Ajayi Toyyib
Corruption denotes dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery. Similrly, it denotes dishonest dealings and unscrupulousness hence, it is the process by which a word or expression is changed from its original state to one regarded as erroneous or debased. This malady has become a nationwide or ubiquitous phenomenon which one can easily conceive and conceptualize as all the activities of injustices associated with human life. Generally, corruption is concerned with a different illegal activities such as; bribery, stealing, embezzlement, kidnapping and killing of the innocents soul technically.
Meanwhile, the nature of the subject matters the realm of the aforementioned acts. So, for better understanding and decomposition, one needs to lucidly the concept in the right perspective. Corruption is any behavioural approach that negates or deviates the formal or expected norms of society. Moreover, corruption could also be seen as any illegal or immoral act by which an individual engages him or her self to allocate values or resources for personal or group interests.
Arising from the above, one could denote that “what could be termed as corruption in a nation might not be in another domiciliary of humanity”, in as much that such action does not negate the expected norms of the society. Now considering the Nigerian nations, the nationwide phenomenon has become dominant in the nations of the federation to the extent that people believe that the act and practice of corruption can aid and develop them economically,i.e individual wants to succeed and survive by all means even if the nation still remain stagnant or even backwards in development. Nigeria is that country where just an individual acquires and accord himself with the resources that can sustain the whole country for years.
God bless America is what some if not all their citizens pray for every day, the case is reversed for Nigerians, not even for once. Have you ever pray solely for the tranquillity and calmness of your father’s land. Today, Nigerians are been optimistic for personal interest, not the nation unless they would have to start cursing our leaders and forget that such act worsens the situation. Whereas, apart from the government been corrupt (by indulging in embezzlement, bribery, favouritism and so on), larger chunk of the problem confronting the country is as a result of systemic corrupt practices which erupted and emanated from the actions of some citizen (as far as we all emulate deviant behaviour).
Ideally, the tendencies of corruption starts from the family which is the first and most prominent agent of socialization. Any illegal act, be it corruption or any other social vices is as a result of the bad upbringing of children from each family. It starts from “lying” and “stealing”. Taking what does not belong to him or her which if not corrected, the same habit still repeats itself when the child is amongst his peers till the time he starts working in an organization (private or public sector). Thus, metamorphosed into our higher institutions of learning. As an ordinary class representatives, how sure are you to your class not climbing the ladder of a student’s association leader. Questions that ought to ring gbam!gbam!! gbam!!! in our medullar oblongata should be : I’m a corrupt? How lackadaisical am I ? How will I promote my immediate environment without any corrupt tendencies?
Over the years, the nation’s (Nigeria) public sector is an epitome of corruption. The trend of corruption thrives across every adjacent of the public sector. Technical competency that will yield the activities of the officials is not in place. Governmental officials employ “nepotism”, “favouritism” and “tribalism” instead of adequately efficient and competent personnel. Meanwhile, this act is deteriorating and reducing the standard of services rendered to the public and the development of the country at large.
In a nutshell, corruption has escalated and come to stay as it cannot be eluded from our day to day activities. The petty petty traders will insist in selling in the same price that commodities we’re sold during inflation, plus including the act of selling fake or invalid goods, which means we don’t want development of the nation ourselves with the practice of the so-called corruption. Fortunately and unfortunately, people keep praying that God should save us from the situation of this country. On this note, that Nigerians can be rated as the world best prayer warriors, as they pray strongly, continuously and hazardously on the belief that God will answer those prayers (in our different religion perspectives). It has been impossible for the prayers to aid the situation of the country, in as much that we are still engaging in multitudinous sinful and corruptible acts.
In conclusion, it’s obvious that Nigerians know the practices of corruption to be the worst bane confronting and hindering Nigeria’s development. But we just remain adamant and which make the country to be stagnant remain the same. So, it is now lucid that it’s only Nigerians that can aid Nigeria. Citizens of the developed countries of the world made their country as fantastic as possible, we also define what the situation of our country is, and we can redefine with our actions for the improvement and development of the country. So Nigerians are hereby urged to say no to “selfish interest” and contribute immensely and vehemently to the norms and standards of the country, not personal interest that serves as a catalyst to corrupt practices. GOD BLESS NIGERIA.
About The Author
Defining corruption can be a challenge. Because corruption has become a day to day activities in Nigeria and this made it to turn our norms and tradition which everyone sees as the best way to achieve or accomplish anything great in life e.g to gain power political and some other act through illegal ways.
Corruption may be defined as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. My discussion will based on or captures two areas of corruption which are:
1. Public and private sectors
Corruption occurs in both the public and private sectors. This includes media and civil society actors. Actors can be individuals, companies, or organisations such as a political parties.
2 . Abuse of power
Corruption involves abusing power held in a state institution or a private organisation.It benefit both sides involved in the corrupt act , it benefit them either in terms of money or undue advantage.
Sometimes the ‘advantage’ gained may not be ‘undue’ or clear-cut, but is nonetheless an advantage. For example, in some corrupt societies people can only secure access to public health or education if they pay bribes. In such situations, those who can afford to pay have an advantage over those who cannot. The bribe-giver’s ‘benefit’ is merely that which is anyway his or her rightful due. Bribe-takers receive an advantage for carrying out functions that are anyway their duty to perform.
Family which happens to be one of the agents of socialisation has an important role to play in reducing corrupt act in the society which can not be eradicate in Nigeria society as it has been said so far. If I’m right it is to be noted that family which a child had first contact with are the one producing different product either good or vice versa to the society a child that grew up in family where there father usually tell them to get money by all means either in a good or bad way we sees what his father said as a normal thing and grew up and sees it as a normal way of life or living we eventually go into corrupt practice.
In conclusion, there are some many in which family have had a great effect negatively on corruption in Nigeria which need to be look into in order to reduce corrupt act in the society of today. For them to protect the next generation from the same act . I guess one of the way to reduce corruption is restructuring that is the restructure of minds, power allocation and resources allocation e.t c. To me restructuring is the on panacea to Nigeria corrupt act.
Thanks you can make corrections because no one is perfect.
Thank you for your observation
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