Culture of corruption in Nigeria:We are the problem – We are the solution
When very complicated situations collapse into simple “us versus them” problems, then certainty, hate, and escalatory spirals proliferate and become a driving force for perpetual conflict – Peter T. Coleman
The problem in present-day Nigeria is complex and dynamic. Facilitating change in a complex environment require a system leadership approach-a system leader is a convener of difference, a unique type of leader who engages in systems thinking to catalyze collective action.
The inner quality of the leader provides impetus and determines the effectiveness of the change interventions. The intractability of corruption requires a new set of capabilities that put relationships at the core.
An increasing metastasis of corrupt political and economic practices continues to degrade the soul of the Nigerian state, creating economic distortions and perceptual dysfunction. Fighting corruption has become an essential development issue in Nigeria for several years.
Corruption has become a key driver for change and arguably the most potent problem driving political change in the world today.
Increasingly we see a growing citizen’s unwillingness to put up with corrupt behavior and other forms of poor governance. Carothers and Carothers in their article “The One
Thing Modern Voters Hate Most” indicated that in the past five years more than 10 percent of the countries in the world had experienced corruptiondriven leadership change.
A growing list of presidents and prime ministers are faced with the ignominy of being removed from office, resignation and likely imprisonment.
The corruption driven public protest is shaking up politics today. This phenomenon gives a resounding assurance to many wellmeaning Nigerians who are desperate for people driven political change.
Although tools and practices are essential to managing corruption, it is the quality of the leadership and the inner condition of the leader (consciousness and self-awareness) that will determine the chances of success.
Today, many advocate the development of systems thinking capacity to enable policymakers to see the world as a complex system, in which everything is connected to everything else.
Because corruption nurtures ethnoreligious politics, political conflict, and insecurity, it perpetuates a way of thinking that creates false division.
Embracing a new way of thinking that promotes holism can increase a leader’s cognitive agility to help unravel the dysfunctional relationship-interconnectedness binding the enemies and victims of bad governance.
The conceptualization of corruption remains a social phenomenon characterized by its condescending alteration of our collective spiritual balance and identity. Corruption is subversive of stable economic structures, good governance, credible legal systems and other critical social structures.
The growing acceptance of corrupt practices in our society is unbecoming even political entrepreneurs (corrupt political elites, politically exposed persons, and oligarchs) are reputable Nigerians and their illicitly acquired wealth accounts for employment and community development.
The carcinogen of corruption is potently communicable; binding the oppressed and the oppressor in an instant, the subliminal effect enticingly grows and alters rational thinking. The vicious circle is rooted and perpetuated by the extractive nature of the political and economic institutions
which supports and nurtures each other to maintain the organized, wealthy few-political entrepreneurs. We must resist the Upsurge.
We must accept that we all contribute to what is happening and individually (internally) begin the process of self-empowerment as the driving force for a new social movement, a glorious revolution in governance. It is time to play your part in this lifechanging work of developmental importance-an epoch in our history.
In their seminal book “Why Nations Fail” Acemoglu and Robinson held that what is common among the political revolutions that successfully paved the way for the gradual transformation into inclusive institutions be it North America, England (Nineteenth century), and Botswana (after independent) is the successful empowerment of a broad cross-section of society.
Because pluralism is the cornerstone of inclusive political institutions, it enables distributed political power which can orchestrate elitist conflict and infighting, paving the way for a glorious revolution.
A change leader is the gate to a new becoming
Buhari’s internal condition is right for our collective process of becoming. The mantra of change nursed and rekindled the hope of the impoverished masses. But we must understand and accept that change begins with undesirable conditions.
Buhari’s courage is exemplary, in time it seems the desire to abuse entrusted power for private gain is stronger than good governance. We must encourage him by being constructive rather than destructive.
His quiet and thoughtful presence, often misunderstood, but very much useful in orchestrating conflict that if well managed, can reignite dormant possibilities.
His courage to face corruption squarely has shaken up political elites, generating clusters of local resistance majorly driven by personal gain and maintaining political power.
Edgar Schein captured the essence of leadership in a complex world:Leadership is the source of beliefs and values and the most central issue for leaders is to understand deeper levels of a culture and deal with the anxiety that is unleashed when those assumptions are challenged.
We need the committed and connected leadership of Buhari to unsettle and topple the reign of political entrepreneurs in Nigeria for the betterment of the whole.
Shockingly, evidence shows the fighting corruption interventions are not necessarily what determines success. Put succinctly, Daniel Kaufmann, CEO, Natural Resource Governance Institute, “You don’t fight corruption by fighting corruption.
”What we learned that doesn’t work is fighting corruption by fighting corruption: Continuous adoption of new corruption laws when already existing ones are not enforced; anti-corruption commissions eventually becomes captured by the political elites.
What constitutes success in fighting corruption can be hard to measure. What is needed is to diagnose the whole governance system to determine the major failings and identify the root causes of corruption.
Imploring the need for change, Daniel Kaufmann posited that good governance in resource-rich countries could deliver higher incomes.
It is not to discourage the government effort rather encourage evidence-based interventions. From records of fighting corruption over the years success stories remain an exception, not the norm.
Buttressing the challenges of fighting corruption, Muniu-Pippidi and Johnson (2017) book “Transition to Good Governance” indicated that anti-corruption measures played a minimal role in reducing corrupt practices in ten countries examined.
Modernization of the economy and Structural transformation play the significant role in establishing whether corruption intervention works.
On the other hand, divide and rule strategy is playing out in the Nigerian political scene today, increasing polarization, tension, and threats to public order. The corrupt elites are fighting the new order, stoking fire (socio-cultural and ethnoreligious sentiments).
Sadly today, it is this divide and rule sentiments (identity and cultural frames) perpetuated by political entrepreneurs that shape public perception. The highstress situation creates perceptual dysfunction and survival anxiety which diminishes our capacity to make effective decisions.
The unorganized low-income majority buys into identity politics and continues to vote against their collective interest -a widespread phenomenon in Nigeria.
Many will succumb to the political exploitations, but the discerning and the empowered minds must seize the opportunity to educate and mobilize the masses for the new dawn. Something old is dying, and something new is about to be born as the political elites usurp one another.
In this moment of becoming we need appropriate leadership to gainfully redirect and address the underlying structures responsible for corruption in our society. The leaders’ presence of mind is called upon to attend to the fickleness of human cognition.
The foundation of everything is the model (assumptions, paradigm, perceptions, and values). The enfolded is the basis of the unfolding; the unfolding is the display of the enfolded.
Reconfiguration of the multitudes of minds (oppressed and oppressors) swimming in distortions and mindless monetization of values will be the basis for the new system.
It is in crystallizing vision and intent (transforming the emerging whole) that one experiences sustainable gratification. Donella Meadows, a Systems thinker, and Ecologists opined that vision without action is useless.
But action without vision is mindless. Vision is absolutely necessary to guide and motivate action, when vision is widely shared and sustained, new systems emerge ( the desired systems emerge).
Our life is good or bad, enslaved or free, according to its causation in our thoughts, for out of these thoughts spring all our deeds, and from these deeds come equitable results.
We cannot seize good results violently, like a thief, and claim and enjoy them but we can bring them to pass by setting in motion the causes within ourselves – James Allen
Politics remain the source of human problems, the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
We live in a conflicted world where problems are becoming more and more intractable, and we lack the mechanism to regulate them. We know it’s systemic but constrained by our thoughts, making it almost impossible to unlearn and relearn.
Hence, we are diving deeper into the unconscious conflict trap. As our world becomes increasingly interconnected, and the pace of conflicts continue to challenge our policymakers and community leaders.
Understanding how systems work is one of the critical competencies for the 21st century. The blame game we see in our society reveals peoples Lack of knowledge of how systems work.
We cause our problems-very often problems exhibited by a social system are caused by the people in that system. Thinking in systems enables one to look for the source of their problems first in their actions before blaming others.
Operationalizing Systems Thinking and System Dynamics principles, methods, and tools in the Nigerian government could enhance learning, evidence-based policy making to foster good governance.
Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes, recognizing that we are interrelated and that there are often multiple interventions to a problem. We must focus on what we want rather than what we do not want.
What we want is good governance, a society that is ethical and upright. Overwhelming the society with anti-corruption interventions without improving society’s livelihood will do more harm than good.
Pursuing legitimate alternatives to corruption benefits to usher in a better life for the people may effectively reduce the will to engage in corrupt behavior.
System thinking has considerable potential for elucidating corrupt systems, identify leverage points where small changes can have significant impacts in the system.
The ancient Sufi teaching illustrates relational thinking: You think because you understand oneyou must understand two because one and one make two. But you must also understand and.
How stakeholders relate (structure) with one another is what generates the system behavior. The essence of the system is relationships.
Part of the weaving of relationships is about dialogue (participative consciousness) and reconciliation of diversity of perspectives at a deeper systemic level in ways that create win-win solutions for all life in Nigeria.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
