To the Rescue: (Say No to Corruption)

By Amos Dele Dada

Tosin and Kola were young students of the same university who also completed their National Youth Service Corp. (NYSC ) primary assignment in the same school as teachers. They were role models for the youth of their generation. Kola and Tosin got married, while Kola became a lecturer and eventually a political activist he became the National President of Academic Staff Union of University(ASUU). Tosin read law as a second degree and also became the Chairperson of Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) boss with no mercy for corruption or corrupt people. Paola and Kenny worked for many years in the oil and gas industry as honest people, retired and because of corrupt leadership in the nation, migrated to South Africa. Due to the influence of Paolas brother, Kenny joined the bandwagon of corrupt citizens, and used his ill-gotten wealth to become a powerful politician. He also faced many uncommon challenges in the course of his life. The book exposes corruption in our world and community but most importantly, the rescue!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491839478

Book preview

© 2014 Amos Dele Dada. All rights reserved.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/24/2014

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3948-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3949-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3947-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013921811

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Church and website ministry information:

www.cacbethel.com

www.igoeministry.com

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Glossary

About The Author

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all anti-corruption crusaders and those who will hold their heads high and live their lives without an iota of corruption, rather will champion anti-corruption courses in their elements, nations and globally.

It is also dedicated to those that have died because they were deprived of their rights through corruption.

FOREWORD

I feel highly delighted to write the Foreword to this novel titled To the Rescue I understand Dr Dada wanted the title to be Say No To Corruption but because his motive is not to just talk about corruption, but proffer solutions I agreed that the former is more appropriate than the latter.

I don’t think we should shy away from the word corruption. Here is an excerpt from my book—The Poverty of Corrupt Nations— Only 10 years ago, the word corruption was not in the vocabulary of the World Bank. Its staff spoke instead of ‘implicit taxes’ or ‘rent-seeking behaviour’ lest they be accused of meddling in politics." Fortunately, James Wolfensohn, when he became president of the World Bank, decided that corruption had to come out of the closet and be dealt with. Political correctness, he decided, had to take a back seat to economy, efficiency, and justice. We must thank Mr. Wolfensohn for taking this stance—which at the time, and in that context, was very courageous. This reticence in discussing corruption can also be seen in Jeffrey Sachs’ book ‘The End of Poverty’, where one cannot locate a reference to the word corruption in the book index. In fairness to Mr. Sachs, a world-leading thinker in the fight against poverty, his book does contain a chapter entitled Myths and Magic Bullets, where three pages are devoted to corruption—under the heading Corruption is the Culprit. Three pages devoted to corruption in a book of 368 pages! In this part of his book he argues that in Africa corruption is used as an excuse not to fight poverty on that continent. He then argues that Africa’s governance is poor because Africa is poor. In saying this, he makes the classic mistake of drawing a conclusion regarding cause and effect on the subject of the relationship between poverty and corruption. However, as I mentioned earlier, it is not known which causes which. No one knows this. I have come to the conclusion that since we will never know what the causal relationship is between poverty and corruption, we need to tackle both. We cannot, in my judgment, allow ourselves the luxury of avoiding dealing with corruption—the stakes are just too high".

Realistically, corruption and money laundering will never be completely eliminated. With dedication and hard work, however, the fight against global poverty can be enhanced if we reduce the incidence of corruption. To do this, we need the courage and foresight to look at new ideas and we must dedicate ourselves to new solutions to these serious problems. The challenge is before us. As President Obama has said—Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. Amos Dada understands that corruption is dysfunctional, unjust and immoral. He also appreciates how corruption has negatively impacted Nigeria and its citizens. That is why you should read on . . . .

Regards, Roy Cullen

Hon. Roy Cullen, P.C., C.A.

1, 881 Nicholson Street

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

A Man Dies And Goes To Hell

A man dies and goes to hell, there he finds that there is a different hell for each country and decides he’ll pick the least painful to spend his eternity.

He goes to the German hell and asks, What do they do here?

He is told, First they put you in an electric chair for an hour, then they lay you on bed nails for another hour, then the German devil comes in and whips you for the rest of the day.

The man does not like the sound of that at all so he moves on. He checks out the USA hell as well as the Russian hell and many more. He discovers that they are all similar to the German hell. Then he comes to the Nigerian hell and finds that there is a long queue of people waiting to get in… Amazed, he asks, What do they do here?

He is told, First they put you in an electric chair for an hour, and then they lay you on a bed of nails for another hour, then the Nigerian devil comes in and whips you for the rest of the day.

But that is exactly the same as all the other hells, why are there so many people waiting to get in? asks the man.

A concerned fellow calls him aside and says, Because there is never any electricity so the electric chair doesn’t work. The nails were paid for but were never supplied by the contractor, so the bed is comfortable to sleep on and the Nigerian devil used to be a civil servant, so he comes in, signs his time sheet and goes back home for other business not whipping anybody!!

. . . The corruption of Nigeria, in a lighter mood.

The Three Last Wishes of Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence. He now longed to reach home to see his mother’s face and bid her his last adieu. But, he had to accept the fact that his sinking health would not permit him to reach his distant homeland. So, the mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last.

He called his generals and said, I will depart from this world soon, I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail.

With tears flowing down their cheeks, the generals agreed to abide by their king’s last wishes.

1) My first desire is that, said Alexander, My physicians alone must carry my coffin.

2) After a pause, he continued, Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury,

3) The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute’s rest and continued. My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin.

The people who had gathered there wondered at the king’s strange wishes. But no one dared bring the question to their lips. Alexander’s favorite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart.

O king, we assure you that all your wishes will be fulfilled. But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?

At this Alexander took a deep breath and said:" I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt.

Lessons to be learnt from last 3 wishes of King Alexander… I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor on this earth can really cure anybody. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted.

The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the path to the graveyard is to tell people that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I spent all my life Greed of Power, earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth.

About my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty handed into this world and empty handed I go out of this world".

With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last… .

40844.png

World map of the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, which measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. High numbers (blue) indicate less perception of corruption, whereas lower numbers (red) and indicate higher perception of corruption. "© Transparency International. All Rights Reserved. For more information, visit http://www.transparency.org."

PREFACE

There are many unresolved problems in Nigeria, but the issue of the upsurge of corruption is troubling. And the damage it has done to the people is astronomical. The endemic epidemic nature of corruption has eaten the fabrics of our homes, culture, community, society, nationality and the globe. Generations of youth are bombarded with the optimistic promise that they are the leaders of tomorrow and they will do it right, but tomorrow comes and they find themselves upgrading the crimes of their fathers.

I had long thought of being a part of the solution to the endemic corruption in Nigeria and the idea of writing a novel came to my mind, however I struggled with what the title will be. One day as I was meditating on this issue a phrase ‘Say No To Corruption’ came up in my mind. Although I have modified that to the current title To The Rescue the concept is still the same.

Corruption is essentially termed as an impairment of integrity, virtue or moral principle; depravity, decay, and/or an inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means, a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct, and/or an agency or influence that corrupts.

Mike W. Peng describes corruption as the abuse of public power for private benefits, usually in the form of bribery. Also, corruption distorts the basics of competitions by misallocating resources and slowing economic development. Furthermore, according to Transparency International, which is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and is probably the most influential anticorruption nongovernment organization (NGO), there is a high correlation between corruption and low economic development (Peng, 2008, pp.70).

This novel gives an overview of the peoples attitude toward corruption. It discusses the possible causes and effects of corruption, which are seen to be rooted in socio-cultural practices and the political and economic situation of the country. Data were drawn chiefly from news stories, reports of tribunals and commissions of enquiry, interviews of Nigerians with relevant information, anecdotes, and personal knowledge of Nigeria.

In Nigeria, and unfortunately what goes on in Nigeria spreads across Africa, corruptions stifles economic growth; reduces economic efficiency and development despite the enormous resources in the country. Corruption creates a negative national image and loss of much needed revenue. It devalues the quality of human life, robs schools, agricultural sectors, hospitals and welfare services of funds. It discourages foreign investments leading to decrease in Foreign Direct Investment. It exacerbates inequality, desecrates the rule of law and undermines the legitimacy and stability of democratic regimes. It slows down administrative processes thereby making the implementation of government reforms policies ineffective.

In layman’s terms, The menace of corruption leads to slow movement of files in offices, police extortion tollgates and slow traffic on the highways, port congestion, queues at passport offices and gas stations, ghost workers syndrome, election irregularities, among others. Pensioners suffer the effect of corruption, because the workforce will embezzle their meager pension funds as if it does not matter. Even the mad people on the street recognize the havoc caused by corruption—the funds allocated for their welfare disappear into thin air.

People engage in corrupt practices in Nigeria as a result of high levels of poverty, high unemployment rate, under-remuneration of workers, financial hardship, persuasion by friends and colleagues in public offices, desire to please kinsmen, late payment of contractors by government, over-concentration of power and resources at the center, unregulated informal economy, nepotism, greed, covetousness, tribalism and failure to deal with corrupt people in the administration of justice and lack of honest leaders. The biggest challenge for the country therefore is not just to punish corrupt behaviour or go into bargaining pleas; the country must reverse the prevailing culture in which corruption is encouraged, unpunished and is viewed as permissible.

Some writers say that corruption is endemic in all governments, and that it is not peculiar to any continent, region and ethnic group. It cuts across faiths, religious denominations and political systems and affects both young and old, man and woman alike.

Thus, it is believed by many in the society that corruption is the bane of Nigeria, the troublers of our Israel. Corruption is pandemic in Nigeria (and in many other African and Asian nations); the leaders as well as the followers are corrupt. Consequently, it has defied all the necessary medicines. If there is a lack of control of corruption in every sphere in the nation, it is then like the old saying: When water chokes you, what do you take to wash it down? (The Philosophy of Aristotle, 451-ME2783, p.355).

In 1979 I was an undergraduate in one of the Nigerian universities. It was an election year. The nation has been plunged to military rule since 1966. Students like me were told that the military was corrupt and democratic governance was desirable and less corrupt. Further more if the civilians were given the opportunity to rule, corruption would be a thing of the past, there would be monumental and rapid development of infrastructure and the economy would blossom. The fear was whether the military would allow the civilians to govern. Though there was a cry of rigging of election the military went underground and allowed civilians to take over. Looking back, the various succeeding civilian governments were even worse in terms of corrupt practices. Coup after coups, one regime after the other. In 1999 the military regime again handed over governance to the civilians. Fifteen years after, has the lot of Nigerians changed?

The answer is ‘NO.’ The next question is, the people ruling in 1979 are they the people ruling today? The answer again is ‘NO’. Meaning the students of 1979 who were critical of the leadership then are the rulers of today and instead of offering better leadership they are worse. Therefore one of the major purposes of this book is to hopefully prevent this vicious circle. Retrain the mind of the young Nigerians; disabuse their minds from corruption so that we can have a new and better Nigeria.

Furthermore, this novel is to educate people on the dangers of excessive materialism and the ‘get rich quick’ culture. It also shows the effect of poverty and how that feeds corruption and vice versa. It highlights the need for more job creation with better remuneration. The need for rulers to be mindful of the masses. The need to raise a new generation of good citizens, eagle minded Nigerians, nation developers, erudite leaders, and people of vision, honesty and integrity. Nigeria and Nigerians are tired of chicken minded rulers! It is my opinion that if we can get this book into the hands of the younger generation in their schools as a literature book; it will give them ideas about what they should not get into in the future-corrupt practices. It is my hope and prayer that this book will help you to be a better citizen of any nation in any continent.

The names in this book are fictitious and if it coincides with yours or any institution it is not meant to disparage any person. Furthermore all images in all the chapters are used with permission we hope we have used them to facilitate and actualize your desires for posterity and a society free of corruption.

Amos Dele Dada

February 2014

Top Corruption Quotes

Corruption is authority plus monopoly minus transparency.

-Unknown

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.-Friedrich Nietzsche

Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

-Lord Acton

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.-George Bernard Shaw

Power attracts the corruptible. Absolute power attracts the absolutely corruptible.-Frank Herbert

Money is truthful. If a man speaks of his honor, make him pay cash.-Robert A. Heinlein

The day when corruption is stopped in Africa will be the very day that we shall wave goodbye to poverty, wars, AIDS, crime etc. Monyoro Alex, Sudanese in Australia.

Once you get a coin, your appetite increases and you become a prisoner of the one who bribed you. Pacharo Kayira, Malawi

Millions of Africans today live below the poverty line because of the Cankerworm of corruption. Osabutey Anny, Ghana

The giver is equally as guilty as the receiver of the bribe. Divine, Ifitedunu, Nigeria

I support strongly the idea of naming and shaming corrupt officials. Thomas Ayeni Lagos

Corruption in Africa is far much deeper than Lake Chad. Shuttie F.N. Libuta, Zambia

If you don’t take bribe, you are referred to as BORN AGAIN Christian. Ezeoke Tochukwu, Germany

Unless they line up corrupt officials in Nigeria and give them appropriate punishment, this cankerworm called corruption may not come to an end. Amos Dada

40851.png

CHAPTER ONE

Johannesburg, SA, January 2004

Funso called from London, England, Paola said, not giving any impression to his voice.

Really? That’s interesting. Who was she calling for? replied Kenny as flatly as he could, keeping his voice low. Paola took a sip of his regular hot chocolate, and looked in Kenny’s direction, Who else, Kenny you keep pretending as if there is nothing between you and Funso, you like hiding behind a finger, don’t you? Kenny used his index finger to scratch the right lower part of his head, no one could be sure whether he was reacting to the unfolding discussion where his lies are about to be exposed or he was reacting to the grey hair that seems to be increasing in his lower temples, giving him major concern. Just as Paola thought he had nailed Kenny and was about to expose him, Kenny sat up and said, "I really do not know who is