By Ayo Oyoze BAJE
The recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), that an estimated N400 billion, or the equivalent of $4.6 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP), is paid out as bribes to public officials in Nigeria annually, is most disturbing. It is indeed inimical to the health of the national economy. The humongous amount represents 39 per cent of the combined federal and state education budgets in 2016.
The report, which is the first of its kind in the country in terms of scope, states that Nigerians consider bribery the third most important problem facing their country, after high cost of living and unemployment. That such is happening under an administration credited for its hard stance on the anti-graft war shows that much more still need to be done than said.
But, that is just part of the torrid tale of how unpatriotic, screaming scams have held the nation’s productive sector by the jugular and bled it dry. “According to the report, the magnitude of public sector bribes in Nigeria becomes even more palpable when factoring in the frequency of the payments, adding that the majority of those who paid bribes to public officials did so more than once over the course of the year. Bribe-payers, it added, pay an average of some six bribes in one year, or roughly one bribe every two months”.
Outrageous as this report seems, bribe-taking is as old as Nigeria’s history. It predates our political independence in 1960. Going through Mokwugo Okoye’s enthralling book, Storms over the Niger, the colonial helmsman, Lord Lugard accused the local government administrators up North of bribe taking as far back as 1938. And in retrospect, one of the reasons raised by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu for carrying out the 1966 coup d’etat was because of “the ten percenters”. He was of course, referring to public office workers who engaged in taking bribes of 10 per cent of the contract sum to serve the self rather than the state. Currently, it goes far beyond that paltry percentage.
The spin-off effects of this obnoxious practice are telling on our corporate socio-economic wellbeing. Bribe-taking has left several government projects uncompleted. Critical sectors such as electric power supply, education, healthcare delivery, transportation, keep underperforming. Severally, there have been accusations of budget padding and inflation of government contracts.
But, concerned about these self-decimating underhand acts, one brilliant Nigerian author has come up with an engrossing novel simply titled, The Bribe. He is Mr. Shuaib Ozoku Ahmed, a graduate of political science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. He works as an export and shipping consultant in Lagos.
Though this piece is not a review of the book as such, the message is, nonetheless, profound. The compelling fiction centres on an academically well-heeled man who qualifies as a medical doctor at 22, marries a pharmacist at 28, fathers three children by 35 and becomes a medical director at 40. Incidentally, he grows up in an Eldorado planet-named Odimboro.
There, everything works-from well constructed roads, through water and power supplies, orderly traffic, mini malls, recreation centres,to hospitals, schools and the agric sector that guarantees food security. The society is crime-free. What more, there is dignity of labour running across the spectrum of bankers, doctors, engineers, scientists to media professionals. The leaders are responsible and honourable. Institutions are also robust, with security personnel, members of the judiciary and the politicians there, work for the people rather than for themselves. The welfare of everyone is the responsibility of everyone. Utopian dream, you might say. But then something happens-something unexpected and terrible!
Suddenly, the lead character experiences a transformation, where he is oblivious of time. He eventually finds himself in a hamlet on the island of Nile Republic. He is now a baby in the hands of an ill-informed mother called Ometere, as well as an illiterate father, both caught in the terrifying traps of poverty and ignorance; knowing nothing about schools or quality education delivery. He is, however, equipped with the power to see into the future and predict events accurately.
Though he excels academically all through his primary school education at Ohahi, secondary level at Ireka and university education at Uzomi, setting unprecedented records all the way, all is not well with him. The downward trajectory of his once illustrious life; from heroism to the burning furnace, down to a degenerate level, even if set in a surreal world of grand illusion are informed by one seemingly innocuous but self-decimating act, which is bribe taking. This thought-provoking book therefore, raises some fundamental questions for the Nigerian nation.
How do we collectively and frontally battle the monstrous twin evils of bribery and corruption in our body polity, both of which have led to inexcusable pervasive poverty of the masses? Why do public officials take bribes? In fact, how many culprits have so far been brought to book, or speedy justice, on account of this heinous crime against the country? What are the institutional loopholes that give ample room for bribe-taking? And what can be done to stem the swelling tide?
To tackle the menace of bribery, we all must see it as an evil act that harms us all. We should also not leave it to the Buhari-led administration alone, but internalize it as a binding mindset and a way of life, right from our homes, through our places of work and worship. We should stop blaming it on our extended family system, which puts heavy demands on our meagre earnings. As rightly observed by Dr. Anthony Akinola, “ when it comes to the scale of graft by those at the top echelons of government, it is nothing but greed.” As often admitted by the wise ones, we cannot sleep in more than one room at a time, ride in more than a car at a time or own the whole world. We should learn to live within our means.
On its part, governments should come up with people-friendly policies that would eradicate ignorance and poverty. They should invest heavily in a more pragmatic system of education which, from primary to university level, will enlighten the citizenry about their civic and legal rights, as well as entrepreneurial studies. They should provide social security for those who are vulnerable; including the unemployed, aged-children and pregnant women. There should be sustainable improvements in infrastructural development, healthcare delivery, transportation and housing. Equally important is for the citizens to stop seeing our political leaders as ‘kings’ and ‘queens’ but ‘servant-leaders’ who should be answerable to the people.
Baje writes from Lagos