Africa – Corruption: Our misplaced admiration
By Milton Margai – Our admiration for corrupt individuals or groups in our societies (African) seems misplaced in my humble opinion. We tend to vilify and ridicule upstanding people with integrity in our societies (those who refuse to succumb to the lures of corrupt practices to enrich themselves), yet admire and adulate those who have amassed so much wealth for themselves at the detriment of all. It’s an irony, really. We must endeavour to name and shame individuals or groups in our societies whose ambition is to milk the weak systems in place in most African countries.
Make no mistake – getting rid of corruption is impossible, however it can be contained to a level where it does not affect the day-to-day running of the country. It can be contained to a level where it does not hamper development. It can be contained to a level where you can hardly notice it until it becomes insignificant.
STOP and THINK.
Before you start admiring the numerous mansions, SUVs, the trips abroad and material embezzlements why not stop and think where all that money came from? Before you sing someone’s praise for the luxurious lifestyle they lead, have you stopped to think whether the resources meant for all is actually paying for that lifestyle. Would you like to admire the lifestyle of a thief who just robbed your ‘home’ in broad daylight? It, therefore, begs the question – is our admiration for the lifestyle of corrupt officials misplaced most of the time, if not all of the time? Are we rewarding corruption with our admiration?
I remember accompanying a female friend of mine (Nigerian) once to see the then governor of one of the states in Nigeria. When in London, he lives in his plush pad by the marina in Docklands, where properties range from £750,000 to a million and more (EXHIBIT A). The governor seemed unassuming at first glance until he opened his briefcase which was lying on the contemporary designer coffee table. I was alarmed when I saw that the briefcase was full with wads of pounds and dollars, with several brown envelopes (EXHIBIT B). His game, it seemed at that time, was to impress my friend whom he has pursued for a while.
On the way back, my friend seemed impressed (the seduction of money) and her admiration for this governor was hard to contain. She went on about how much money she has ‘chopped’ (had) from the governor…starting from Nigeria, USA and England. She went on about his mansions back home, the one in the states, his fleet of cars, the assets etc. “Hmmm”, I exhaled. “Really?”, I asked, unimpressed. “Just two question, dear”, I continued. (1) Is the salary of a governor in Nigeria enough for them to afford such celebrity lifestyles? (2) How did he acquire all that wealth to live such lifestyle when the majority are suffering in Nigeria? There was silence. Eventually, she managed: “nar me send call” (Is it me that called him?). Basically, she did not care how he acquired the wealth and what he gets up to as long as she is benefitting from the loot.
Fast forward….few months later, I received a call from my friend in Nigeria informing me that the said governor was wanted for embezzling state funds. At the time of the communication, he was in hiding. His cup finally runneth over! Yes, it was the money that was meant for the benefit of all that paid for his luxurious lifestyle. He was ‘living large’ at every Nigerian’s expense. Whiles people are dying every day from abject poverty and preventable diseases, he’s busy enjoying the country’s ‘wealth’ to himself and a selected few. How greedy. How wicked. How selfish. It all amounts to corruption. It therefore begs the question, should we reward corruption with our admiration and adulation? Or should we be naming and shaming them to protect our heritage; our future and the future of the generations after us?
The example of the Nigerian governor is not an isolated case. It is not different from what happens in other African countries and especially in the land that I love, Sierra Leone. Take a trip to Sierra Leone today and you will be forgiven to think building mansions; adding the latest high powered vehicles to fleets of cars and taking frequent trips abroad, is a sport where he/she who builds the most expensive mansions; have the most SUVs or takes the most trip abroad is the winner. Step forward…the plight of the masses who know not where the next meal will come from. Yes, those who live in sub-human conditions at Kroo bay and other slums and ‘ghettoes’.
We must really stop and think. How do these people sleep at night when, come daylight, someone would be mourning their loved one for lack of medical care; from hunger or from preventable diseases? We must stop and think. Is our admiration for corrupt elements in our society misplaced? We vilify and ridicule those with integrity saying they are cursed for not amassing so much wealth when they were in positions of power, yet admire those who are robbing us. Does being in a position of power a ‘carte blanche’ to steal from government coffers? Is that not when one should endeavour to utilise the resources we have for the benefit of all?
We must stop and think! If we do not change this mentality and complex, we would only have ourselves to blame. The solution is not in aid from abroad… the solution is in the fight against corruption. Imagine if the revenues lost to corruption were used for their purposes, we would be prouder today of our developments than we currently are. In the fight against corruption, there should be no sacred cows or scapegoats. Corruption anywhere (regardless of who is engaging in it) is a threat to development everywhere. As we strive for a progressive nation; a progressive Africa and a progressive world, we must all join hands in the fight against corruption. We must give corruption a ‘collective red card’, name and shame anyone engaging in it, rather than admire their loot.
According to the African Union, more than 148 billion dollars is lost to corruption in Africa every year. This was revealed by Mrs Patricia Alsup (Deputy Chief of Mission at US Embassy – Ghana) at the opening ceremony of the West Africa Regional Anti-Corruption workshop in Accra. According to Mrs Alsup, ‘the figure is equivalent to 25 percent of Africa’s GDP. A World Bank study also revealed that corrupt public officials in developing and transition countries receive between 20 to 40 billion in bribes annually (equivalent to 20 to 40 percent of official development assistance).
Our admirations should be reserved for those, who through hard work and entrepreneurship carve out a lifestyle for themselves some of us can only dream of living. If it is abnormal to admire the lifestyle of a thief who just robbed your ‘home’, it is even worse admiring corrupt officials, whose activities impede growth and deprive others of living a decent life. The figures above say it all. We must now endeavour to name and shame all those involved in such acts to preserve our heritages.
