CURBING CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA: MY ADVICE
From every indication, it is clear that the first and
foremost agendum of the Buhari government is the war against corruption. Ever
since he assumed office, he has pursued this rigorously and painstakingly. More
power to his elbow. But in waging this all important and timeless war, it is
pertinent we take some clue from Jehovah God. Immediately after God man the
heavens and the earth, and man began to multiply on the earth, the Bible says ‘And
God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continuation.’ Genesis
6:5 .God eventually decided the annihilation of mankind but Noah and seven
relatives. But surprisingly after few years, sin resurrected. In Mount Sinai,
after God had separated the Israelites onto Himself, he gave them LAWS. And yet
that could not solve the problem of sin. In Ezekiel 36: 26, God eventually
promised ‘…and I will take away the stoning heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and CAUSE you
to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.’
These three phases of God’s reaction to man’s sin could be
instructive to the Buhari government, because whatever was written afore time
was written for our learning, Roman 15: 4. The first lesson we have to learn is
that capital punishment cannot stop criminality. It is painful to learn that
even some state governors still see capital punishment as the way out of
corruption. It is antique and archaic. It should be abrogated from the Nigerian
statutes book. Secondly, enactment of all kinds of anti- criminal laws is not
the solution. After all, like the saying goes, man makes the law, man breaks
the law; or the law is made to be broken. So the laws would continue to be
violated.
What then could be the way out? Grace. That is the way out. It
is the last and final solution to man’s sin. Instead of making laws trying to
stop people from stealing, make it almost impossible for them to steal. The
first step to realizing this is to think of the citizens’ welfare. Let the salary
of civil servants be reviewed upward. To me, the minimum wage of N18, ooo
is shear madness and awkward. Particular attention should be paid to the police
and teacher remunerations. In a country where a councilor earns so much, it is
quite disheartening what is given to the police and the teachers. To me, if the
judiciary is the last hope of the common man, the police and the teacher are
the first hope of the common man. For how could a poor Nigerian ever access
justice if the police is not his friend; and how would the police be a friend, when
he is hungry? The poor beside been poor financially would be totally blind to
their surrounding without the teachers. We ignore this important set of the
society and complain of corruption. Also, security gadget should be located at
various point to monitor every citizen, like it is done elsewhere.
Besides, like the APC
promised during the campaign, effort should be geared toward giving every
unemployed Nigeria stipend every month end. These could be a good start point
at curbing corruption in Nigeria.
OHIMAI DANIEL, LAGOS.
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