VALUES

LET'S TALK ABOUT CORRUPTION


A CORRUPT MAN STUFFING
HISPOCKET WITH ILLGOTTEN MONEY

The semantics war currently raging over the word "CORRUPTION" can only be resolved when there exists a consensus as to what exactly we are talking about, possible only through a dispassionate feedback. Dictionary.com defines "corruption" as a "dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving "bribery" and goes on to add "unscrupulousness, deceit, deception, duplicity, double-dealing, fraud, fraudulence, misconduct, law-breaking, crime, criminality, delinquency, wrongdoing, and villainy". Quite a mouthful already, and it goes on to add that it is "the process by which a word or expression is changed from its original state to one regarded as erroneous or debased" and "the process by which a computer database or program becomes debased by alteration or the introduction of errors". To this list we must add the contribution by Transparency International that defines corruption as simply "the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, it hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in position of authority".

 

Now, here we are, it sure sounds like the dissertation from the premier book of a Catechist that you must observe to enter the kingdom of God. And I believe that a true Christian, Muslim, Traditional Religionist, Buddhist, Shintoist, or any other religionist that preaches or believes or adheres to the principle of moral purity will not have any problem observing those. But by carefully studying the

CLOSE UP OF A
CORPORATE HANDSHAKE 
BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE HANDS 

lengthy list of the symptoms the corruption virus, it will be discovered that they are all bye-products of civilization systems and advent of new way of governance. It is the proper understanding of this truism that sheds more light on the herculean project of the organizations like Transparency International that posits the problem where it properly belongs. Quite a lot of people question the authority of the organization purely out of nationalistic concern and pride especially when they get to see the name of their country mentioned as one of the most corrupt of nations.

For instance majority of Nigerians who live in the rural areas of the country, are not privileged to experience directly or indirectly the conduct of the politician representing them from the Local Government level, to State Government level and then to the Federal Government level. Firstly, they do not even know what "corruption" means. But they just know in a very hazy manner that corruption is bad. A school teacher told me pointedly the other day that the story of corruption was an imperialist idea of running our government down. He told me that I should not forget that "bribery" is an imported sin. He opined that our people in the rural areas of the country can never engage in bribery because the penalty for bribery according to the traditional religion of our forefathers was death; the punishment for stealing goat was death; punishment for stealing even a tuber of yam was death; just as the punishment for adultery was death. He said that because of the stringent punishment awaiting any offender, people didn’t dare to engage in such misconducts..
 

CORRUPTION IN THE
PROCESS OF LAW MAKING

Then he went down the memory lane to remind me of the story of the white-man explorers of the continent of Africa, especially of the tools they used to penetrate into the hinterlands, that it was through the instrumentality of bribery with money, ornaments and guns that they used to persuade the tribal kings to grant them access into the hinterland against the will of the indigenes who were mostly hostile and antagonistic. He also further argued that it was exactly the same set of tools that the slave merchants adopted when they came through the aegis of the explorers. He said that they were generally not welcome, citing the example of Mungo Park that died (and buried at Lokoja) during the last of his expeditions; and the Lander Brothers who continued the River Niger expedition up to Aboh, and the deals that they had to enter into with the Obi of Aboh before they had their way, etc. I discovered that this mindset is deep-rooted and that unfortunately it is shared by unbelievable high number of the populace due to a prejudice that is etched in the mind of the people not from the appraisal of corruption as such but from a transferred misgiving deriving from activities of the early explorers who incidentally brought along with them the new way of governance.

 

But corruption is real, and only those who are privileged to live at close range with the politicians or those whose daily living and working bring them in touch with direct and indirect information about the lifestyle of the politicians will attest to this fact. What with the case of our leaders of yesteryears who are now seating on stupendous wealth, could they have struck such windfall as a direct consequence of their retirement benefits? Or the current rumors going round about a former Governor of a frontline State in the country who is said to be now swimming in stupendous wealth to the extent that he has now bought up the choicest properties in the State? Could this be part of his retirement benefits? Or you take this vexing issue of the fact that our Senators and Members of the House of Representatives who sat down and appropriated for themselves such mouth-watering jumbo pays that are by far bigger than the pay of the President of the country, that are put to be the highest in the whole world, the United State of America inclusive! For this to happen in a developing country like Nigeria, if this is not corruption, I cannot think of anything else that is.

“BETRAYAL KISS”
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
BY JUDAS ISCARIOT

The verdict now is, old prejudices apart, fight against this ubiquitous cancer called "CORRUPTION" must be waged as a matter of priority in our national scheme of things, because it has now been

discovered that the reason why politics has assumed a do or die dimension in the country is the illicit gains that now abound in it. In country where someone who stole a goat at Zamfara State of the country had his right hand amputated recently, it is really unimaginable that people sit down and just use their pens to swindle trillions of Naira from the coffers of the country. The study of this evolutional phenomena can be seen to be the underlying reason for our fellow country men and women of the Boko Haram sect to abhor education; because they perceive that the preponderance of the pen robbers in the country happen to be educated people, so they were led to conclude that "education is a sin".

No, our dear brothers of the "Boko Haram" sect please lay down your arms and let us reason these matters together. Let us hold the actual culprit responsible. It is corruption not education. Corruption translates in Hausa language to "Chin Hanchi". So let us all together agree for a name change such that your organization will be renamed "CHIN HANCHI HARAM". This way, your organization will instantly assume the status of a great and dignifying national crusader deserving of the proud membership of all men and women of integrity and goodwil all over the country. So help us God

---------------------------------------- where facts are facts ----------------------------------------

MY UNFORGETABLE ENCOUNTER WITH A TOTEM

I have deliberately decided to spark a new discussion and investigation into this topic of totemism with article.  And this is because after going through awful lot of print materials on the topic to date I am satisfied that justice does not seem to have been done to it.

For example Wikipedia defines totemism as “a religious belief that is frequently

TOTEMIC AFRICAN PYTHON

associated with animistic religions.  The totem is usually an animal or other natural figure that spiritually represents a group of related people such as a clan”.  The Dictionary.com defines it similarly thus: “a natural object or an animate being, as an animal or bird, assumed as the emblem of a clan, family, or group.” 

These may be fair attempts to define or explain totemism.  But they end up just scratching the surface of the topic without touching the substance.  But one thing that it is not is “a religion” or belongs with some religious form.  A very close study of totemism in Nigeria shows that the totemic figure just materializes to the people in a happenstance kind of way or accidentally.  No family or clan gets out of the way to create a totem to worship.  Rather it is the totemic occurrence that jolts the consciousness of the people to recognize the totem for what it is.

This is why it is my very well considered view that a new study on the mythology of totemism to unravel its mystical aura and the bond of mutual respect between the totem and those who have recognized it in its role.  This is because before you can get to the appropriate definition of this mystery, you have to get to know the mythology that gave rise to any particular totem.

What I am about to share with you is a true to life experience with a totem.  I am a Christian of Roman Catholic denomination.  And so it has been since my elementary school days.  I lived with the family of my Aunty in “Utchi Oboma”, a riverside town along the bank of River Niger in Ndokwa LGA of Delta State.  There I schooled.  But my holidays I would spend with my Grandma in a nearby village called “Akpatioma”.

Then on one fateful night during one of my holidaying with Grandma it happened.  I was sublimely nudged awake to the reality that it appeared that I was sharing my bed with something.  The thing curdled me in a nest like formation.  The feel was cold but I could not make out the texture of what I felt.  First I moved my feet just a little bit.  I could feel the cold and slightly heavy mass that was now cylindrical in shape.  Then I tried to move my elbows only to realize that whatever was with me was effectively curdling me, or what?

The last straw was when I tried to move my hands and found that the cold thing was having it weight on my hand!  So I smelt a rat and decided to take a leap for life.  Courageously I jump out of my bed, panting and calling for help.  Grandma heard me and came over from her apartment armed with her lamp, and lo and behold, there it was – a very big Python!  In spite of my hysterical shouts for help did not impress the animal.  It just remained there, calm as though the bed was for it!

Then Grandma brought from her apartment some powdered native chalk, which she started blowing towards the unruffled animal, with the accompaniment of chants and incantation, as it lay there apparently enjoying itself, wagging its tongue in acknowledgement of the attention being given to it by Grandma.  Then this spectacle that will remain indelible in me for life.  Grandma was requesting the “it” to leave my apartment adding that its appearance to me was making me scary.  Oh, my God! The beast obeyed!  You just need to see the grace with which it loosened and straightened up itself and unhesitatingly glided away flashing and wagging its tongue apparently in celebration of its “potentate” visitation as it did so.  It did not come back again.

Later my Grandma explained to me that what I had just seen was our family totem, and the mythology that brought that into being.  What remains a mystery till today is how come the seeming mutual respect between the totems and those who recognize them for what they are as such.  And what is the propelling force behind the totems themselves and their objective?