corruption,a bane of good governance by adekunle saka

7/31/2019 Corruption,A Bane of Good Governance by Adekunle Saka

1/21

CORRUPTION: A BANE

TO GOOD GOVERNANCE By Amitolu Shittu

INTRODUCTION

For over twenty years as a Rights Activist, I have

studied many books and research works on corruption

but my experience as a grassroots activist has

redefined corruption through a practical point of view;

when you see a child of school age ,hawking sachet

water on the street of Lagos, and on the street of Abuja

you encounter a woman asking for money to feed her

only child, then you see a graduate of six to eight years

looking for job, then you travelled by road across

Nigeria and by the grace of God you came back

unscathed from many death trap called roads, then you

decided to critically observe all institution of

government, then you realised hospitals is gradually

turning to death centre, as a layman you may not

understand what a Megawatt of electricity generates in

Nigeria but you realised the first words to be

pronounced by your child was UP NEPA! Invariably

Corruption, has made a mess of the lives of key

institutions of democracy, and weakened those

important pillars to such an extent that the polity is

only a shade different from what obtained under a

military dispensation.


2/21

KEY WORDS:

CORRUPTION, GOOD

GOVERNANCE

Kalu (1991) conceives corruption as the conscious andwell planned act by a person or group of persons toappropriate, by unlawful means, the wealth of anotherperson or group of persons. Corruption can also be seenas diversion of resources from the betterment of thecommunity to the gain of individuals at the expense of

the community. Odey (2002) contextualizes corruptionin Nigeria as the air which every living person breathesin and out. According to him, nobody makes any effortto breathe in the air; it comes naturally. Corruption, inNigeria, has become so naturalized that many of ussimply becomes corrupt without making any effort andoften even without knowing it. Corruption, according toHarsh (1993), is a practical problem involving theoutright theft, embezzlement of funds or other

appropriation of state property, nepotism, and grantingof favours to personal acquaintance. It has been arguedthat corruption involves behaviours which deviate fromthe moral and constitutional requirements. During Herofficial visit to Nigeria in 2009 American Secretary ofState, Mrs Hillary Clinton said Between 1960 and now,the World Bank estimate that Nigerian leaders havestolen over $400 billion from the treasury; This maysound just as figures until you imagine the number of

schools such amount would have built and the numberof hospitals that would have equipped the statementexplains what corruption have done to the institutionsand citizen of Nigeria, therefore Corruption is theofficial misuse of resources for personal enrichment,this is done at the expense of the majority to satisfy thefew in government ,according to Omololu Fagbadebo inthe African journal of Political Science and InternationalRelation, The history of Nigeria is tainted with the

absence of good moral and ethical values in the conductof the ruling elites. This has adversely affected


3/21

economic growth and development. As corruptionimpacts negatively on economic growth, it is alsopolitically destabilizing. Corruption and the abuse ofpower have long been features of Nigerias economic

and political landscape. The National PlanningCommission has identified systemic corruption, whichengenders low levels of transparency andaccountability, as the major source of developmentfailure (National Planning Commission, 2005). As Toyohas rightly noted, the underprivileged are the victims ofthis failure while the ruling class hypocritically engagesin the condemnation of acts that benefit its fold (Toyo,2006). An analyst attributes the prevalence of

corruption in the Nigerian polity to the criminalsilence of political elites (Tell, 2006). Thus, behavioursthat are openly suggestive of large-scale corruption arenot condemned outright, but treated with utmostcynicism. In fact since 1999 what we are experiencingin Nigeria is nothing but legalised and institutionalisedlooting of public treasury!Moreover,People might assume that only politicians ingovernment are corrupt. Most often, bureaucrats

provide the templates for perfected corruption. In fact,most corrupt practices are only exposed by bureaucratswhen they are excluded from sharing in the proceeds.Thus, corruption in government cannot be a unilateralaction. Therefore, corruption manifests in all facets ofgovernmental activities - contracts, the allocation ofbenefits, collection of public revenues, and judicialpronouncements. Officials involved in performing theseduties partake at one stage or the other, in the abuse of

the processes

Like the saying, when the head is rotten, the body willbe decayed, all the public institution joined in theunholy race to out-loot other institution, from NigeriaPolice, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), PowerHolding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), and NigerianNational Petroleum Company (NNPC) which I calledNigerian Seat of Corruption, the revelation is the same

administrative corruption multiply by politicalcorruption will invariably equals to bad governance!


4/21

Indeed I can go on and on as all our facet of life hasbeen corrupted, even today Parents train their childwithout any core value only to encourage them to stealand get rich, the new slogan is thou shall not be

caught; in fact there is close link between corruptionand bad governance

GOODGOVERNANCE

To every action there must be a reaction, to every good

there must be a bad, and since the Government came into existence purposely to securing conditions for safeand happy life, therefore its continue existence can onlybe justified in term of promoting and preserving thequality of life, that was the reason why some section ofOccupy Nigeria movement called for regime changebecause the government failed the basic test ofexistence; Good governance

What therefore is Good Governance? When defining theconcept of good governance, I realised the definition ofgood governance promotes many ideas that closelyalign with effective democratic government, in factemphasis on good governance can sometimes beequated with promoting democratic government; SoGood Governance is the use of power and authority bythose in government to provide goods and services tothe people to uphold the common good and fulfil theaspirations and needs of the common man. Governance,

therefore, is about power, strategies, policies, plansand projects that aim at improving the substance orquality of life of citizen; hence, Governance becomesgood when the decisions and actions of the governmentare based on peoples consent, legitimacy andaccountability. Thus good governance is concerned withhigh quality in governance. All sections of the societytoday judge their government by their governance, thequestion we must ask ourselves is simple, are we

experiencing Good Governance in Nigeria? I will like thisconference to answer that.


5/21

But according to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clintonin Nigeria on August 12, 2009, she said what Africaneeds is not more strong men, it needs more strongdemocratic institutions that will stand the test of time,

Without good governance, no amount of oil or noamount of aid, no amount of effort can guaranteeNigerias success. But with good governance, nothingcan stop Nigeria. Its the same message that I havecarried in all of my meetings, including my meeting thisafternoon with your president. The United Statessupports the seven-point agenda for reform that wasoutlined by President Yaradua..

That was during Yaradua presidency, the Goodluck

Jonathan administration emphasised the inevitability ofgood governance in the final report of itsTransformation Agenda, but many reports hasemphasised the doctrine of good governance before,rhetorically we are a nation no country can surpass butto implement it has been a fundamental failure. Thepractise in both the private and public sector of Nigeriatoday is bad governance. The Transformation Agendafinal report itself acknowledges this reality. It explains

that bad governance which has been largely blamed forNigeria underdevelopment arises frommismanagement of resources, especially throughcorruption, waste and economic crimes. The reportfurther asserted that, Nigerias inability to tacklemost of the development challenges, such as poverty,unemployment, security and disheartening state ofinfrastructure has been largely attributed to badgovernance .The importance of good governance is

underline by the fact that it ensures that corruption isminimised; that the view of minority groups are takinginto account and that the voice of the most vulnerablein the society are heard in decision making.

KEY ELEMENTS OF GOOD

GOVERNANCE


6/21

There are fundamental elements of good governance,whether in a democracy, monarchy or aristocracy, theproponent of a form of government may have realisedat least through Nigeria experience that democracy is

not an ends in itself but a means to good governance,therefore lets revisit Jonathan Transformation Agendareport. The reports identified key elements of goodgovernance as: Openness, Transparency andAccountability; Fairness and Equity in dealing withcitizens; Efficient and Effective service provision; clearand transparent laws and regulations; consistency andcoherence in policy formulation; respect for rule of law;and high standard of ethical behaviour, unfortunately,

second year running all these element are in shortsupply in Goodluck Jonathan administration!

To be fair to Jonathan, Nigeria history of corruption andbad governance dated back to independence, and theJonathan apologist will always argue that a generationalmalady cannot be cured in three years, but the issue isbeyond cure, it is the courage to implement thetransformation agenda that Nigerians demands ; atleast we were not consulted when Jonathan was

drafting transformation agenda of his administration.

Moreover, the United Nation( UN), emphasised on eightcharacteristics of Good governance as: ConsensusOriented, Participatory, following the Rule of Law,Effective and Efficient, Accountable, Transparent,Responsive, Equitable and Inclusive, based on thesecharacteristics at present, we are but a great nation onpaper, in our thoughts, in our potentials. Evolving from

this stage will require all Nigerians.

CORRUPTION AND LOCAL

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION

As much as social commentators detest Jonathan'sapproach to governance, he is not responsible for our


7/21

societal under development. our local governmentsthieves are. Bring Fashola, Utomi or Elrufai, should wefail to engage our Local Governments on ourcommunity's development, things won't really change.

The need to catalyse balanced development, maximizecitizens participation, and arouse governmentresponsive necessitates the creation of the localgovernment. The local government serves as a form ofpolitical and administrative structure facilitatingdecentralization, national integration, efficiency ingovernance, and a sense of belonging at the grassroots.The local government is a unit of administration all overthe world (Agagu, 2004). Although its a universal

institution it, however, exists in different forms and indifferent political systems. Whatever the form ofexistence, the local government has been essentiallyregarded as the path to and guarantor of administrativeefficiency, effective service delivery, and participatorydevelopment (Arowolo, 2005). It is a critical tier ofgovernment because of its closeness to the people(Gboyega, 1987). Local government appeals to both thepeople and government as a feedback institution that

relays the opinions and demands of the grassroots to ahigher government (Adejo, 2003). Aside from thisfeedback function, other competing functions of servicedelivery, promotion of democratization at local level,and mobilization of human resources for grassrootsenhancement place the local government in a strategicposition for sustainable development.

The local government system has been a major featureof the Nigerian government and politics since colonial

rule though, over the years, there have been changes inname, structure, and composition, while the system wasoperated differently all over the country (Agagu, 2004).It was on this premise that the rising tide of progress,growth, and development experienced in the localgovernment was based. The 1976 local governmentreform, carried out by the military administration ofGeneral Obasanjo, brought about uniformity in theadministrative structure of the system. The reform

introduced a multi-purpose, single tier local governmentsystem for the whole country (Ajayi, 2000). Since these


8/21

reforms, successive governments have tinkered withthe local government structure with a view of enhancingits capacity for good governance. Fundamentally, thelocal government is created to serve the ruralcommunities. The local government is expected tomobilize and harness local resources and ensure theireffective utilization, with the support of the state andfederal governments.

Unfortunately, the much needed development hascontinued to elude the rural communities across thenation. It has been rural poverty, rather than ruraldevelopment. However, the prevalence andpervasiveness of poverty and the underdevelopment at

the grassroots level is still connected with the high levelof corruption and absence of democratic ethos in thelocal government system. In view of the above, the localgovernment, rather than projecting democratic ideals inthe rural setting, has been an instrument of oppressionand wealth accumulation in the hand of theunscrupulous politicians. It has suddenly become abreeding ground for undemocratic parties. Publicaccountability, the consent of the governed, widespread

participation, and consultation, as principles ofdemocracy, are conspicuously absent in the localgovernment system. This is still connected with thestunted growth of democracy in Nigeria, as a whole. Themanifestations of its retardation can be perceived in thecollapse of two earlier republics: 1960-1966 and 1979-1983. Human development and the promotion of thecitizens happiness, which are important goals ofdemocracy, are absent in the country.

The absence of democracy in the local governmentsystem paves way for poverty due to the lack ofdemocratic ideals. This absence of democratic ideals iscaused by the nature of Nigeria politics. Politics inNigeria is widely seen as a means of becoming affluent.It is seen as a short-cut to wealth. Besides, everycontestant is also determined to rig the elections in hisown favor. And, where rigging is made impossible,

violence, arson, kidnapping, and murder of opponentsare introduced into the electoral game. Electoral


9/21

competition, then, becomes a do-or-die affair, aswitnessed in the general elections of 1964, 1979, 1983,2003, 2007, and even 2011,as we observed in the killingof five innocent citizen at Ile-ife ; All these tend to

undermine the confidence the people, especially at thegrassroots level, in the democratic practice as a meansof ensuring popular happiness and grassrootsdevelopment.

Corruption is the greatest bane of local governmentadministration in Nigeria. At the grassroots level,corruption has been canonically accommodated,entertained, and celebrated within the system. In thelocal government setting, corruption is misnomerly

labelled and euphemistically referred to as EGUNJE (aslogan which means illegal offer in Nigeria).Regrettably, democracy, which is assumed to be theantidote to corruption, is not well practiced at thegrassroots level. Consequently, the level of apathy,cynicism, and poverty is high among the rural dwellers.Kolawole (2006) laments this situation when he opinesthat in spite of the establishment of the IndependentCorrupt Practices and other related Offences

Commission (ICPC), corruption still thrives in oursociety. In his analysis, Kolawole was of the view thatthe lack of funds was no more a constraint on localgovernment performance, but a mismanagement andmisappropriation of the funds accruable to it.

As the chairman of Anti-Corruption Revolution in Osunstate, I observed that the corruption in localgovernment is more administrative than political, career

officer aids politician to milk the local government dry,indeed some career officer acquired properties as if it isrunning out of circulation, in some cases, they leverageon the mediocrity of politician to enrich themselves, onthe other hand, poverty is an inducement to corruptionat the grassroots level. Many of the representatives inthe councils are jobless. They go into politics to makemoney, rather than to serve their people. Apart frompoverty, itself, the fear of poverty is another good

factor. People are afraid of going back to poverty afterthe completion of their tenure or after retirement, as


10/21

the case may be, as a result, the tendency to stealpublic money, for future consummation becomes sohigh among them.

WAYFORWARDSince 1999 a number of institutional and legalarrangements have been made to secure the prevalence

of the characteristics of a good governance, discouragecorruption, and encourage internationally accepted bestpractise, we have not only the EFCC but also the ICPC, Ihave raised the issue of duplication as our way of life inmany fora, pubic school is not good ,lets have private,Nigeria police is moribund and corrupt, lets createNigeria Civil Defence, instead for the policy makers toproperly diagnose the problem and proffer a solutionthat we stand the test of time, we tend to enjoy theduplication of agencies and making laws that we onlyhave on paper! In order to break this cycle,accountability and transparency have to be guaranteedand the people have to be involved in issues that affecttheir lives and immediate community, their state andthe country.

There is also an organic link between people and goodgovernance, like they say people get the governmentthey deserve, when we engage from the governments

decisively at all level, then our state may change, so willour nation It is recognized that there are laws around toeffect good governance. But these laws have either notbeen enforced, or they have not been effective.Unenforceable laws are only good on the book. Theleader who can only give orders but cannot enforcethem is not a leader by the standard of many societies.

Sound economic policies should also be instituted todiversify the nations mono-product economy. Thediversification of the economy would help reduce


11/21

Nigerias dependence on the outside world for her basicneeds (food, etc.), and lend credibility to claims that thecountry could someday join the ranks of superpowers.In particular, it will create employment for our

burgeoning population. Among other measures tostimulate employment in the society is to monitor aid tostate and local governments and accelerate publicworks. Our social problems (poverty, diseases,illiteracy, prostitution, crime, etc.), are in one way oranother related to the sour state of the economy. Thesethings can all be done with good governance in Abuja.Good governance requires changes in human skills,attitudes, values therefore to survive, we need a strong

ethic.Furthermore, the citizen must be ready to occupyeverywhere to seek good governance, all of us mustbecome a change agent, we must ask for development,an when we ask, it shall be given, we must seek forgood governance and knock on their door fortransparency, this is our day, this is our time, a time tohelp build a new core value of transparency, a time toget rid of corruption, a time to re-strategize, to re-

visualise and to refocus on building a country we cancall our own, our country must no collapse, our focusmust be sustained because what we do or fail to do willsurely determine our tomorrow.


12/21


13/21


14/21


15/21


16/21


17/21


18/21

vernance is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a

countrys economic and social resources for development. The World Bank has

identified three distinct aspects of governance:-

*The form of political regime

*The process by which authority is exercised in the management of a countrys

economic and social resources for development

*The capacity of governments to design, formulate and implement policies and

discharge functions.

The term governance is usually used to describe conditions in a country as a

whole. It is a term used by international financial institutions in discussing the

economic development of nations.

Governance is often linked with participatory development of human rights and

democratization. It therefore, takes a holistic look at legitimacy of government.

That is, degree of democratization, accountability of political and official elements

of government, competence of governments to formulate policies and deliver

services and respect for human rights and rule of law.

As we continue our discussion of corruption and its effect on Nigeria, we shall see

how this endemic cancer has impacted on every aspect of governance.

Impact of Corruption

In 2003, Antonio Maria Costa, a Brazilian Scholar, said that fighting corruption is a

pre-condition for good governance and the rule of law, which in turn are the

foundation stones of sustainable development.

It has been argued that poverty is the cause of corruption, while corruption is a

consequence of poverty and loss of moral values. Poverty and ignorance persist in

Nigeria because of the distorted political and economic arrangement we practice.

This arrangement has entrusted a dis-proportionate portion of the nations wealth

in the hands of a few individuals. For instance, what percentage of Nigerias 150

million people actually lives above the bread line? This is why people see political

appointment or election (selection) into public office as a do or die affair, becauseit appears to be the only way of getting access to the national cake.


19/21

There is a social synergy through which corruption occurs between politics and

economy and sustainable development. It attacks the vital structures that

facilitate development processes. Particularly, resources mapped out for social

and human development (e.g. hospitals, schools, roads etc.) are corruptly divertedto individual pockets. Sustainable development is an app.. that tries to balance

the social, economic and environmental impacts of all our actions, now and in the

future. But corruption makes this objective unrealizable.

Economic growth and development in Nigeria has become stultified as a result of

corruption turning the countrys economy into perpetual underdevelopment. This

is why we have continued to occupy very low positions in international ratings of

human development indices. In fact, since the return of this democratic

dispensation, that is 1999 to date, there has been an avalanche of pervasivecorruption all over the country, at all levels of government. The nation has

continued to suffer very serious hyper- inflation, which has robbed the masses of

their purchasing power and further reduced their living conditions, leaving the

people much more pauperized.

Corruption is a symptom of fundamental failure of governance and so the higher

the incidence of corruption, the more sustainable development becomes elusive.

Corruption increases poverty and disproportionately affects those in the low

income group because it pulls resources from the national treasury into the hands

(pockets) of a few individuals who are politically powerful. The effects of

corruption on the countrys socio-political and economic development are

extremely pervasive. Prominent among these effects are poverty and income

inequality.

The picture painted in the foregoing part of this discussion indicates a

frighteningly bleak future. This should not be so. Nigerians have realized that

corruption is a very destructive element in the governance of the country and alsothe very derogatory way the outside world perceives this country. This, of course,

has led to loss of government revenue, poor governance, failure of state

institutions, brain drain, and electoral malpractice, absence of law and order, civil

unrest, poor investment channels, business failure, unemployment, poverty and

unsustainable development.

This realization has led the government to put in place some agencies to check or

fight corruption. The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Economic

and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Police are some of theseinstitutions that have been put in place to tackle corruption. These agencies can


20/21

only succeed if there is strong will by the people and political leaders are truly

committed to the process and ready to implement all-encompassing anti-

corruption programmes in an impartial way. This is extremely important if the

fight against corruption is to succeed.

Reducing Corruption

The way people are selected and placed in public offices should be reviewed.

Merit, not patronage should be strictly applied. Round pegs, not square pegs

should be placed in round holes.

(2) Provision of basic amenities for the people. If there is constant water supply,

good schools, good hospitals, abundant food at reasonable cost, constant

electricity supply, affordable housing and good roads for easy transportation, the

craze for individuals to get these things through whatever means will vanish.

(3) Public servants should be well remunerated. They should be paid living wages

not minimum wages. This should also be prompt as at and when due. The effect of

adequate remuneration on motivation cannot be over-emphasized.

(4) The various poverty alleviation measures should be revolutionized and made

more practical.

(5) Public officers should be made to swear to realistic assets declarations on

assumption and also when leaving office.

(6) Due process should be very strictly applied not only in the award of contracts

but, in fact, in all government business.

(7) Public awareness campaigns should be carried out to remind the populace of

what constitutes corruption and what the public should do when any such act is

detected.

(8) Existing laws on corruption should be strictly applied at all times no matter the

level of the culprit in the socio-economic ladder.

(9) Citizens who provide information on corruption should be well-protected and

adequately compensated.

(10) Wealth or property found to have been acquired through corrupt practices

should be confiscated by the state.

(11) People who have been found guilty of corruption should never be granted any

form of pardon or given any future public appointment.


21/21

(12) The ICPC and EFCC should be merged into one strong anti-Corruption agency

to avoid what at present appears like a duplication of functions.

(13) Nigeria should pursue and strengthen international cooperation in the

recovery of corruptly acquired wealth (loot) stashed way in foreign countries.

(14) Moreover, and most importantly, our leaders should lead by examples.

(15) The various law enforcement agencies should be funded and properly

motivated to ensure optimal performance.

The average Nigerian is not ordinarily corrupt. He has been attracted to engage in

bribery and corruption by a society built on a lousy foundation of political,

economic and, in fact, a social system that depends on corruption for survival.

However, Nigeria has not gone beyond redemption from this cancerous endemic

known as corruption, but certain questions still persist. For instance, who has the

proper character in Nigeria to fight corruption? Where shall we find the people still

honest enough and ready for self-denial and the struggle for the countrys

prosperity rather than their own individual interest? Where shall we find the

judges, police officers and investigators to accomplish this task? And even if all

these are found, will the politicians willingly support an all-out offensive against

corruption? These are questions begging for answers.

Professor Sunday N. Agwu, Ph.D, MNAE, fcai, is of the Ebonyi State University,Abakaliki.

corruption,a bane of good governance by adekunle saka

Documents