By Okechukwu Emeh
Materials wealth is a protection against the deprivation, misery, shame and
inhumanity of lack, poverty and squalor. When acquired in a fair and just
manner or by dint of hard work, or divine favour, it is a thing of glory and upliftment
in the sight of God and right-thinking people. However, when wealth is achieved
through illegitimate means, it is bound to be a source or reproach and
resentment.
Today, Nigeria
is evidently in a war against corrupt enrichment using public office, as being
spearheaded with courage and determination by the administration of President
Muhammadu Buhari. Reassuringly enough, many people of goodwill across Nigeria have
risen beyond the confines of petty sectional sentiments by receiving the
unsavoury development of evils spawned in the land by our corrupt officials
with disbelief, revulsion and indignation. This is inevitable against the
backdrop of startling revelations from the ongoing anti-corruption investigations
into various public institutions in the country, like the $2.1 billion arms
deal.
It is not an overstatement that corruption is an ill wind that
blows nobody any good. Admittedly, the cancerous spread of this socio-economic
cankerworm in Nigeria is one
of the major reasons why Nigeria ,
notwithstanding her abundant human and material resources, is a classic example
of stunted growth and arrested development foisted by years of diversion of
public funds badly needed for national transformation into private pockets
through unwholesome practices like misappropriation, embezzlement, fraud and
bribery. Such economic and financial malfeasances are also a key factor fuelling
deprivation and despondency among our populace. Alongside this is the negative
impact of endemic corruption on our external image, as frequently captured in
our unimpressive ranking on annual global corruption indexes being conducted by
renowned integrity rating bodies like Transparency International (TI).
Although public sector corruption is mainly linked with those in
government because of their likely easy access to the public purse, the
ordinary people outside the system are complicit in one way or the other in the
scandalous and shameful act. This could be viewed through receiving proceeds
of corruption or giving moral support to corrupt deviants because of clannish,
friendly or political affiliations. Think of a communal group that is wont to
receive the appointment of one of their own into juicy public position with the
razzmatazz of pomp and circumstance, thereby sending a wrong signal that the
time for them to get their cut of the national cake has come, which, alas, is
an indirect inducement of such an official to embezzle public funds. Think of
some of our masses who eulogise or celebrate a public official who stole
millions of naira from the national coffers that would have gone into
provision of infrastructure and social services merely because such an
official usually gives them a pittance.
Of course, the aforementioned examples could vindicate the belief
in certain quarters that people deserve the leaders they get. In this case, a
people with lofty ideals would have a genuine leader who would reinforce their
desire for a good society, while the reverse is the case for a populace with
scant regard for moral values. Sadly, many people in Nigeria are oblivious of the side
effects of the proceeds of corrupt enrichment by public officials.
However, I wonder why a public official in Nigeria should
betray the solemn trust reposed in him by stooping so low to steal from the
public treasury – a treasury meant for the general good. Untoward factors like
narcissistic individualism, selfishness, greed, avarice, personal aggrandisement,
societal pressure, ungodliness, inhumanity, unawareness and consummate lack of
moral values cannot be divorced from such proclivity with corrupt enrichment
to the disadvantage of the overall well-being of our society. It is undeniable
that the proceeds of corrupt enrichment are part of what the wise King Solomon
of the ancient Israel
described in the Holy Bible as vanity, and vanity upon vanity, according to
him, all is vanity. Although wealth cushions against lack, its paradox is
found in the fact that sometimes, it is either impermanent or it does not
guarantee true happiness or inner peace, especially when wrongly acquired.
Besides, the worthlessness of identification with material things is laid bare
in the proximity of death, when the whole idea of possession stands revealed as
ultimately meaningless. Of course, this is where the issue of vanity of
material wealth arises, in marked contrast with the enduring nature of
sterling and captivating values like spirituality, morality and sense of
humanity, which make those who exude them to lead a meaningful and fulfilled
life.
In most cases, those who hanker after material wealth through
dubious means are victims of a vacuous existence. In fact, there is a spiritual
and moral emptiness in the lifestyle of such people, which informs their
palpable sense of insecurity.
A case against corrupt enrichment through public office is,
therefore, buoyed by the evils it represents in society. One, it is driven by
unbridled ego, which is hell-bent on survival and protecting and enlarging
itself and reinforcing it are thought patterns like “I want”, “I need”, “I must
have” and “not yet enough for me”. Two, corrupt enrichment is a criminal
breach of public trust because it is a wicked and shameless plunder of limited
public resources, which has long-term adverse effects such as poverty, neglect
of infrastructure, increased criminality and chronic unemployment on the
polity. Three, it is propelled by reckless private interest characteristics
like greed, selfishness and exploitation – as against the lofty principle of
public spirit, which underlying philosophy is promotion of the greatest
happiness of the greatest number of people in society. Four, corrupt enrichment
is at the core of primitive accumulation of wealth, which is not only an
assault on values of contentment, moderation, self-control, perseverance,
trust, honour, dignity and self-worth, but has also made the physical needs for
basic necessities of life like food, shelter and clothing for ordinary citizens
that could be easily met to appear insuperably difficult because of the
imbalance of resources caused by the pursuit of more wealth by corrupt
officials with grim and ruthless determination.
. Emeh writes from Abuja
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