Who is Corrupt?
Pretty sure lady justice would have a different perspective on Corruption from the rest of us.
My father was a theologian. I had the pleasure of picking his brains on so many random and interesting subjects which cut across every field of human endeavor. I was particularly enamored at his philosophical mind and I enjoyed listening to his perspectives on anything and everything!
Once, I asked him what he understood by the word, “Corruption”. As always, he had a look on his face that meant he was in deep thought. It took him a while to ponder and respond to my question. Finally, he said, “Gershom, to sin is to miss the mark”. I was a little lost as that wasn’t the question I asked. I went to Sunday school all my childhood so I was very conversant with the subject of Sin. He went on, “You know those Targets archers use for practice?” I nodded in affirmation. “Well, just as they sometimes miss the bull's eye, so also it is with sin. Simply put, sin is missing the mark you are intended to hit”. He paused to look at me and smiled when he saw the obvious confusion written on my face. “In the same way, corruption comes about when the purpose of a thing is jettisoned for a secondary or unrelated cause”.
Of course, I went back to think about what he had said and just how deep that definition cuts across life. According to him, if a car was purchased to convey just farm produce, and for whatever reason, the driver opted to also carry livestock in it, at that very moment, the purpose for which the car was bought had been abused. Hence, that singular act at that precise moment in time qualifies such a person as being corrupt.
So, who is corrupt? It is common place to attribute corruption to the political class who have been entrusted with our commonwealth, but for selfish gains, have somehow managed to become notorious for abuse of that privilege. In the mind of an average national, corruption is simply the theft of big money and abuse of power. But I am convinced there is more to it. I dare say there is a bigger picture we are often inclined to miss.
To better understand who is corrupt, one needs to understand why corruption thrives. I have heard it said that corruption is enabled by the morally bankrupt. That it comes as a result of greed and selfishness. While that could be true, I believe pride and an over-bloated sense of self-importance are the pillars upon which all kind of corruption is groomed. And those are qualities more common than you could imagine.
The man for instance, who has been given a car from his office to fuel, could be caught trying to purchase less gas than the money allocated for that purpose, so he could save some extra cash to line his pockets with. It could be for a just cause. Perhaps he even intends to use the extra money to aid an ailing family member. Whatever the case might be, when the chips are down, the reality remains that specific instructions were flouted, designated resources were misappropriated without necessary approvals from the right channels. Justification for such actions also amounts to aiding corrupt practices.
Instances abound to illustrate the point that given the chance, a lot of regular, peace loving, country loving, spiritual and good people, would choose to meet their needs or wants over those of a group of people they work with or even over a bunch of faceless strangers, so long as they believe it “won’t hurt” or worse if they are sure they could get away with it.
So, who is corrupt? In my opinion, we are all corrupt. Unfortunately, having to work in a compromised system, under a corrupt government doesn’t excuse the lowering of one's standards nor principles.
A former president of Nigeria made a very controversial statement once when he said, “stealing is not corruption…”. In a way he was right. Stealing alone isn’t corruption. Corruption covers a multitude of sin which culminate in the abuse of a designated, special purpose item, opportunity, platform or privilege. If everyone worked to uphold due process and getting the right things done the right way, those who seek to exploit the system for personal gain would be the anomalies. Where this isn’t the case, it is safe to surmise that while there are those who are not complicit in any way or form to the tendency of being corrupt, the vast majority of us, enable it at the very least by dressing it down when it’s practice benefits us. Now, I’m sure you would agree with me that the better question should be, “who isn’t corrupt?”
