Prominent Nigerians and opinion leaders, including Pastor Tunde Bakare of Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, have called for measures to reduce corruption in every facet of the nation’s life, especially the economy.
They spoke in Lagos at this year’s annual summit of HR Guide, tagged: The Role of the Organised Private Sector in the Quest for a Corrupt-Free Nation.
A public affairs analyst and consultant Alhaji Mahmood Othman said corruption is a by-product of indiscipline.
He said: “Once you are a leader, who is infallible, everything will fall into place.”
The consultant decried the high level of corruption in the private and public organisations, saying it was a clog in the wheel of the nation’s progress.
Othman, however, said the nation could reduce acts of malfeasance and corruption, even if it could not be eliminated altogether.
The President of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Goodie Ibru, who was represented by the Director-General of the chamber, Mr. Muda Yusuf, identified corruption as the agent suffocating private sector’s activities and entrepreneurship.
Ibru said corruption was also perpetuating the dominance of an inefficient public sector and undermining economic diversification and structural transformation.
A lawyer, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), corruption compounded the nation’s problems.
He noted that “corruption has become a disease” in the country because it appeared to be infectious among the people.
The lawyer noted that several people envied Nigerians riding flashy cars without caring to know the sources of their wealth.
Ajibade said: “Why should you envy a man in a convoy?”
The senior advocate said the Judiciary was the least funded arm of government.
He said self-examination and cleansing should be the beginning of the solution to the national malaise.
The guest speaker, Pastor Bakare, who was represented by Idoreyen Enang, noted that until every Nigerian was respected for being a Nigerian and not on the basis of his or her state of origin, corruption would remain intractable.
Bakare said: “The private sector should be under check and hotlines connected to anti-graft agencies, such as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Matters Commission (ICPC) or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“Until the people inside are given the opportunity to speak to the people outside, corruption can’t be checked. When you lose your voice, you’ve compromised. There should be a reason for joint and personal accountability.
“Leadership is a reflection of self; you have to mirror it. Let there be a law or hotline through which complaints can be made from an establishment to the regulatory and anti-corruption agencies. This will reduce corrupt tendencies.”
The Managing Director of HR Derivatives, the organisers of the summit, Mr. Napoleon Omomila, said the second annual summit was dwelling on corruption because it affected the foundation of employment generation, organisational profitability/productivity, national growth and development.
He said: “I have heard in some quarters that corruption is now fully entrenched in Nigerians; that discussing it is more or less a waste of time. Some have also said that organisations have found ways to incorporate corrupt practices into their system as part of their strategy to ensure survival in this very tough business environment. But I beg to disagree, because there still exist some well-meaning Nigerians and organisations that have not been compromised, that have maintained their integrity and still are making significant progress in their endeavour.
“In fact, it’s most definitely certain that whatever you acquire through corruption, either as an individual/or organisation cannot endure. So, if we all know that those things we acquire by corrupt means do not endure, then is it not better for all of us to find ways to ensure we leave enduring and lasting legacies in the sands of time through corrupt-free business practices? Most people and organisations find it very easy to point fingers at government. They forget that it takes two to tango; except for a few cases of individual’s direct stealing or theft.”
