How Serious Is Nigeria…?

Nigeria is in very serious need of redemption. Our public posturing is often at variance with our private views and inclinations; views and inclinations that are tainted by infected mindsets that seem to lack the ability for deep and durable convictions. This sorry situation is engendered by the cumulative effect of the incurable cancer of corruption and its tendencies that have define and characterise our individual and collective endeavours as a people and as a nation. For all practical purposes, corruption is no longer an unacceptable crime and shame, but has become a shameless way of our national life. Our laws, enforcement agencies and institutions, values and policies are all increasingly myopic, tolerant and accomodating, even promotive, of the same national ailment that is afflicting its healthy wellbeing.

More often, appointments, promotions, nominations, recognitions, etc, are increasingly done more for their fraternity and welfare benefits to the recipient than for competence and valuable service. Within such compromise lies the fertility of corruption and its robust tendencies and immortality..

Any wonder that inspite of the anti-corruption war, the institutions operate in the same culture of corruptive tendencies and indulgent wastes, like the legislative paddings..etc..

One very simple area, among nearly all others, that continues to expose our classic unseriousness and stupidity as a people and a nation, is in anything foreign, most especially in foreign official engagements like courses, conferences, tours, and even foreign postings and duty tours. In such instances, you often find Nigerian delegations, groups or representations among the highest in number for no justifiable logic, reason or prudence. The basis of such presence and participation is often corruptly exaggerated for reasons other than in the best prudent national interests..

A simple survey of this imprudent national character will reveal this culture of welfarist national waste;

The international conference on tax and revenue generation agencies just ended in faraway Barbedos last week. While the host delegation had about six members, and most other member countries had lean delegations of hardly more than two members each on the average, including the big economies of the world, Nigeria’s ‘impressive’ delegation had about 21 members from an assortment of its national agencies, all ostensibly on generous estacodes and travel welfare allowances, even in this era of recession and professed prudence, etc..

Similarly, one can recall such situations in most I.M.O. meetings and conferences abroad, where the average number of most delegations’ membership is often not more than 2, including top maritime countries like Japan, UK, S. Korea, etc, but Nigeria’s delegation on one particular year had six people..!! And Nigeria is hardly a maritime nation indeed..

On one international security conference we attended in Geneva in 1994, Nigeria was true to character with its ‘impressive’ team of 4, while others had only one, or at most two, in a team..

A most classic case of this national culture and character of valueless and inflated presence and participation in foreign events, is the infamous case of Mr Maina of the Pensions scandal. In shameless defence (or rather offence) of that monumental fraud, he had claimed that a team of four from his panel had to travel to UK to verify (only) less than a dozen colonial expatriate pensioners there, at a scandalous cost of about N250m, or thereabout.!!! And Nigeria has a fully functional massive embassy there with competent staff that can positively verify even a thousand such pensioners, at little or no extra cost to Nigeria..

This incurable national character of leaks and waste in public resources is indeed a standard operational culture and procedure in the public services and even the private ones…

Unfortunately this has not changed even in the change era. If anything, it seems to have even gone crazy, bcos how can a conference on tax/revenue collection in which the average membership of most delegations was about 2, but Nigeria saw the need for a 21 member representation, in these lean and change times…!!!.

Nigeria is indeed unseriousness personified.

(Dr Nuru Abu Ahmad)