By Alex Osondu Atawa-Akpodiete*
Periodically, some interesting words get
into our lexicon and we start wondering about its entomology. Kleptocracy is
one of such words. Kleptocracy is simply government of thieves or essentially a
nation being ruled by thieves. Officially, it is a derivative “from Greek:
κλέπτης - kleptēs, "thief" … and “is a term applied to a government
seen as having a particularly severe and systemic problem with officials or a
ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats) taking advantage of corruption to
extend their personal wealth and political power. Typically this system involves
the embezzlement of state funds at the expense of the wider population,
sometimes without even the pretense of honest service.”
Bribery and corruption is neither new to
the world nor Nigeria. In earlier times, the children of God were admonished as
follows: “Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a
bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the
innocent.” (Deuteronomy 16:19); previously in the second book of the Pentateuch
(Exodus 23:8), we had been instructed to “Do not accept a bribe, for a
bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.”
I have written so much on corruption in
Nigeria within the last half decade that it may be looked on as an obsession. I
talked about The Corruption Allegations against Ministerial Nominees last year
and also Nigeria and the Albatross of Corruption. Also, I have previously
opined that eradication of corruption should be basic human rights for all
Nigerians.
The history of Nigeria is replete with
corruption and counter-allegations of corruption both before and after
independence. It is the height of hypocrisy for any Nigerian to be sanctimonious
about their crusade against corruption. See my book on Financial Crimes Law and
Fraud Management.
We should all know that even the current
President, Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), has had corruption allegations leveled
against him in the past. He was previously in government, but he is one of the
few members of his executive committee that has not been in power again since
the return to democracy in 1999, whether under PDP, APC or whatever
nomenclature the party was known by. In other words, collectively, they all are
responsible for the bad state of Nigeria. Whether they were elected (or
appointed) under PDP, APC, AD, CPC, ANPP or ACN, the initials mean nothing to
Nigerians. Actually, any politician that tries to absolve himself or herself of
this responsibility will just be proving to Nigerians why we should not trust
that person at all. I am waiting for the day and for the politician that will
step up and say “I am sorry, I was part of the problem as a current or
former office holder.”
Our brand of democracy should be called
Kleptocracy. What has been happening in the news lately, will make someone that
just landed from the moon believe that corruption is the name of a political
party in Nigeria. However, any intelligent Nigerian will admit that the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) does not have a monopoly on corruption over the All
Progressives Congress (APC). We should
settle the matter now that most Nigerian politicians are corrupt and it does
not matter the political party they belong to. If you believe otherwise, then I
feel sad for you.
Yes, the airwaves are filled with EFCC
& ICPC arresting of politicians and civil servants accused of corruption.
Will the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC) continue to be seen as
tools to oppress the opposition as was evident during the regime of President
Olusegun Obasanjo? The site of an opposition party spokesman being bundled to
jail in handcuffs only lends credence to the belief.
A year from now, Nigerians will be looking
to see how many convictions have the two overlapping anti-corruption agencies
actually obtained. Let us see politicians serving time in prison for looting
the treasury. In fact, we will be made believers if we see a member of
President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB)‘s cabinet convicted for corruption and
incarcerated. No Nigerian will believe that all the politicians in the current
Federal Executive Council are clean. Of course, we all “believe” the mantra that
you are innocent until proven guilty. I will issue a challenge to the
Presidency and any sitting governor to give me a list of their EXCO members and
let me pick at least one member of my choice. By the time, we finish a forensic
audit of their holdings within the past twenty years, the evidence of
corruption will be clear. The same goes for the legislative and judiciary.
Kleptocracy is what we are practicing in Nigeria and our kleptocrats are very
comfortable.
Why is Kleptocracy flourishing in Nigeria?
Kleptocracy is prevalent in Nigeria because it pays and it is
institutionalized. We may pick on politicians and civil servants, but the truth
is that corruption is everywhere. All facets are affected. I lectured at a
University in Nigeria and I witnessed it. So, the proverbial ivory tower is not
immune. In fact, why do you think many Professors are now in politics? Is it
the police force, military, customs, immigration, hospital, transportation
sector, church, mosque, or native doctors? I am unable to come up with a
section of the country that corruption has not permeated.
A few weeks ago in Washington DC, I
attended a talk organized by United States Institute of Peace (USP) titled, Money,
War and Peace in the Horn of Africa. Also featured was the book by Alex
De Waal called The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa
refers to the four countries in the eastern peninsula of the sub-continent,
comprising the countries of Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea. So,
Nigeria is not included. Nonetheless, while sitting there, I thought about the
Real Politics of corruption in Nigeria because the issue of corruption is the
same in the entire Africa.
The experts say that to fight corruption,
we need two things: (1) Clear political will and direction; (2) accurate and
actionable information.
The world knows that modernized sanctions
and anti-money laundering tools such as U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Act
and Section 311 of the Patriot Act work well. What is known as geographic
targeting transaction has worked. You simply look at those buying houses in
Miami, Dubai, and London and ask those involved to report the transactions and
the beneficiaries. If you follow this approach in Nigeria, you will easily trap
and track may politicians and civil servants. Follow the money! However, some
banks and real estate agents are in collusion.
There is a terminology known as political
marketplace. This tends to point to the fact that most political money is legal
because it is from oil or payoffs by friendly states. So, it is not the
legality of the money but the legality of the subsequent transactions i.e.
money laundering that you catch the culprits. Those who are stealing money
meant for security votes and arms for our security forces can be easily found.
Also, Kleptocracy flourishes because we
use political money as reward for loyalists (Neopatrimonialism). These
loyalists then personalize it and even use it to “develop” their communities
and “spray” at social events. The communities, instead of questioning the
source of the money, actually award chieftaincy titles and other forms of
recognition (‘hailing”) to the looters. So, Kleptocracy pays in Nigeria and we
are all guilty of it, either in accepting bribe directly or condoning the
perpetrators through our actions of giving them accolades or respect. Let us
not deceive ourselves. If you are a journalist and you accept money, you are
involved. If you are a traditional ruler and you accept “kola” you are
involved. If you are a pastor and you accept that offering, you are culpable.
Corruption is existing because it is lucrative.
In Pidgin English, some will say “na alarm
cause am” or “na condition make crayfish bend.” There are a few of us fish that
did not turn into crayfish because of condition or alarm.
Whether or not the accused immediately
gets jail sentences, we know that Deuteronomy 27:25 is clear that “Cursed is
anyone who accepts a bribe.” So, rest assured that any Nigerian that has
accepted bribe is cursed. Justice is coming soon, if not immediately against
that person, but against their generation. Have you noticed that the children
(and grandchildren) of many corrupt politicians don’t end well or amount to
much? Shakespeare put it best in Act 3, Scene ii of Julius Caesar that “the
evil that men (and women) do, live after them.” I prefer the earlier
Biblical version that God visits the sins of the fathers (and mothers) on the
generations of the perpetrators (Ex 20:5, 34:7, Num. 14:18,
Deut 5:9), So all you kleptomaniacal politicians and civil servants, repent now
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God,
mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” (Deut 10:17).
Think about it.
Rev. (Prof.) Atawa-Akpodiete is a public affairs analyst.
No comments:
Post a Comment