Gossip (Nigeria): Corruption grinding Local Government effectiveness

I was discussing with an executive senior non-political staff of a local government in Nigeria this past weekend, October 11, 2014, and was shocked again to hear of the persistent non-payment of salaries to staff.  Half of August, 2014 monthly salary was just being paid in October, 2014.  May be the second part will be paid in November?  He said he hopes so..., Ummm.

Here is the flash light on the main reason, and I quote from a Nigerian newspaper report (Premium Times Nigeria, October 14, 2014):

"A former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Nduese Essien, has blamed the low level of development at the grassroots to the sharing of local government funds among some top politicians and their gladiators."

Sharing of local government funds among politicians for their personal use is not only hindering development now but sending the staff as well as their family home on empty stomach, and equally painfully destroying their socioeconomic lives.  Or what else do you expect when staff is not paid?  Unfortunately the dubious and corrupted ones sort out other corrupt means to survive.  Thus corruption begets corruption, which is the vicious circle of corruption that has continued to grind our nation. 
  

How Committed Are You....??

There is a popular saying that action speaks louder than words, which is also equivalent to saying actions communicate more effectively than words. Why?

Words are merely expressions of plans, intentions ambitions and the like of it, until such words are put into action.  We have, and are still having so much words of promises from political leadership in our society, but we really need actions.  Action is the actual execution of such plans.  Fair enough, every good action is often preceded by a solid effective plan. An effective plan has objectives and goals.  These goals should be measurable, timed, reasonable, achievable and yet should be challenging enough to be worth it.

Following from my earlier blogs on Corruption solution: Top level commitment (dated October 17, 2014) and Nigeria 2015 Election: vote for corruption eradication (dated October 16, 2014), I charged our nation(s) leaders and aspiring leaders to demonstrate their commitment to eradication of corruption in our society.  A very effective way to jump start commitment attitude is to create a plan of how they intend to eradicate corruption.  In the plan, they should ensure that they identify people of integrity that will be on the same mindset and willingness, and then identify the existing and possible challenges to achieving the corruption eradication goal.  Articulate how to deal with such challenges, and ensure the plans have the attributes of an effective plan stated earlier above, namely measurable, timed, reasonable, achievable and yet challenging.

• Measurable - this helps to ensure that the goal can be measured , that is quantified, rather than just being descriptive and thus making it difficult to objectively and unambigupusly assess achievements and progress.  It is highly ambiguous to continue to say I will eradicate corruption without stating or articulating how and when. 
• Timed -  the timelines for carrying out each specific items in the action plan and when the goals are expected to be achieved should be clearly stated (in months and or years).  E.g., I will persecute 75% of reported cases of corruption in one year (25% every 3 months for the next one year), etc.  Stating clearly the details of what to achieve, how and when to get it done do not only make plans solid for use, but also create accountability and demonstrates seriousness and commitment to succeed in eradicating corruption.
• Reasonable, achievable and challenging - the plans' goals should be realistic and achievable yet big enough to be challenging.  Don't over-zealously set goals that are obviously not humanly possible within the time frame; that will be tantamount to setting leadership up to fail; or worst still potray the leadership  as unscrupulous and ridiculous team of aspiring leadership who merely wants to win people's support for their selfish aim.  However, the fact that the goal must be reasonable does not mean it should be so easy that little or no effort will be required to achieve them.  It should be challenging or demanding enough that achieving it will require a lot of effort and high-level dedication, will and commitment to achieve.  

Leaders or aspiring leaders of nations should be held to this minimum standard of being able to articulate and clearly outline their goal in eradicating corruption, rather than allow them to just merely tell us on the campaign tents that they will deal with corruption.  They should be put on the spot and let it be televised nationwide and have people call-in to ask questions specifically on how they intend to fight and win the battle against corruption.  

A case in point is the oncoming Nigeria 2015 election:  voters should make the fight against corruption their main priority when assessing individuals for every elective post.  If the political leaders at all levels are compelled to commit to corruption eradication drive, and they have the will to fight corruption, they will be able to ensure their cabinet run with it as well.  And then we will be on the right course to eradicate corruption.    

 These all depend on our commitment; how committed are you?

More to come as you follow me on corruption eradication in our nation(s)...

An opportunity to shine

When an issue or difficult situation persist, it becomes an opportunity for gallant-valiant to demonstrate their worth: their ability and willingness to take the bull by the horn and overcome such perceived insummontable  challenge.  For example a student's brilliancy is better confirmed and acknowledged when he or she passes a well know tough exam than a not so hard or even easy ones (hahaha..., no exam is that easy anyway but some are definitely and factually more difficult than others)...

Such is becoming the case of corruption eradication in our society.  It has become so persistent and outspread that it is now inconcated as normal part of our nation(s).  A check-up of corruption perception index world map between 2010 and 2013 did not indicate improvement over the periods.

The fact that is widespread and persistent for a long while should not be a reason to accept defeat in eradicating it; an evil remains an evil, it does not matter how long or even how many people are into it.  For example, slavery was an evil that persisted for a long while, but since it was it was an evil, truth rooted it out and society is ever greatful for it and every individual that put their heads and hands together to remove that evil.  So is corruption an evil, we should be willing to remove it from our society, and disregard it as a norm.  The starting point to dealing with it is the will. 

Let's sincerely ask our leaders and ourselves if we are actually willing to deal with it....of cause we can if we are willing and committed. Where is that gallant valiant leader at every level of governance who likes an opportunity; well here is one: fight and eradicate corruptionin your domain and our society and watch you shine....

Think about that...more to come as you follow me on my blog; and don't forget to make comments on any of my blogs. Thanks...

Nigeria 2015 Election: Vote for Corruption Eradication

Sahara Reporters, a Nigerian newspaper, is currently carrying out a 2015 presidential election poll, and they have asked this question:

"If the 2015 Nigerian presidential election were held today, with President Jonathan as the PDP candidate and Muhammadu Buhari as the APC candidate, who do you think would win? Why?
- Goodluck Jonathan
- Muhammadu Buhari"
(Sahara Reporters, October 15, 2014)

I do not know who will win neither do I intend to predict it. As for who I will vote for right now, I will vote for who comes out to clearly and consistently present a road map of how he is going to get our nation out of the grips of corruption.  This blog is not a political forum so I do not care who the person is, the party he belongs to or part of the country he comes from.  Whoever among them is able to tell us where he has gone wrong in the past, stop blame games and consistently present strong will and workable strategy to:

* deal decisively with corruption in high places
* get us good roads and
* stable and sufficient energy.

...this is the person that will win my vote; and should be person that win 'our vote'.

If any of them believes he qualifies for our votes genuinely, let him come out and consistently present his case with respect to the above. 

If you agree with me on this, feel free to send in your comments...God save our nation(s).

Corruption Solution (1.00): Top level Commitment

Top level refers to the leadership, precisely those at the helms of affairs at the federal, state and local government, as well as at the ministry and parastatal levels. 

Top level commitment is one of the major approaches to combating corruption (CGMA. http://www.cgma.org/Resources/Pages/Combating-corruption-across-the-value-chain.aspx, May21, 2014).

This means consistent active involvement, engagement and actions  by top leadership in the effort and will to combat corruption.  In Nigeria, the creation of EFCC and other governmental anti-corruption crusades are examples of efforts of leadership in getting involved to combat corruption.  Well, these do not seem to have been as effective as expected. As expected by who?

By the most impacted of course, the masses, the vulnerable, the honest ones in the leadership chains who shun corruption; I mean by those yearning earnestly for end to corruption.  In a survey of 34 countries in Africa (by AllAfrica, November 13, 2013) it was stated that:

"High levels of corruption are also associated with dysfunctional democracies; those who perceive high levels of corruption in their national institutions, and those who experience it personally in their daily lives, are more likely to report being dissatisfied with the way democracy works in their country. "

Unfortunately the voices from these affected people are quickly responded to politically.  If only the leaders and aspiring leaders would genuinely respond to the yearning of the people to end corruption...ironically, the leaders and aspiring leaders are often deceived to think they are doing enough because they could demonstrate large follower-ship; followers who are more or less compelled to follow as a means of surviving the persistent poverty, which itself is an outcome of the same corruption. Again, a vicious cycle, which can be broken by a leadership that will focus on this one main course: eradication of corruption from our society.  Remember and sincerely that a proper bathtaking would normally and appropriately start from the top, except childish bath that often start from the stomach or even legs...please don't let us continue to bath away corruption childishly by thinking we don't have to start from the top. The tone at the top is very important in this who process of eradicating corruption.

Leaders, you think about that, and jump start corruption eradication right now and watch what our society becomes in few months, not to talk of in few years.  Leave Mandelaic legacy as the first leadership team that fought and won the war against corruption in our society....God save our nation.

Get set for a decisive journey for our nation

It is no longer news that corruption has become one of the main threats and handicaps to socio-economic national development.  A perusal of the corruption perception index, per the map below, indicates that most nations have a troubling high corruption perception indexes.   




World map of the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. Blue indicates less perception of corruption, whereas red indicates higher perception of corruption

Source: http://www.globalissues.org/article/590/corruption

Unfortunately, one of our nations, Nigeria (and other beloved nations), is caught in this web.  I however believe sincerely that all hope is not lost for the nation(s) caught in this prolonged web.  Depending on the sincerity and persistent determinations of the stakeholders, corruption can be dealt with.  

Follow me as we all flash the light on and get set for a decisive journey not only, this time, to gossip about corruption and its menace in general but also proffer concrete solutions (theoretical and indeed practical) to eradicate it (with Nigeria as a case in point).  This could appear laughable now just as I believe that Martin Luther King's dream, and Mandela's fight against the unending apartheid, seemed to some if not most people at the time they kicked off; and faced challenges along the way.   

Remember: this is a non-politicized, unbiased, strategic focus on corruption eradication journey.  The strategic focus is 3-way basis: status, impact, solution(s).