The
purpose of this article is to answer why Nigeria must fight corruption. Yes,
Nigeria must fight corruption because corruption is like a cancer in a
capitalist system and economy. The effect and impact of corruption results in
an imbalance in the economic system, and can be directly traced to the double
digit INFLATION that has plagued Nigeria for a long time. If everybody starts
collecting bribes, i.e.,10% graft from contract, police and custom collecting
money from importers and exporters, messengers collecting a bribe before they
locate files etc, this is money that is not supported by productivity or
production of goods and services. In essence, you will have more money in
circulation than goods and services produced from hard work and industry,
thereby creating artificial demand that outstrips supply. In effect, you have
lots of money chasing few goods which translates to inflation.
It
is my submission that the in-balance in Nigeria is largely from excess money in
circulation. I mean the excess money that cannot be supported by productivity
or genuine economic activity, and must be checked by the government to bring sanity
to the system. If you disagree with my model, then think about this scenario.
You are a hard working young man. In the course of looking forward, you plan to
own a house in the nearest future. Currently, a house goes for about $80,000 in
your area. Suddenly, house prices start climbing and there are no economic
indicator(s), i.e., a sharp drop in interest rate or influx of new comers, to
support the rise in house market. And before you know it, the same house has
gone up to $250,000. You wonder why, and found out that drug dealers are the
ones buying the houses and pushing up the price.
In
essence, money that cannot be supported by hard work has invaded your community
and your dream of buying a house has been shattered because your salary has not
changed significantly. There is no difference between drug money and bribe money;
they are both unsupported by genuine economic activity. They both create
artificial demand, and consequently, inflation. Why did governments in the
Western world fight illegal drug trafficking? They are not doing it because it
is a moral thing to do, they are protecting their economy from bad money.
A good example of this scenario in Nigeria is what it cost to buy a
plot of land in Victoria Island and other decent places. I was told that
an average plot of land in Ikoyi goes for about N100 million which translate to
a whopping US$833,333 or Cdn$1 million.. How do you explain that the cost
of a plot of land in Nigeria will buy a huge 20 units apartment complex in
Kaduna State? It is outrageous. What is pushing the cost of land in
Lagos or Abuja? Your guess is as good as mine.
In
Nigeria today, money is being worshipped like God. You could be poor today and
become a "big man" tomorrow. Nobody will ask questions. There is a
serious rat race. It explains why we have rogues as lawmakers. People go into
government poor and come out rich, and nobody ask question. Instead, they
become heroes and heroines. The motive for going into politics is not to
serve the people, but to serve self by embezzling funds. We now hear of
governors coming out of office with billions of Naira in their private account
and also hear of elected local government officials coming in once a month to
share allocation to their council. No nation can survive such depraved
moral value for a long time.
