CORRUPTION: THE CANCER AT THE HEART OF SO MANY PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD

Corruption is the act of corrupting or impairing integrity,virtue or moral principle.(English Dictionary v3.7). It is also a departure from what is pure, original or correct.
Corruption is the cancer at the heart of so many of our problems in the world today.The word corruption is globally attached to illegal behaviour of powerful people such as government officials. It is a popular word across the world most especially in Africa. Africa is a continent where corruption is regarded as norm yet a menace.
However, many want this issue to be dealt with as much as they want other issues like poverty and migration to be tackled forgetting it is not a sole responsibility of an individual or body. A.P.J. Abdulkalam once said that "if a country is to be corruption free, then can it become a nation of beautiful minds". I strongly feel that there are three societal members that can make a difference: the father,the mother and the teacher.
The national and global effort to deal with are often weak. No country has a perfect record on corruption issues and this is because it's something that has evolved from our homes. As David Walsh put in his essay"this longing to indulge the irresponsibility of not knowing has been the rock upon which corruption is built on". I profoundly believe this has to change,it has to change in my country and also all over the world.
That is why I have made the key societal members my priority,the father,the mother and the teacher. As an individual,you will pass through either of these three at a particular stage of your life. A government official embezzling public fund didn't just wake up to such without having thought it through for some time. This I perceive to be a product of ideas from growing up.
Home is a key factor that determines ones attitude and character. Arguments arise most times regarding peer group and environment influencing character.This is absolutely correct but then the bond existing between a parent and a child, a teacher and a student majorly determine the kind of person an individual would be. (The teacher in this context doesn't necessarily mean a school teacher).
A lot of measures has been put in place to tackle this problem but it has only addressed part of the problem. This is because the corrupt officials are being bred in our respective homes everyday.The key societal members have a role to play in curbing corruption in our society. These individuals should build their ideology on moral high ground and preach what is right to the society. New Zealand prime minister,John Key argued that "you have to promote a culture which makes it close to impossible for the corrupt to prosper or escape detention". Maar laar stated that corruption was so ingrained that it has become a way of life. He explained further that "we didn't even understand that it wasn't normal". A typical example was the situation in Sierra Leone where corruption stopped some mothers from immunizing their infant children because nurses demanded rice in exchange for free shots.
Corruption hunt life outcomes in a variety of ways. Economically,it diverts resources away from their most productive uses and act like a regressive tax that support the life style of the elite at the expense of everyone also.(Francis Fukuyama).
OVERCOMING CORRUPTION
Corruption should be exposed so much that there will be no place to hide . We need to drive out rogue lawyers and government officials who facilitate corruption. The question as of now is "how are we sure that we are not replacing them with another set of corrupt officials?" The solution to this is that we should change our way of life. Since corrupt practices is more of a culture than act,then changing our behaviour and attitude towards it remains a key factor in overcoming it.
Secondly,we need to deal properly and comprehensively with Corruption cases. That means bringing their perpetrators to justice, actively enforcing anti-corruption laws and working together across international bodies to hunt down the corrupt,prosecute them and do the appropriate. In Singapore, instead of prosecutors having to prove the guilt of the corrupt, they reverse the burden of proof so the accused have to show that they acquired their wealth legally. I urge other countries to adopt this method also. The moment you can't explained how you acquire your wealth you should be prosecuted.
But all of this will only work if political leaders have the courage to stand together. As David Walsh wrote "no longer in the dark, we now have the opportunity for change. It would be a crime not to seize it".
I believe the moment we all work together against corruption,we are going to defeat it.

Written by;
Habeebullahi Faruq O.
(AGBELOBA)