruption is a festering wound in Nigeria is not in doubt, but it does not consist in money changing hands alone.
There is hardly any more dangerous form of corruption than deliberate acts of injustice, especially those meted out to a helpless but silent majority by a powerful minority. So, let those who are wondering about or looking for the origin and sources of corruption in Nigeria, fish out the cabal or mafia that have held the nation to ransom over the years.
An average Nigerian knows this fact, which means that the issue of corruption does not exist in a vacuum. What do you do when you cannot fight a ruthless titan that would stop at nothing in order to maintain a position of faceless monster? You leave the monster alone, but mind your personal security and survival, which would include picking up the crumbs falling from the feast of the titans. So far, we have been busy chasing the rodents pinching and poaching in the dark rooms and distant ponds and farms of unreachable ones.
Which stupid spectator would go into the street to protest about corruption, even with an empty stomach, when crocodiles lie in wait with some smile, watching out for who to devour? Even if anyone has records of some dark deals, must such records be arranged in chapters and verses before they can be considered as factual?
The logic of the Nigerian brand of corruption is captured in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure: “Thieves for their robbery have authority. When judges steal themselves”.
Truly, are laws and regulations not evaded, dodged and abused by cunning and subterfuge by those quick to mete out maximum penalty to others for minor infractions?
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

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