The document discusses the pervasive corruption in Nigeria and its effects. It argues that (1) Nigeria has built a society that requires its citizens to engage in corruption to survive and function; (2) political leaders are detached from the problems facing citizens and instead prioritize their own interests; and (3) reforms are needed to address corruption, including political responsibility laws, salary reductions for politicians, civil service restructuring, and privatization.

1. Nigeria as it exists today is a country built, bred and soaked in corruption. Nigeria
is so corrupt-that I cannot imagine any other country being more corrupt than
Nigeria. A country would have to be dead (literally) to be described as being more
corrupt than Nigeria because presently as it exists, Nigeria is in coma. With our
present state and systemic corruption, we can deductively conclude that-
Nigerians are corrupt individuals! Or are we?
Bring an Englishman, American or any national from anywhere in the world to
Nigeria, have them live here for a year and you’d find out that these individuals

2. have to be corrupt just to survive in Nigeria. To bid for contracts, jump long
corrupt bureaucracies, have links to certain businesses etc. to do all these things
and more in our country, these individuals must be corrupt, that’s the
unfortunate and honest price they have to pay. Nigeria has been able to build
(over the years) a society that compels its citizens and individuals to engage in
corrupt practices. While, America builds a society that’s strengthened by equality,
freedom and value, Nigeria on the other hand builds a society on lies. We
continuously recite the words “unity, peace and strength” as we’ve been taught in
school, having those words plastered all over our coat of arms, national anthem,
pledge and…. We (me and you) both know that Nigeria is basically a system built
and suspended on corruption.
 the leaders (so called) have been
enjoying free rides since they are privileged to lead a largely uneducated
and educated-unenlightened populace. True education gives freedom to
the mind. While in school; I learnt to shape my own thoughts, find my own
solutions and analyze other people’s view of situations,- this is freedom(to
decide on what is right and wrong). The average Nigerian graduate does
not have this freedom- if they do? Why would a lot of them still vote
Jonathan, even though he gave or prescribed no definite solutions or
strategies to assuage Nigeria’s problems. While campaigning, all he said

3. was-“if I can make it you can make it” and the graduates that voted him
never asked how he was going to help Nigeria make it. They just voted.
Nigeria’s educational system at best is a make believe (fiction). We need to
start thinking of this critically;-raising educated minds (challenged minds)
that’ll question the status-quo, cause change and engineer our future. Our
university system is without form and void of philosophy, imagine
performing research and dropping it off in the library for other students
/professors to read. The research performed in universities have no
relevant connection with Nigerian problems, thank God it is not being
applied anyway ‘cause what most students call research is just a literature
review of the existing literature, nothing new.
 I’ll engineer the passage of two bills. The first
bill, I’ll title “the political responsibility bill”. This bill will build policies
that’ll mandate every political office holder (president, governors,

4. senators…) to have themselves and their immediate family (wife and
children) use government social infrastructure such as schools, health
facilities and power. Their children will attend public schools, their families
will only use public clinics (an end to government sponsored overseas
medical checkup, the only thing that needs checkup is Nigeria). The role of
government is to provide these basic facilities but what we have today is a
government that provides bones and empty plates for the citizenry while
they eat burger and chicken. In the words of Prof NIYI OSUNDARE
Even Olusegun Obansanjo was seen lamenting after being held in traffic at
Sango-Ota for hours. This was coming few months after he left office (29
May, 2007). What this means is our leaders are detached from us. They
don’t know our problems and so are ill-prepared to solve them.
The second bill will adequately reduce the salaries and allowances of
political office holders, this is to discourage political thugs from
participating in politics and ring only the right minds (a reduction is from
the assumed 25million naira per month salary to about 1million naira per
month). I know the questions you are asking-“how will you achieve this?
It’s the senators that’ll pass the bill”. I will ensure the passage of these two
bills by using the power of the majority (the public), the press and other
political tools to force the hand of the senators, I’ll promote debates,
conferences and use different media to compel the law makers.
 I’ll restructure the civil service. Most Nigerian civil
servants are unproductive and corrupt. The civil service is as good as dead
as most of the workers do not even go to the office. I’ll ensure the civil
service reflects value and commitment to work. Anyone not willing to work
will be shown the door; there’ll be a lot of retrenchment to encourage the
right attitude. I will also engineer a lot of privatizations. Government has no
business being in certain businesses, a case in point is power. The
production and distribution of power should be privatized, this will bring

5. competition, growth, development and the right attitude into many
sectors.
 no viable society can be built and sustained
except it is able to eradicate or minimize inequalities and bring justice and
equity to situations. The “rule of law” and not politics or corruption should
be the compass of the judicial system. Strengthening the judiciary and
allowing things run the way it should, will bring sanity to the system…
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