Opinion:  Corruption, insecurity and poverty have encumbered people’s lives more than civil war

By Michael Nicholas-Mandla

 

Poverty is a detestable condition that has no racial, geographical, religious, political, ethnic and any other barrier, poverty affects every aspect of human existence. It affects its victims socially, physically, mentally and psychologically. For instance, it limits the possibility of the poor from realizing their mental and physical potentials. It destroys aspirations, hope, happiness, self esteem, personal competence, tolerance of others, self-satisfaction, oneness to others and one’s disposition to participate in community affairs (Dike, 2002)

 

Corruption is a dishonest and illegal behavior especially of people in authority, allegation of bribery and corruption in private, public and governmental establishment. Corruption has been institutionalized in the Nigerian polity, and it has eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigerian society. A thorough study of Nigeria’s history reveals at a glance, that past leaders molded Nigeria with great zeal for success. This was based on the way and manner they collectively taught and achieved political independence for Nigeria. While insecurity, is a feeling of being insecure in ones environment. If you are insecure, you lack confidence because you think that you are not good enough or not loved.

 

Insecurity could also be referred as an unsafe feeling, a state of mind characterized by self- doubt and vulnerability. It is a feeling of being a target for hurt or harm, insecurity in its true meaning is just plain fear, the fear that we are not safe in immediate environment. Globally some countries of the world, especially the third world countries is currently experiencing political, economic and social insecurity, and these insecurities is orchestrated by the current leadership of these countries which is a deviation of the wishes and aspirations of the colonial fathers and leaders of these countries.

 

Poverty in Nigeria is more severe in the rural areas where social services and infrastructures are limited or non-existent. The great majorities of those who live in the rural areas are poor and depend on agriculture which is the most neglected sector of the Nigerian economy. The current rural poverty rate in Nigeria is 75% (NEEDs, 2004). Benue State is one of the thirty-six states of the Nigerian federation. It is also the eight (8) poorest state of the federation. Poverty in Benue State is absolute, severe, widespread, multi-dimensional and has increased in the last decades. Poverty here is also predominantly rural. Poverty characteristics of the state shows that 79% of the working population are engaged in agriculture which is not rewarding. Only about one third of the population has access to health facilities with a quarter of this population in the rural areas. Only 5% of patients from rural areas use community health centers. High level stunted and underweight children are found in the rural area. Major environmental problems in the state whose costs fall predominantly upon the rural poor are declining soil fertility, soil erosion, bush burning, flood, deforestation, pollution and waste management, neglect of agricultural sector and lack of infrastructure (BENSEEDs, 2005).

 

However, it is a truism to say that these type of leaders exhibited leadership qualities and moral degree as well as professionalism that is lacking in current politicians and leaders. Consequently the result of their tested trusted and sincere leadership styles gave birth to a peaceful “one Nigeria” and this was celebrated as the Nigeria flag of green white – green was hoisted and the Union Jack lowered appropriately to the admiration of all Nigerians.

 

In the turn of events, the Nigerian leaders defended the emotional integrity of Nigeria with full restoration and preservation of cultural values to the best of their ability, agility and professionalism. It is on the annals of history that these skillful or adept politicians maintained absolute self-respect and genuinely protected the oneness of this country through good governance. To this end, there is the need for our current politicians and leaders to emulate their ideas, desist from corrupt practices, and shun ethnic tendencies that are capable of scuttling the peaceful co-existence of this nation.

 

It is flabbergasting that in the 21st century where there are a large number of leadership models to emulate; politicians and administrators continue to settle scores in the old fashioned, Stone Age way.

 

Toward this direction, our leader made Nigeria a laughing stock of the other nations. Nation that is regarded as the giant of Africa still cannot provide effective leadership. All Nigerians should be concerned about the ugly happenings in the polity, which clearly have showed sights of ineptitude, ineffectiveness, idiocy, tribalism, nepotism, favoritism and finally, the emergence of political godfathers and godmothers, mismanagement, misdirection, misappropriations, corruption, lack of planning, policy inconsistencies and many others have become the trade mark of every administration that has ruled the Nigeria nation.

 

It is very clear that democracy is the best form of government everywhere in the globe. To this end therefore, Nigeria cannot be an exemption. Whatever the case may be, we cannot totally write of the leadership of this country. We think and believe we all need to bring our ideas towards national development; this is basically because no man has a monopoly of knowledge, we must not relent in contributing our quota, so as to move the nation forward. According to the ex-chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (I.C.P.C), Justice Emmanuel Ayoola; while lamenting the nation’s monumental losses to corruption since independence, said that Nigeria has lost the sum of $300 billion to corruption.

 

The said sum would have been sufficient to build many standard public schools with good facilities. But as a result of infrastructural decay in public schools and tertiary institutions, most affluent parents send their children to private schools and Universities. In his book, “The Trouble with Nigeria” Professor Chinua Achebe, a renowned Novelist, poet and critic, strongly argued that Nigeria has not yet achieved nationhood. He posited that Nigeria is a country, where citizens are ethnic conscious and indulge in all manner of cutting corners to make money at the expense detriment of the country that has not arrived.

 

It is obvious that corruption enrichment has made many Nigerians to display shocking callousness and sadism in their actions, gross indiscipline and selfishness, thereby bringing misfortune to some families because man’s inhumanity to man makes countless people mourn. It beats our imagination when drum and dance to the high heavens for those who corruptly enrich themselves, including ex-convicts who were jailed for corrupt practices to access many chieftaincy “chief-thief” titles. Based on this promise one can say that quality leadership had fled Nigeria, corrupt and inept leaders have taken over. In a paper entitled: Leadership and Governance in Nigeria. A critique, Professor Fawole of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, said after more than half and century of independence, the country has been far from progress and prosperity, because of toxic leadership style. He described this type of leadership style as one in which the leader deployed state apparatus to abuse the leader-follower relationship for self benefit. Personal aggrandizement and leave the nation in worse condition than the leaders met it.

 

It is sad and disheartening that 52 years after, Nigeria is still held in thralldom, it’s citizenry Pine away in the vice-like grip of political intolerance, unbridled but violent outburst of ethno-religious and primordial sentiments across the nation and for which the security forces remain clueless; unsolved politically motivated serial murders, general lawlessness and banditry, unbridled official corruption and outright state robbery. No wonder the prediction of an American Intelligence Report (AIR) that the country might vanish from the world map soon, is abundantly clear because of the grim indicators of the sad situation in the country, despite the downplaying of the warning by the political class.

 

The killings and maiming are too numerous to mention. At the moment Nigeria as a nation is being terrorized by a fanatical religious sect called Boko- Haram. The Boko Haram sect is protagonist of western education. They believe that western education is evil and immoral. In their quest to achieve their wishes and aspiration they resorted to act of terrorism, bombing, maiming and killing innocent citizens in Nigeria. Several attempts by the Federal Government through Joint Task Force to crackdown this terrorist group called Boko-Haram proves abortive. As a result most people in Nigeria, especially the Southern Nigerian, working and residing in core Northern Nigeria are living in greater numbers to their various states for fear of insecurity.

 

Bombing and killings of innocent people is now the order of the day in some Northern part of the country.

 

We must note that the killings and maiming have invaded the nation as a plague. Without mincing words, Nigeria needs to take security very seriously!

 

Perhaps a psychosocial insight will help to explain the state of corruption and insecurity in the Nigerian polity. Many psychological theories explain crime as behavior and corruption as an integral part of crime committed against a state. When the political class is corrupt in a country the citizens become in-secured. Insecurity is of different types; for instance we have political, economic, and social and food insecurity in present day Nigeria where we live.