I was in a church recently and there was a call for donations in support of a project. Someone stood before the church to support the project but also decided to exhort the church on the blessings that accrue from giving to God. According to him, some months back, there was a call for financial support to another project. He was not “financially sound” at that time but made a donation nonetheless, believing that it would attract blessings to him. That same week, he went to a project site to supervise a construction project. The contractor told him that he needed a better car to aid his supervisory work in the rough terrain, and then gave him N2m, with which he bought an SUV.
At the end of the so-called testimony, he shouted: “Praise the Lord!,” and the church responded with a thunderous: “Halleluya.”
I was shocked. A person who was supposed to supervise the work of another was given a cash gift of N2m for a car by the person he was sent to supervise, and he accepted it without any scruples. He was not bothered that he had been offered a bribe that would influence his ability to supervise the contractor professionally. Rather than see it as an inducement, he saw it as a blessing from God for the donation he made in the church that week, and stood before a church to brazenly “thank” God for it.
That depicts our attitude to the issue of corruption these days in the nation. The line between corruption and blessing has become so thin in Nigeria that many people no longer know the difference between the two, or simply pretend not to know. It was not surprising that in December 2012, Transparency International ranked Nigeria 139th in the Corruption Perception Index of 2012 out of 176 countries. Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to get the position of the 35th most corrupt country in the world. In 2011, Nigeria had been placed 143rd, making it the 39th most corrupt country. Even though it looked like an improvement, a close look at the number of countries ranked showed that it rose from 176 in 2011 to 182 in 2012: an addition of six extra countries.
It is common to hear Nigerians blame those in political offices or public service as corrupt, but the same people who point the finger engage in corruption in their workplaces on a daily basis, rationalising it as the blessing of God or “a smaller sin.” But there is no small bribe or big bribe, for if the person receiving small bribes get into a big office where he can receive big bribes, he will continue doing what he knows how to do best.
Our society is complicit in this because of the value placed on wealth as well as our new no-question-asked attitude towards the acquisition of wealth. In the recent past, if a young man acquired wealth through unclear means, his father would not receive any gift from him but would question him about the source of his wealth. If he was not satisfied, he would take the son to his kinsmen and ask him to explain the source of his wealth to them.
In the same vein, it was easy to monitor the financial progress of people. I remember that in the late 1970s when my elder brother started his business, he bought a CG 125 motorcycle after about a year to ease his movement within the town. A couple of years after, he bought a Peugeot 404 pickup, which enhanced his purchase and delivery of goods. That was followed by a Peugeot 504 Serie 2 saloon car some years later. Then, he began to erect a bungalow. That completed, he got married. Some years later, he removed the roof of the bungalow and transformed it to a duplex. This took approximately 15 years.
But from the mid-1980s, the situation began to change tremendously. A young man or woman with no clear source of income would suddenly “arrive,” flaunting expensive cars, donating money to churches, mosques, towns and universities, and nobody would ask any questions or bat an eyelid. Alternatively, a man or woman that lives a modest life in an apartment, riding a 20-year-old car imported from Germany, would win an election or is given a political appointment; then his life is transformed to owning a N100m house, a N10m car and other high-worth possessions, even though his monthly salary is not up to a million naira per month, and yet nobody asks questions. Rather, he is seen as “favoured by God.” On the contrary, if an elected or appointed political office holder leaves office as poor as he was when he went in, he is seen as “a foolish holier-than-thou person, who did not utilise the golden opportunity God gave him to be rich.”
Regrettably, many of the religious bodies that are meant to act as the conscience of the society seem to be promoting the ugly trend directly or indirectly. The message of eternal life and sacrificial service is downplayed because it does not excite most worshippers, but the message of financial breakthrough is emphasised because it fires worshippers up. People hear that they will get their car, or house or unimaginable favour “this week” without an admonition that it must not be through corruption or untoward means.
There is also another trend of trying to cleanse ill-gotten wealth through “doing good”. Because worshippers are told that giving attracts divine favours, those who had acquired their wealth illegally feel convinced that “giving generously towards God’s work” will cleanse their wealth and make God overlook whatever their misdeeds.
Then, there is the government connection. Uninspiring leadership and corruption have been identified as the twin problems hampering our development and creating a bad image for us as a nation since Independence in 1960. One would have expected heavy penalties as much as 20 years’ imprisonment with no option of fine for corrupt public offenders. The bill to this effect should have been sent to the National Assembly by the President upon his assumption of office on May 6, 2010 to underscore his zero tolerance for corruption. If the National Assembly had rejected the bill or reduced the penalty, Nigerians would have shifted their anger to them and not the President. The current penalty of two years or less — including an option of fine — for corruption offences is grossly ridiculous. It portrays Nigeria as unserious on the issue of corruption.
The religious emphasis on financial breakthrough with little or no emphasis on the means through which such wealth is acquired should also be condemned and tackled. Financial success is important in life, but it should not be the focal point of religion. Eternal life in the hereafter is the aim of religion, while other matters are secondary, not the other way round. Religious leaders should give their members the unadulterated word of God, not what suits the worshippers or what suits the interest of the religious leaders.
Minding one’s business does not mean keeping quiet in the face of evil. Even the most developed nations of the world value the work of social critics and whistle blowers. And when the whistle is blown on any individual or organisation, such a person or organisation is not treated like the proverbial sacred cow. On the contrary, the case is followed to a logical conclusion, and if found guilty, commensurate punishment is meted out to the culprit to serve as a deterrent to others. That is why in spite of the high rate of crime in many developed nations, investors still find it easy to invest in such economies because they believe that the official policy of the nation does not suggest that it condones crime or corruption.
Our society must return to the ways of the past when a premium was placed on a good name rather than on silver and gold or material acquisition. The trend whereby towns, religious bodies, educational institutions, and the nation give recognition and honours to only the rich and powerful, irrespective of their reputation or source of wealth, must be stopped. The celebration of wealth and neglect of excellence and integrity have cost our nation a lot.
[Punch]