Corruption is not only a universal phenomenon but also a complex and multifaceted phenomenon with multiple causes and effects. This distasteful scourge is also the breaking of a certain code of conduct for the personal benefit of the perpetrator. It is equally the misuse of public power for private benefit. The term “private benefit” does not just relate to receiving money or valuable assets, but also encompasses an increase in power or status. Receiving promises for future favours or benefits for relatives and friends may also be considered a private benefit.
It is however mind-boggling in this clime to see that institutional structure, inefficiency, poor professional standards, low productivity, a culture of waste, over-bloated staff structure etc, are increasingly presenting themselves as problems of the civil service in Nigeria, saldy only scant attention has been paid to the debilitating effects of corruption and the consequences have been so difficult to deal with.
More reprehensible is the fact that corruption in the governance culture of Nigeria has greatly assumed an octopus-like nomenclature to the extent that it did not just pervade the entire fabric of the society but also became one of the strongest factors for determining who the electorate voted for with a preference for those who possessed the capacity to fight corruption. It is pertinent to observe that whereas successive administrations (whether military or civilian) have been blamed for the ills of corruption in Nigeria, the civil service—being that constant enabling entity and common denominator under the various systems, appears to be the worst culprit of the corruption malaise.
Ironically, it is disheartening to observe that over the years, the Nigerian Civil Service has been ensnared in a myriad of problems, among them being poor accountability culture, etc, all of which are also corruption-related which were earlier mentioned in the opening paragraph.
The country cannot achieve any meaningful and sustainable development if those entrusted with public office routinely sow the seeds of corruption and partake in its proceeds. As asked who drafts the memos for politicians at Ministries, Agencies and Departments? Who are those making the submissions for the appropriation of funds? Who disburses the funds? It would be near impossible for politicians to engage in corruption if public servants refuse to be used as means to corrupt ends or if they decline to be willing accomplices in corrupt schemes. Politicians cannot and do not act alone. They act in concert with civil servants.
Indeed, it is commonplace to affirm that no politician can conclude and effectively perpetuate any act of grand corruption that dominate the pages of newspapers, without the active connivance of the public servant who, most often (as experts/technocrats in public policy affairs), are also the source of criminal knowledge/information on where and how politicians can pilfer public coffers.
Aside from the plethora of quiet/not-very-obvious corruption activities of bureaucrats in various types of administrative malpractices involving teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, accountants, desk officers, inspectors and other frontline administrative officials, dovetailing in all forms of petty corrupt acts including absenteeism, rule-bending for personal advantages, issuance of certificates where jobs are not done or are performed below standards, abetting examination malpractices/sex for marks, wrong medical diagnosis/pilfering of drugs and hospital equipment, referral of patients to privately owned medical facilities etc. Besides, Nigerians have also recently been inundated with reports of public administrative officials saddled with the responsibility of fighting social and financial crimes, turning such administrative positions into criminal/self-enrichment/corruption tools/centres.
The ill effects of corruption, whether from the general public administrative institutions of governance or the core civil service platforms within Nigeria have generally been known to be deleterious and overwhelming, such as has been experienced in Nigeria. The negative effects are by no means exhaustive to the point that the country cannot achieve much success without first addressing all the ancillary issues that militate against well-articulated and well-directed policies and actions of government.
This much was admitted by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu which openly demonstrated a zero tolerance for corruption when he ordered the suspension of Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr Betta Chimaobim Edu, over what is gradually turning out to be a prologue to the endemic corruption in a ministry that was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2019 to provide succour to the vulnerable caught in the web of insecurity and cascading poverty.
However, much still needs to be done as it is important for the government to continuously carry out reforms that are germane to the sanitization of the public sector to reduce the level of corruption, going by the inescapable consequences they harbour for the overall development of the country. If these recommendations or modifications of them are carried out, it is believed that the issue of endemic corruption would be reduced, at least from the platform of administrative officials of Ministries, Agencies and Departments of government. The time for this radical paradigm shift should be now. God bless Nigeria.
*Emmanuel Ajibulu wrote from FCT Abuja, he’s a public affairs analyst, social media influencer, writer and publisher of online magazine, veracitydesk.com.ng, emmanuelajibulu@gmail.com