- By Halimah Olamide
Corruption as it is currently prevalent, will not away soon in Nigeria. This was the conclusion on Thursday by the Director General of the Commonwealth Institute for Postgraduate Studies Prof Anthony Kila at a one day public discourse in Lagos.
Kila was not alone in his submission. Other speakers on the theme, Anatomy of Corruption which held at the auditorium of the Centre were also unanimous in their assessment of the state of corruption.
Debo Adeniran, Executive Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), Fred Nzeako Public Affairs Analyst, Liborous Oshoma, lawyer and public affairs commentator, were unanimous in their condemnations of the endemic corruption in the country.
Kila, who delivered the keynote address at the event, listed poor power supply, fuel scarcity, bad roads and other poor infrastructure poor health facilities and other as some of the direct results of corruption. At the discourse which attracted anti-corruption activists, scholars, journalists and human rights crusaders, Kila said corruption is so endemic that it is found in homes, associations, military formations, financial institutions, educational institutions, work places, and religious organisations. He identified as enablers of corruptions factors such as weak institutions, lack of accountability, cost of living, sectarianism, reward and recognition systems and others.
To tackle the social malady, Kila said Nigeria must review the cost of living, insist on accountability, digitalise processes to reduce human intNzeako called for stronger institutions as part of the antidote to corruption saying also that institutions that ought to regulate affairs are themselves mired in corruption. Oshomaart of the reasons corruption has remained with Nigerians is that there are no consequences. He noted that values have been so debased that people hardly can recognise what is corruption and what is not.
Speaker, Nzeako called for stronger institutions as part of the antidote to corruption saying also that institutions that ought to regulate affairs are themselves mired in corruption. Oshoma, who also agreed that various institutions have failed in their duties said that those saddled with responsibilities to prevent corruption have themselves become cesspools of corruption.
Other speakers also said that Nigeria is sinking under the weight of corruption adding that the country has reached a stage where all hands must be on deck to halt the mad rush for wealth at the expense of the common people.