From the English dictionary, 'to be honest' means 'Not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent, worthy of being depended on'
I have come to the realisation that majority of Nigerians are comfortable with the system of corruption we have in the county, we only complain with our mouths but our hearts and minds are both in agreement with all the vices .We hate the adverse effect of corruption but we relish in its 'comfort'.
Honesty is a very scarce quality in Nigeria, and integrity, which is an outcome of honesty is a rare commodity in our Nigeria-both among the leaders and the led, especially among the political leadership. Many of us complain bitterly about the level of official corruption among politicians while in our local niche ,we are also enmeshed in corruption. How many of us really live by our 'honest income', how many of us can return the excess change the conductor gives to you by mistake, how many of us will find a wallet filled with money and return to the owner using the contact details in the wallet?
Many Nigerians cannot imagine being honest, based on the definition above. Many people that criticize government officials for corruption do not know the meaning of honesty. They cannot imagine living their lives by the true definition of honesty-either because they will not survive or because they were born into corruption and do not understand what it means to live under a corrupt-free systems. Some people do not understand that corruption starts right from them, when they jump the queue in a banking hall, when they throw refuse out of their car windows, when they as civil servants expect to be gratified before processing people document, when the clergy uses his position to extort money from his congregation
I must confess from my interaction with my fellow Nigerians that we are not ready for a system that works. People, when projecting their monthly take home, also include in it ,the corrupt money they will get through grafts, bribes and 'tips'. The civil service is particularly pathetic. You see a Director whose salary is not up to N500,000 per month owing many houses worth millions of naira, driving in car worth tens of millions, and living an affluent lifestyle with his children studying in the most expensive schools, and in many cases, abroad! Do you need to be told that the man is engaged in graft to sustain such lifestyles. Despite the complaints from such man about the corruption in the system, do you think such a person would truly pray for a corruption-free Nigeria? We see supervisors at the Ministry of Education using their position to extort money from teachers so they will not be posted to interior areas! We hear clergymen in Churches and Mosques using fear-inducing scriptures to extort money from member
The most worrying aspect is that the many clergymen , who should be at the vanguard of honest living are not ready for a honest and corrupt-free system, because they know and feel threatened that a corruption -free and honest system will diminish the tithes and offerings that flows into the coffers. These days in Nigeria, Mosques and Churches do not care were the sources of offerings and gifts are from, they are more interested in the money than in the means. There is so much greed, clergymen living large on the poverty of the people, entrapping them with the sermon that their poverty and lack are because of their disobedience to God. They fail to preach against the system that is run on fraud and lies. These clergies are fine with a system that churns out a deprived, demoralized, non-critical thinking mass/mob, who rush to Mosques and Churches for the anti-dote from the Immans and Pastors..these Clergies are afraid of a working, honesty and corruption-free system.
Nigerians are not really tired of corruption, they are complaining because it is not yet 'their turn to eat'. Most Nigerians only wish they were on Jonathan seat so they could also steal. No wonder the Almighty God does not take our prayers seriously since they are prayers from hypocritical minds
Are people really ready for a system that works? Are Nigerians ready to give up their 'benefits' of corruption, are they ready to make sacrifices for a New Nigeria? It is not only the political class that is dishonesty, even the man on the street is looking for a way to defraud the system
Until Nigerians are ready for a system that is run on honesty, all our shouting ,complaints ,and prayers would be waste ,until Nigerians are ready to give up the 'comfort' of corruption, and operate a system that is run on law and honesty, we are just deceiving ourselves.
It is time to make Nigeria work, let us all start from our neighbourhood and place of work
God bless Nigeria, and Nigerians
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