Onumba.com ——- It ‘s funny how some folks would (I wouldn’t really say defend or downplay) often excuse corruption in Nigeria as an unfortunate reality of life, even adopting the feeble and defeatist posture that it happens in the United States and elsewhere as well.
So what?
Often, these folks embrace this ambivalent view, to a slighter degree, to justify distancing themselves from being part of the solution to what they see as a widening cobweb of corruption that has become a hopeless situation. But for the most part, they assert that stance to downplay the activism of some Nigerians who are angry and habitually unleash attack against corruption. In short, for them, why bother. It is overwhelming. Dele Farotimi, Peter Akah, and Tola Adeniyi, to name just a few, all belong to the cabal of apoplectic warriors against graft.
But in contrast, the blasé attitude of some Nigerians towards corruption reflects an indirect way of condoning it. Check this out. Former Governor of Delta State James (Ibu Onyeori) Ibori stole a lorryload of money from his state’s coffer and still returned from his troubles in London to a hero’s welcome as an ‘illustrious son. ‘ Go figure! It is unhinged. Here’s another one. One Nigerian adult lady once argued that as long as these thieves confine spending the stolen dough inside the country, it was OK. Can you believe that? Sadly, so many Nigerians feel this way.
It is that kind of lazy, unhinged take, that kind of namby-pamby, pussyfooting around that explains precisely why corruption persists.
Of course no country on this planet is completely immune from the bane of corruption. No one denies that. But at the same time, what these numskulls and knuckleheads often conveniently gloss over is that public officials in the United States do not break into the government till to plunder money to the tune of billions of dollars, bankrupting the government and then make a beeline for more as long as they retained access to the coffer. This is stunning cruelty in a country where civil servants jog along for months without pay.
Yes, corruption occurs in the United States, but it does not in any way, shape or form impact the daily lives of citizens. In short, it only exists at a macro level as a rarity. But even when it does occur, it is often cloaked in a maelstrom of convoluted contractual nuances. In such cases, only a granular level audit would uncover such transgressions. For instance, a cop will never, ever ask for bribe to keep from issuing a speeding ticket to a violator. No way. To obtain a traveling passport, citizens only pay the official government cost for which a proper receipt is issued, an encounter that starts with ‘How can I help you sir/ma’am ‘and ends with ‘Enjoy the rest of your day.’
But in contrast, what plays out in Nigeria is an orgy of corruption in a free-for -all milieu with zero scrutiny. Commercial bus drivers and cops openly negotiate terms of engagement and how much in bribery would be paid. In Nigeria, corruption is religion ——- so systemic, pervasive and ubiquitous that it deserves a brand new name, a more fitting moniker to truly highlight the atrocities and capture the mind-blowing, head-scratching, mind-boggling volume of money government officials pilfer in a country where the citizens have essentially grown numb to the absurdity. Nigerian public officials play ball in a vastly different league concerning corruption and embezzlement. Just about every politician in the country is a thief. Get this. Not only do they pilfer billions and trillions of Naira and go scot-free, but also have the audacity to hang around splurging on their loot while remaining vocal and engaged in politics. That’s Nigeria for you. You would think that these thieves would go into hiding, but no, largely because of their belief, sadly, that any Nigerian would similarly exploit their time and privilege in office for personal enrichment. The madness is sweeping and contagious.
So, where the eff in the world does this occur? Certainly, not in the United States. And to insult to injury, there’s Trauma Bonding in all of this, where Nigerian citizens often display chummy affection towards these thieves, never mind that they are the architects of their impoverishment and squalor. It is bad enough that these Nigerians would sit back and watch these atrocities against their country, but often cheer these criminals on, reflecting the worst kind of Stockholm Syndrome.
But even if such level of graft occurred in the United States, it would be an aberration that would trigger a surgical investigation to get to the bottom of it, and if found guilty, the culprit is toast and would spend a long, long time in the calaboose. No bribery to bail him out. No connections to buy his freedom. No long leg to the rescue. No short leg to help, either. Just plain legs escorted right into prison.
