When Corruption Becomes A Culture
By
Nze David N. Ugwu
Nigeria does not merely have a corruption problem anymore; it has a corruption culture. That distinction is uncomfortable, but it is necessary. Corruption has moved beyond the offices of politicians and civil servants and entered the habits, expectations and everyday transactions of society. It is no longer always treated as a crime. Too often, it is treated as a way of getting things done.
This is Nigeria’s most dangerous affliction.
The policeman who demands money before doing his duty, the civil servant who delays a file until he is “settled”, the businessman who bribes his way into a government contract, the politician who diverts public funds, the parent who uses connections to secure an unfair advantage for a child and the citizen who pays a bribe to escape a lawful obligation may appear to be committing different offences. In reality, they are participating in the same system: a system in which rules can be bypassed by money, influence or connections.
What makes the situation particularly disturbing is the language Nigerians have developed to disguise it. A bribe becomes “appreciation”. Political patronage becomes “empowerment”. Vote-buying becomes “settlement”. The theft of public resources becomes “our turn”. By changing the language, society gradually changes its attitude towards the wrongdoing.
That is how corruption becomes normal.
For decades, Nigeria has responded to corruption largely through speeches, agencies, investigations and prosecutions. These are important, but they cannot solve a problem that has become deeply embedded in the country’s institutions and social values. Nigeria does not lack laws against corruption. What it lacks, too often, is the consistent enforcement of those laws and the political courage to ensure that nobody is above them.
A society cannot defeat corruption when the powerful are treated differently from the powerless. When citizens see people accused of stealing public money remain politically influential, socially celebrated and financially comfortable, the lesson is obvious: corruption may be dangerous, but it can also be profitable.
That is a devastating lesson to teach a nation.
The greatest damage caused by corruption is not simply the money stolen. It is what that money was supposed to accomplish. Every diverted public fund represents something that may never be built, repaired, staffed or delivered. A stolen infrastructure budget can mean an uncompleted road. A corrupt health contract can mean a hospital without equipment. A manipulated recruitment process can place incompetence inside an institution. A corrupt education system can produce graduates who possess certificates but lack the competence those certificates should represent.
Corruption therefore steals more than money. It steals opportunity, competence, trust and, ultimately, the future.
Perhaps the most troubling aspect is the way corruption has affected the younger generation. Young Nigerians are constantly being told to work hard, remain honest and believe in merit. Yet many of them see a different reality around them. They see people acquire unexplained wealth and become objects of admiration. They see political connections producing opportunities that qualifications cannot secure. They see honesty described as naivety while clever manipulation is celebrated as intelligence.
A society cannot repeatedly reward corruption and then be surprised when young people begin to imitate it.
This is why the fight against corruption cannot be left entirely to government. Government has a greater responsibility because public officials control public resources and wield public authority, but citizens also have a role. Nigerians cannot condemn corruption in Abuja while defending it when it benefits them personally. We cannot denounce vote-buying and then sell our votes. We cannot complain about nepotism and then demand favors for our relatives. We cannot condemn bribery while offering money to officials whenever it is convenient.
Corruption survives partly because it is condemned in principle but accepted in practice.
The problem is also political. In Nigeria, political office is often treated as access to resources rather than as a temporary responsibility entrusted by citizens. Elections can become extraordinarily expensive competitions in which enormous amounts of money are spent to obtain power. When political office becomes an investment, the temptation to recover that investment through public resources becomes enormous.
A country cannot sustainably fight corruption while maintaining a political culture in which public office is seen as a route to personal wealth.
Nigeria must therefore change both its institutions and its values. Government processes must become more transparent. Public spending must be easier for citizens to scrutinize. Procurement must be open and competitive. Investigations must be credible. Prosecutions must be timely. Punishment must be consistent. Political financing must be more transparent. Whistleblowers must be protected. And public officials must understand that occupying office gives them greater responsibility, not greater entitlement.
But institutional reform alone will not be enough.
Nigeria must also change its attitude towards wealth. We have become too willing to admire wealth without asking how it was acquired. A society that celebrates unexplained wealth weakens the shame that should accompany corruption. Legitimate success should be celebrated, but sudden wealth acquired through public office should invite scrutiny, not applause.
The question “How did you make your money?” should not be considered an insult. In a country where public resources are frequently abused, it is a legitimate question of citizenship.
Most importantly, Nigerians must reject the fatalistic belief that corruption is simply “how things work”. That phrase is more dangerous than it sounds. It represents surrender. It tells the honest citizen that integrity is pointless and the corrupt citizen that his behavior is normal.
It is not normal.
Corruption is not Nigeria’s destiny. It is a condition created and sustained by human choices, weak institutions, political incentives and social tolerance. And what has been created by human beings can be changed by human beings.
The real battle, therefore, is not merely against corrupt politicians. It is against a system that makes corruption profitable, against institutions that permit impunity and against a culture that sometimes celebrates the very behavior it claims to despise.
Nigeria must recover the courage to call corruption what it is. Not “settlement”. Not “appreciation”. Not “our turn”. Corruption.
Until that happens, the country will continue to treat a national cancer as though it were an ordinary headache.
And a nation that learns to live with corruption eventually discovers that corruption has learned to live inside it.
Nze David N. Ugwu is the Managing Consultant of Knowledge Research Consult. He could be reached at [email protected] or +2348037269333.
