By Remi Sonaiya
People are getting a bit wary now about the effectiveness of the war against corruption which, at the inception of the Buhari administration received much acclaim and support from within and outside the country. Only those who were afraid that the guillotine being erected might target their necks or those of their friends and loved ones were apprehensive. Indeed, it did appear that Nigeria was set to open another, much cleaner, much saner page in the conduct of its public affairs. Hardly a day passed then without the announcement of an impending probe or arrest of some big and influential individuals. The people rejoiced, for it seemed that the arc governing the Nigerian state was finally bending towards justice. We had hoped and prayed that the anti-corruption fight would be fought valiantly, to its logical conclusion, and that nothing would arise to cut short the people’s expectation. Now, we are not so sure anymore. People are being tried and set free; convictions are not coming. Let us turn our attention to other areas.
Another, different manifestation of corruption has equally infested the land, and this one is not limited to the political elite or the rich and powerful. It’s the corruption of violence, and it appears to be more widespread; in fact, it is probably domiciled to a larger extent among the teeming masses of ordinary Nigerians – taxi drivers and okada riders, tenants and their landlords, teachers and students, workers in all professions, as well as among the police and other uniformed sectors of the population. Daily in the print and electronic media we are served a horrid fare of news items involving violence and depravity of the most gruesome kind: from rape, which has become so commonplace people no longer find it as shocking as they should, to arson, jail breaks, daylight armed robberies and murder.
Just to cite a few examples reported on pages 4 and 5 of The Punch in the recent past, we have had reports of a father raping his two daughters and a stepdaughter, of policemen killing a trailer driver and his conductor over a N500 bribe, and of a landlord killing his tenant by dousing him with petrol and setting him on fire, over the use of the toilet on the premises! Incidents like these are occurring against the backdrop of the general insecurity in the nation foisted upon us by the violence being constantly perpetrated by Boko Haram. Little children are having bombs strapped onto their tender bodies and made to detonate them in motor parks and markets. Fulani herdsmen continue to ravage communities and have even taken to armed robbery, as the cases of several occurrences along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in recent times have shown. It would appear as if the most terrible demons from the pit of hell have been let loose upon the land – and they are having a field day! What is happening to us in this country? Why are we losing (if not, why have we completely lost) age-long values which have stood us in good stead and kept us together in relative peace and harmony socially?
Foreigners have never ceased to wonder at the incongruity of us being a society displaying such a high degree of religiosity and at the same time having such a staggering level of corruption which has crippled our economy and prevented us from reaping the social benefits that should have accrued to us given the incredible resources which have been at our disposal. With the ongoing review of our entire public system and the prison terms which, hopefully, will become the portion of those who have robbed us of our common wealth, it is expected that the corruption of using one’s position to unduly enrich oneself or grant undue favours to friends and family will be brought under control. Appropriate legislation and the enforcement of extant laws should normally lead to fear being instilled in the minds of people.
We need very stiff legislation regarding the acts of violence being wantonly committed in the land as well, and it is hoped that our leaders will not only be concerned about our economic well-being and focus primarily on retrieving our stolen wealth. Our emotional and psychological well-being equally requires as much attention, for the instability in these areas is well able to inflict serious repercussions on society. It is said that the effects of rape on a young woman’s psyche can last her entire lifetime; we therefore need to address such criminal behavior and ensure that we do not have sections of our population that live traumatized lives and thereby fail to attain their full potential and contribute positively to society.
Beyond legislation, however, we must find a way to re-orient ourselves towards embracing the values our forebears once lived by – a communal spirit shown in acts of love and respect for each other. There is no need to romanticize the past; there has always been evil in the world, even in the “glorious” past we love to allude to. But things have never been this bad. One may well wonder if it is the hardship inflicted upon us through the plundering of our wealth that has led to this dehumanization which is manifesting itself in the heinous acts we have mentioned. We must get to the root of this problem and send the demons back to hell, where they truly belong.
