Of Nigerians and corruption

To hear Nigerians speak, you would think that they seriously loathe corruption. In reality, however, Nigerians love corruption.

For instance, Nigerians refer to former public office-holders who exhibit any sign of poverty as fools who did not utilise the opportunity that life offered them well.

Parents speak eloquently on the need to shun corruption and corruptive tendencies but they have no qualms about paying mercenaries to write public examinations for their children. Policemen arrest people for corruption but they extort money from motorists and motorbike riders.

Students eagerly join the various anti-corruption clubs in the nation’s universities but act as mercenaries during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and have no qualms about sorting out ‘difficult’ lecturers with cash or other forms of inducement.

Professors hate corruption with a passion, but readily accept appointments from the supposedly corrupt and unconscionable politicians, and make money like the politicians. Some in fact write theses for the students, for a fee.

For how long are we going to keep deceiving ourselves in this country? We need to hate corruption to fight it.

 Sunday Okeke

Port Harcourt