Let me start by stating that the decision on what to do with this piece of advice will be solely yours. It is only an advice; it does not suggest that you didn't have strategy on how to fight corruption. You may as well discover that it tallies with your plan or reinforces your agenda on corruption. But note that there is varied information available on how to solve any problem in society, we may only differ on what is head or tail over the matter.
Corruption did not originate from Nigeria and we are not the only nation that has been confronted with this ugly culture. Many countries from primordial history have had to do battle with this deadly monster. Indeed, corruption is the real hindrance to the proper economic and political development of mankind.
With Nigeria, corruption is not in doubt. There are different ways in which corruption damages the social and institutional fabric of the nation. Corruption has become an observable fact in the Nigerian political landscape, it is at the heart of the nation’s underdevelopment and it constitutes the greatest obstacle to her progress. Mr President himself has consistently said that ‘’if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria’’; a fact that some Nigerians agrees with.
What then is the way out and what are the options available to Nigeria?
There are available options for reducing corruption and mitigating its effects. Rose-Ackerman recommends a two-pronged strategy aimed at increasing the benefits of being honest and the costs of being corrupt, a sensible combination of reward and punishment as the driving force of reforms. Although Mr President is consistent with the aspect that deals with punishment, but sir, you appear to have failed in the other aspect which has to do with rewarding honesty. For example I thought you would have presented an executive bill to the national assembly, to pass a law that gives citizens or even foreigners who expose financial corruption a percentage of the value. Depending on the amount, people can get as much as 10 percent if the amount is under one million naira and as low as 1 percent if it is anything above one hundred million naira.
But that will not all. In addition to that, experts have suggested six complementary approaches, which includes:
1. Pay civil servants well (especially security and judicial officers)
Whether civil servants are appropriately compensated or grossly underpaid will clearly affect motivation and incentives. If public sector wages are too low, employees may find themselves under pressure to supplement their incomes in “unofficial” ways. To buttress this fact, Van Rijckeghem and Weder did some empirical work showing that in a sample of less developed countries, there is an inverse relationship between the level of public sector wages and the incidence of corruption. But let me add that it is not to encourage outrageous take home pay for the civil servant or to encourage unhealthy appetite amongst the public workers.
2. Create transparency and openness in government spending.
As it has been observed, subsidies, tax exemptions, public procurement of goods and services, soft credits, extra-budgetary funds under the control of politicians—all are elements of the various ways in which governments manage public resources. Therefore, the more open and transparent the process, the less opportunity it will provide for malfeasance and abuse. Fiscal Responsibility Act is key.
3. Cut red tapes
There is the need to eliminate as many needless regulations while safeguarding the essential regulatory functions of the state. There are too many duplications and needless strenuous measures involved in doing business in Nigeria. There are too many bureaucratic processes that hamper the ease of doing business and encourage corruption. Mr President must look into that quickly. There is no reason a young Nigerian cannot get a company registered with five thousand naira in less than one hour across a bank counter. There is no sense in asking people who have creative ideas that can solve society’s problems to have a company that has ten million naira share capital before they could do business with government. That is corruption in itself. Please cut all the red tapes quickly.
4. Replace regressive and distorting subsidies with targeted cash transfers.
Subsidies according to IMF are very regressively distributed, with over 60 percent of total benefits accruing to the richest 20 percent of households. Subsidies often lead to smuggling, to shortages, and to the emergence of black markets. As one expert posited, ‘’the environmental implications associated with artificially low prices, subsidies can often put the government at the center of corruption-generating schemes.’’
5. Use established international conventions
Because in a globalized economy corruption increasingly has a cross-border dimension, the international legal framework for corruption control is a key element among the options open to your government.
6. Deploy smart technology
It has been established that frequent, direct contact between government officials and citizens opens the way for illicit transactions. One way to address this problem is to use readily available technologies to encourage more of an arms-length relationship between officials and civil society; in this respect the Internet has been proved to be an effective tool to reduce corruption.
But note sir, in the measures presented above, aimed at combating corruption; the underlying philosophy is one of eliminating the opportunity for corruption by changing incentives, by closing off loopholes and eliminating misconceived rules that encourage corrupt behaviour. But the next point I want to make will be very crucial if you are ever going to get the fight against corruption right. And that point is;
7. Empower citizens and civil society groups through grants to fight corruption.
An approach that focuses solely on changing the rules and the incentives, accompanied by appropriately harsh punishment for violation of the rules, is likely to be far more effective if it is also supported by efforts to buttress the moral and ethical foundation of human behaviour. This is why it is necessary to conscientize our people through social orientation programmes that make all citizens partners in the fight against corruption, and by educating them on how it affects the individual person.
I will advice Mr President to start a Make The Connection project. This will be a social orientation project focused at fighting corruption through citizens’ enlightenment and advocacy. Its primary purpose should be to enlighten Nigerians about the direct impact of corruption on their everyday lives. It should also show how citizens can take charge and engage in dealing with the menace from bottom to up and possibly give financial incentives for exposing corruption.
The main objective should be to enlighten Nigerians about the direct impact of corruption on their everyday lives. Using various creative means and messages and through grassroots networks and civil society organizations the government can educate Nigerians on how corruption relates to failed expectations of individual citizens in the areas of; employment, quality healthcare, security, good roads, quality housing, freedom of association, equal right and justice, Etc.
This will solve the ignorance that leads to the sympathy for corrupt individuals and public officials, which encourages others to get involved. It will also demystify (ethnic, religious and gender) prejudices and perspectives that have become big nests that harbours corrupt individuals.
This campaign should among other things: teach citizens how to disrespect corrupt individuals; how to shame and commonise ill gotten wealth.
This campaign will help Mr President to build effective platforms for local ownership of anti corruption war; as it will encourage citizens to form network across broad spectrum and strengthen participation of local people in the fight against corruption. It will also help to build and secure the confidence of the populace in the anti corruption war. And it will secure broad support base for government agencies and institutions involved in the fight against corruption.
Techniques should include: seminars, workshops, conferences, community meetings, live TV programmes and appearances, radio commentaries and appearances, books, social media, bumper stickers and flyers, billboards and words of mouth.
Expected result will be for Nigerians to know that corruption is behind everything that is not working in Nigeria and to get them to stand up against the scourge. Other result will be an enlightened populace who understands that the reason why those that perpetuate corruption do so is because they get support from ordinary citizens. It will also help both literate and illiterate perpetrators of corruption who are truly ignorant about the effect of corruption in the future of their children.
Let me also add that by giving citizens’ roles to play in governance and by assigning responsibility in the administration of their country you will undoubtedly create a sense of ownership and belonging for them. You will empower them, and give them a high sense of self-esteem which in the long run adds value and purpose to their lives.
Hence, expected result is reoriented minds; that are well informed about the effect of corruption, and are ready to fight it.
I hope that Mr President will find my little contribution useful in the fight against corruption.
Thank you
Great Imo Jonathan.
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