If We Understood Corruption

By

Pat Utomi

Few words are more abused in Nigeria today. Some sneer at the word as expression of discontent with how they perceive a cardinal programme of the extant regime is being implemented. Others who want to be seen on the right side of the powers that be that be sing the corruption song in every speech but their conduct betray the state of their conscience. Then there are those who are cynical about it all and see abuse of position for self enrichment as harvesting God given opportunity. Of those who truly see corruption as evil, many only do so because they consider it morally wrong. Only a small percentage really has broad view of corruption as a big contributor to the pervasive poverty in the land and a major driver of the social degeneration that is writ large in our nation. If only we understood corruption, we may see how dear a price we pay for it.

Try understanding the motivation for the capital budgets of our country, past present, and you will find why there seems such a general absence of rigor in the policy process which is partly why persistent economic stagnation has become a native of Nigeria. In the final analysis, even if its effect lurks only the subconscious of those who make policy choices, we find that corruption can be called to blame.

The most scandalous thing about corruption is that the hardest hit victims are the poorest of the poor. Most corruption is about rich people stealing from poor people, even if it is sometimes dressed up in the fancy robes of seeking economic rent. If stealing from the poor is morally repugnant, the truth is that the corrupt steal from all, including themselves. Often, they do not see that they steal from themselves because they are so focused on now that they cannot see they are stealing their own future and that of their own children.

Why do I feel like exploring this subject? I find lately that I am inundated with requests to speak on the subject. Yet each time, I come away with the impression of how little people really understand the subject. I am convinced by empirical evidence and there is much of that today, as well as by feelings from my experience that it we really understood corruption all of us would dedicate ourselves to containing it.

The first point to make about corruption is that nothing about a people dispose them to being more or less corrupt than others. Corruption which is so harmful to economic development because it erodes trust and creates uncertainty which ahs high transaction costs implications is to a large extent the result of weak institutions, poor management systems and a faulty reward system. At a recent conference I listed 25 different things that encourage corruption. In addition to those already cited, I had excessive bureaucratese, lack of rigor in the policy process, too much discretion in the hands of officials and a malfunctioning state. As Africa has many failed states the import of the last one can not be lost on us. In addition, we have problems of corruption arising from the culture of personality cults around leaders, the low cost of getting caught, inadequate celebration of people integrity and failure to benchmark activities and to make goals measurable. Key here is studying process flows for activities. A few other reasons I suggested includes the excessive requirement of licenses (the Licence Raj, as India once had reputation of being), inadequate remuneration, and such habits as delay in payment of emoluments which push people into practices that could become habits as they develop a seared conscience.

Where these conditions predominate, we find higher levels of corruption. It is not surprising that a book of much insight on the subject, Hope and Chikulo's: Corruption and Development in Africa opens with these words: "Although the incidence of corruption varies among African countries, ranging from rare (Botswana), to widespread (Ghana), to systemic (Nigeria), the majority of the countries are in the range of widespread to systemic".

Corruption is so devastating because it orients the energies and norms of behaviour, rules, institutions politics and sometimes even the religion of a society in the direction of predatory gain such that there is such widespread misuse and misallocation of very scarce resources so that the economic inevitably stagnates. Even more worrisome if the emergence in a corrupt culture of a perverse reward system that draw the energies and talents of entrepreneurial oriented people who could be champion wealth creators away from that track into seeking economic rent that adds no value but has provided obscene returns to people far less talented than they are.

It is in understanding how corruption leads to sub-optimal choices in the policy process which cripples the economy that we find the fountain of missionary zeal in the fight against corruption. To make corruption only a moral issue is to make it a problem only for those with a sensitive conscience. I am convinced that all of society can, in the selfish pursuit of personal advantage, f go reason for challenging the corruption ethnic. Indeed I am persuaded that a clear view of our self interest, especially in the medium to long term will lead all to what is common good of all. The problem is that many do not spare the time to reflect on matters further than today.

How do we bell the cat? The first step must be massive education as to the real cost of corruption, especially showing that those who think they profit from it may be big time losers, in the long term. I would like to see the level 14 Officer in the Ministry of Works who has fancy luxury cars because the road to his home town was badly constructed, realize how his choices damages him big time, in the long run.

Beyond education, we need major public service reforms. There should also be decentralization of authority to reduce the pressure for corruption at the centre. What we have seen is a ballooning government sector that has continued to such in money from households and the business sector, taking away from the momentum of circular flows of income where wealth is created and redistributing through corruption to the few who have access. Not only has this meant stagnation, it has meant the Gini Index, measure of income distribution continues to tell us that few Nigerians are getting fabulously rich while most are getting desperately poor. Also critical is public service reform and improvement of management systems that reduce discretion and measures performance. A value for money audit ought to become an imperative for the system.

If only we really understood corruption all these measures would be put in place under heavy pressure from civil society. If we understood corruption, we would easily measure the impart of stealing a National Integrity System. Its benefits will be enormous for all.

Source: http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/iarticles/if_we_understood_corruption.htm