By Dr. BABA J. ADAMU
Problems
Few would disagree with the contention that in Nigeria
today, nepotism, extortion and bribery have become a way of life and not
just with politicians except that in their case it is exhibited more
shamelessly. Corruption has become systematic. It has become institutional
at all levels in such a way that it has become an integral component of the
administrative, social and political culture in Nigeria. It evokes strong
emotional reactions within our societies, strong negative sensation like an
itch and there is widespread concern about its extent.
My recent visit to Nigeria sent chilling feelings across
my veins and started off a simple itch-like sensation. I noticed a complete
loss of faith by the people in the government. People�s frustration and
disenchantment with the rising level of corruption has given way to cynicism
and a sense of resignation and despair. They no longer believe that anything
meaningful will ever get done to control it and punish those perpetrating
such crimes. They appear to have accepted corruption in the public sector as
inevitable and uncontrollable, on the plea that societies as a whole is
corrupt and beyond correction. This school of thought also argues that the
rather low-level of active societal resistance to corruption reflects how
people have taken corruption in their stride, accepting it as a part and
parcel of a transaction with public agencies. These observations made the
rather simple itch-like sensation to get even stronger. Then it moved to
another area of my body, then another, then back to the original place. In
continued thought on the magnitude of the problem, each awareness igniting
the next until my whole body became hot as though with a soft fire. I began
to wonder. It is not that corrupt practices are not found in the public
sector in other societies. Corruption exists in one form or another in all
societies. The major difference in the case of Nigeria is the extent of its
persuasiveness and its implications for governance and the value system in
general and the political culture in particular. The growth of that negative
sensation became like dominoes rising instead of falling, collecting waves
of feeling which released internal energy so invigorating, so frustrating
simply from an ordinary itch that could otherwise be ignored.
I continue wondering, what are the reasons for this
growing concern about corruption so invigorating, so frustrating? Could it
be attributed to the collusion by foreigners with our disgruntled leaders
who defraud and found safe refuge and acceptance in UK, the United States,
Switzerland, and most other developed countries? Or perhaps due to the
enslavement of our people for many centuries, an enslavement that continues
today, disguised in several forms. Or largely because the poverty level is
so high that people find it difficult to access information and be well
informed, making them cheap to bribe during election and hence elect bad
leaders again and again. Whatever the reasons, it appears that there is an
unprecedented growing scale of corruption, the scandals involving political
leaders, senior civil servants, the inadequacies, ineptitude and persistent
disregard for the rule of law in the government are gnawing deeply into the
vitals of our societies. The credibility of those in high places could never
have been lower than what it is today. Since citizens are the eventual
financiers of the administration machinery they rightly feel indignant that
their trust has been betrayed and the resources provided to the public
sector are misspent and misplaced.
Such simple sequences of negative itch-like sensation are
also more complex when as a result of bad leadership, international media
amplifies our dilemma. For example, one has only to turn-on TV in Europe and
especially in North America to see how Africa is cast, often with fabricated
sorry scenarios with images of African famine with naked, malnourished,
fly-infested kids and fragile-looking women holding empty bowls in desolate
villages. African leaders continue to be pre-occupied with how to remain in
power instead of working tirelessly to alleviate some of these negative
misconceptions of Africa and trying to leave a legacy of economic reform and
future prosperity. We must restructure our system that grants discretionary
powers to those in authority and then protects them through secrecy and
denial of information.
The basic strategy for effective governance
Nigerians are very good at talking about how bad the
Nigerian economy has been; how the rate of crimes has gone up, the rise of
communal, religious and ethnic clashes, the down of Naira etc., without
tangible solutions. But as long as we do not transform our words into deeds,
into action there will never be progress. Growth is fundamentally achieved
by having in place some basic elements of economic development. Elements
like stable electricity, water, security and standards for accountability.
1) There should be no justification whatsoever for the
lack of stable power supply, water supply, and low crime rate across the
country. Without these, there are no economic developments at all.
2) There should be rules and criteria simple to
understand and administer and the information made readily available: For
instance, several activities in Nigeria undertaken by the government put it
in a monopolistic position. And if a number of criteria have to be taken
into consideration in arriving at a decision, then an element of
subjectivity and judgement is involved. The problem may not necessarily be
the degree of discretion but the extent to which the process is opaque and
shrouded in mystery. Therefore, if the rules and criteria simple to
understand and administer and information about them is readily available,
then the government�s decisions could be challenged by the citizens.
3) There should be a wider distribution of the
information on the rules, a better specification of the criteria, and
greater transparency in respect of decisions reached and the institution of
a system of appeal will help reduce the element of collusion and the abuse
of the discretion that is built into the nature of the activity. For
instance, transparency could be introduced in the selection of a school
teacher by first specifying weights for academic and professional
qualifications and the grades obtained and making this information public.
Next, after the interviews have been conducted, the merit list could be
published displaying, separately for each candidate, the marks allotted for
qualifications and for performance in the interviews. The adoption of such a
procedure will enable each applicant to, check if he has been assessed
fairly, and whether the final selection was based on merit.
4) There should be appropriate reporting systems and
supervisory controls and legislation on people�s right to information on
decisions taken or actions initiated by the government. For example power
corrupts when it is wielded without fear of accountability and reprisal. And
when supervisors are in collusion with their subordinates it becomes
difficult, if not impossible, to have an effective arrangement for
accountability. The problem is accentuated by the difficulties of measuring
both the performance of personnel as well as the impact of their decisions.
The problem becomes more difficult to resolve simply because of the lack of
appropriate reporting systems and supervisory controls, especially if cases
involving disciplinary action take years to conclude or never.
Moreover, even under this definition, accountability is
viewed more as a problem with the organisation and not as the accountability
of the service-provider to the recipient of the service, the consumer, which
is the more important level of accountability. The users of the service
generally do not know the rules governing service provision, especially
regarding service standards, partly because such standards have seldom been
developed. Current legislation in Nigeria does not require the government or
public agencies to disclose information on decisions taken or actions
initiated. The public has also been brought up on the tradition that they
have no right to any information and hence do not protest against the lack
of information and the secrecy maintained on even the most basic matters
hence, they are simply unaware of their rights and the recourse available to
them if these rights are denied to them.
Even the political leadership wants to operate behind a
cloak of secrecy, like the bureaucracy, and is not concerned at the denial
of such a fundamental right to the ordinary citizen. The immediate, although
limited, advantage of hiding the truth since it suits the party in power-has
far reaching long-term implications in which everyone loses, does not
prevent public representatives from taking a myopic, extremely short-term
view. This situation is skilfully exploited by the bureaucracy, which is the
real long-term beneficiary of a regime operating under the cloak of secrecy
and confidentiality
Furthermore, most citizens do not encounter corruption on
a daily basis, but on the basis of distinct episodes involving interaction
with public agencies in specific circumstances. If a citizen is not exposed
to corrupt practices frequently (from which he also does not benefit
directly), he is less likely to invest time and effort in taking up cudgels
against it and lobby vigorously for structural and systemic reform.
