The Burden Of Corruption

SIR: I used to think that poor electricity supply is the bane of Nigeria’s development. Not until corruption became conspicuous. Nothing works in the country as it should.

Every step along the way of progress is poisoned by dubious elements. Man is inherently bad but to allow this level of toxic trait in one nation is abominable. It is like the country is tethered to a giant boulder that crushes ingenuity. Hardly can you find an officer in Nigeria that does any work without expecting a bribe.

A clerk in the local government administration will demand a tip to move a file to the office of an administrator who in turn will demand a bribe before he or she will append his or her signature to a document.

You have to have money to “settle” most government officials in general before you can have a transaction meaningfully completed. The rush to get rich quick has stupefied Nigerians.

With crooked politics, money looks like easy pickings. Everybody is wangling their way to reach the government purse. The case of poor electricity supply and how many billions of dollars have been plunged into that bottomless dark sea is grotesque.

The beast of corruption drained all that funds and left the nation with scarcity. The aftermath is the degeneration of the economy. Still, one has to be careful to not categorically agree with the expression that the country is cursed.

The evidence is there that the land is green. Perhaps, that is the root of the squander; nature has given the people abundance. Fear of lack has enveloped some into the small mindedness of greed.

After the extensive damage done by corruption, the gallery of natural resources has remained untapped. Thankfully, hope is flourishing in the landscape. Nigerians have courageously expressed their wish to usher in change. • Pius Okaneme, Umuoji, Anambra State.