By Louis A koko Esq (PhD, ACA)
About two decades ago I read that the financial corruption in New York alone is more than the monetary value of corruption in the continent of Africa, yet New York has never been bankrupt or is United States of America struggling economically as most countries in Africa. So what is the reason for the dire consequences of corruption in Nigeria and by extension Africa?
The corruption in Nigeria is the extreme and dangerous specie far different from what is obtainable even in other African countries and certainly not in advanced countries in Europe and America.
Corruption in Nigeria has it roots in our colonial past and the cultural distortions in our society. The British dealt with the various tribes in Nigeria diferentially and gave unmerited advantages to the tribe that was more favourable disposed to British rule in Nigeria but unfortunately, this tribe was educationally disadvantaged, so the early elites from the other tribes responded to the preferential treatment of the colonial government by compensating themselves with unearned monetary advantages by way of extortions and public fund embezzelments.
The distortions in our cultures also helped to fuel the specie of corruption in Nigeria. The reason been that the early western educated Nigerians were mostly from the households and communities regarded as outcasts and slaves. These Nigerians who embraced western education were the earliest to gain entry into civil services as court clerks, office clerks and messengers to the British rulers in Nigeria, hence they had to assert themselves through the acquisition of wealth to compensate for their diminished egos and absence of social recognition in their cultures.
Modern day curruption has similar traits with that of pre independent Nigeria. The Nigerian state have not been fair to the working class in terms of wage and conditions of service. No worker in Nigeria can afford to meet the financial obligations of the family if there is no other source of income and this source is financial corruption in form of extortion and out right embezzelment.
The insensitivity and insincerety of the government is encouraging the high level of corruption in Nigeria and the expanding dimension is due mainly to weak institutions and protracted litigation time in our courts. In the presence of delayed punishment or consequence, corruption thrives in Nigeria!
However, the most dangerous aspect of the corruption in Nigeria is the deliberate capital flights that takes place whenever successful stealing of public funds occurs. It increases the demand of other countries’ currencies and push foreign exchange rate above the optimal economic value and with it come increasing inflation and interest rates.
It is no more news that most of our leaders, military and civilian who had stolen public funds used same to invest in other countries. We have been told that the current President is allegedly the owner of a refinery in Malta. I read on this platform that former military President of Nigeria owned a refinery at Cote d’voire, ditto the predecessor to President Tinubu in Niger Republic. Are we then surprised that there is high level of theft of crude oil in Nigeria? An economic sabotage of epic proportion.
Not only are these high ranking government officials involve in financial corruption, but majority of Nigerians who have the opportunities, steal from the system and invest same outside the economy of Nigeria.
The capital flights arising from corruption is the most dangerous aspect that makes it a unique specie different from the types that occur in other countries in the world.
Let us imagine that all the refineries built from the proceed of corruption outside the country were built here, will the level of unemployment get to this feverish level? Will fuel scarcity and high cost of PMS become a problem in Nigeria? Will the economic growth of Nigeria remain as stunted as it is today?
In all sectors of human needs and development, Nigerians have invested stolen funds in other countries except Nigeria. Former governors and heads of agencies own universities in almost all the continents of the world. They invested looted funds in hotels and housing projects, in hospitals and manufacturing but little or nothing in Nigeria, hence the miseries and pains Nigerians are currently experiencing. No thanks to the capital flights which the financial corruption creates in undermining our socioeconomic development.
