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2010-03-05T17:18:00.001-08:00

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2010-03-05T17:17:00.005-08:00

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2010-03-05T17:17:00.003-08:00

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Visual and Creative Thinking:What We Learned From Peter Pan and Willy Wonka

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Internet Evangelism Resources

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CORRUPTION IS BUT A CULTURAL NORM

2009-10-18T01:46:00.000-07:00

CORRUPTION IS BUT A CULTURAL NORM

In the Bangkok Post Newspaper section: News Published on12/07/2009 at 12:00 AM voranaiv@bangkokpost.co.th made the following observations and conclusions from a poll carried out in Thailand about corruption in that country The conclusions and observations fit clearly into the Nigerian question I would like us to consider carefully and have edited Voranajv article with Nigeria information in brackets
I'm sorry, but what's the big deal over an Abac Poll? So 84.5% of 1,228 household respondents in 17 provinces across the country say they accept corruption as a normal practice in business. Meanwhile, 51.2% admit they don't mind if a government is corrupt so long as it manages to bring about prosperity and livelihood to the people.

Dear readers, are we only finding out for the first time in the history of Thailand [Nigeria] that we, the Thai [Nigerian] people, don't mind corruption? This is news to whom? Isn't it already widely known that corruption is not only okay, and we don't mind it, but by gad it's our national tradition - ranked right up there with shopping and drinking?
For people my age, we don't remember the day when corruption wasn't something normal and accepted in Thailand [Nigeria].
Like saying the sky is blue, or this commentator will not live a long life, the results of this poll simply state the obvious, simply reinforce our cultural values.
How could it not be okay that government and business is corrupt, when the average citizen is complicit in corruption with them and each other on a daily basis?
Of the respondents to the poll, 31.6% were in the farming sector. Debt-ridden farmers toiling the fields under the yoke of landlords and money-lenders. Of course they believe corruption is okay.
They have been robbed systematically by the rich and powerful for as long as they can remember - corruption is the way it has always been, a fact of life - might as well accept it.
Of the respondents, 27% were entrepreneurs. Show me a businessman who has never slipped something under the table, or fudged a few numbers here and there, and I'll show you a TV soap star who can actually act.
Of the respondents, 15.2% were company employees. The average working man and woman, who of course, never run a red light, never slip a red bill to the traffic police, never cut corners or slide anything under the table, never install illegal software into their computers, never buy pirated DVDs ... do you see where I'm going with this?
Certainly, the scale between buying a pirated version of 24 because you hope one day to grow up and be just like Jack Bauer and stealing billions from the country is huge. But it is the same social consciousness that says it's okay, is it not?
From pae jia [egunje] (sliding something under the table) to a kickback, we were taught to be corrupt since we were young. A wee little lad knows his teachers and principal pocket a little "something-something" in pae jia [egunje]. In his adult life, he knows that to get anything done in this country, he has to give a kickback, a little "something-something", to everyone involved. Face it, corruption is not only institutional, it's in our genes. Lastly, of the respondents, 11.5% were government officials. Need I elaborate on government officials?
Let's not be hypocritical, I myself have been corrupted. Dear readers, have you? As well, to be fair, there are honest, upstanding businessmen, employees and officials. The problem is, there's only a handful of them. When the majority is corrupt, then corruption is the constant, the normalcy.
Not to mention, the "handful" may end up, in an extreme case, like human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit [Nuhu Ribadu] - if not dead, then definitely marginalised. We are not a society conducive to heroes and crusaders. In fact, heroes and crusaders often get censored, condemned, abandoned and forgotten by Thai [Nigerian] society.
The key idea in the Abac poll is: Corruption is okay, as long as the people prosper. Translation: You can take your cut, as long as I get my cut. Selfishness and short-sightedness, those are the values of our society. And it is especially stupid, because we can never truly prosper, save for a selected few, when corruption is accepted, as that means it will always be constant and endemic.
Am I being rude, inappropriate? Some may not like what they're reading, but I dare anyone to prove me wrong. "The truth shall never die", or "Speak the truth and you shall die" - the future of our country depends on which proverb we decide to follow.
There's a reason why Thailand [Nigeria] is like it is today. It's because, though not all of us, but too many of us, from top to bottom, are corrupt, which makes us a corrupt society as a whole.
We Thai [Nigerian]s need to stop being hypocritical. Stop pointing the fingers at the government and the rich. The government and the rich are only symptoms of corruption. The disease of corruption is with us, the people. Remember, in a democracy, the country is what the people make of it.
If the boss is corrupt, then surely the employee would also corrupt. In a democracy, we, the people, elect the government. If the government who's our employee is corrupt, it's because we the people who are the boss are corrupt.
Here's an easy example: We Thai’s [Nigerians] can only think of electing a government that will put money into our pockets - whether directly through vote buying, or indirectly through economic policies. But when we allow money - the symbol of temptation and greed - to be the deciding factor in our national agenda, in our national consciousness ... corruption follows like a tsunami.
With that in mind, would it shock anyone if politicians and officials look for their cuts, their share of the cake, their kickback and pae jia - whether in the 800 billion baht loan, the NGV buses, or any other projects? Honestly, they are only doing as the many of us Thai’s [Nigerians] would, aren't they?
The rich and powerful few "get away with it", because at the end of the day, the majority - though we may whine and cry - ultimately hope that one day we too can be in the circle of the rich and powerful, so that we can "get away with it". That's why so few are willing to upset the status quo, express outrage or stand up and speak out publicly.
Can we change? When will we change? Take Alcoholics Anonymous. The first step to recovery from alcoholism is to stand up in front of a crowded room and announce: "My name is ... and I am an alcoholic." The psychology is simple. You can't cure a disease without first acknowledging that you have a disease.
So if we want to change Thailand [Nigeria] for the better, we need to stop pointing fingers at the politicians and the rich. More importantly, we need to stop being so thick-skinned and keep lying to ourselves and everyone else.
If we want to marginalise corruption into isolated incidents, rather than let it flourish as a cultural norm, then first and foremost we'd better stand up and admit: "This is Thailand [Nigeria], and we are corrupted." Then add a postscript: "But I will make a change. Starting with myself."
voranaiv@bangkokpost.co.th

Welcome

2009-03-12T08:56:00.001-07:00

I know this is the wave of the future and communicatting today I am excited to create this blog and reach out to as many people as possible for us to connnect and talk and profess solutions for our future The world is changing and we must change with it without losing site of our core values, responsibilty and obedienceto a great God who saved us through His Son Jesus and brought us to Himself.
This blog welcomes the much needed dialogue we need to find our way into a great life and future
God bless & I look forward to the impact this will have on you & i and who knows the rest of the world....

Francis E. Madojemu

Relevant Quotes: Seth Godin

Relevant Quotes: Seth Godin

Relevant Quotes: Seth Godin

Relevant Quotes: Seth Godin

Relevant Quotes: Seth Godin

Relevant Quotes: Seth Godin

Relevant Quotes: Seth Godin

Visual and Creative Thinking:What We Learned From Peter Pan and Willy Wonka

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Innovation X Book Launch Presentation

2010 Youth Trends Report Part1

How To Keep Up with (almost) Everything

CORRUPTION IS BUT A CULTURAL NORM

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