The protests against SARS – the Special Anti-robbery Squad in Nigeria this month have been nothing short of revolutionary. While it kicked off as local protests against unlawful killings, harassment and police brutality by these units in Nigeria, it has since turned into a Global phenomenon which has caught the attention of significant figures across the world and the eyes of the Nigerian diaspora. But while to some it may just look like a protest against police brutality, in reality this is a protest against Nigeria as a country and the current state of it.
SARS can be seen as a symptom or even emblematic of the current state of Nigerian governance. Unlawfulness, ineffective and a huge lack of accountability which can be used to describe Nigerian governance over the last couple of decades. And this is what I want to touch on – the actions of SARS didn’t happen in a vacuum but in fact highlight the slow stagnation and arguably decline of such a promising country. A country rich in natural resources, a young educated workforce and a large population to fuel growth should be charging ahead in economic development and creating prosperity but it is anything but that. The country we have today is one which instead of hope and opportunity for the youth, is one full of despair, no opportunities and stagnation. The recent acquisition of Paystack – a company founded by 2 young Nigerians – for $200 million by Stripe just shows the talent we have in this country, but the politics and governance in this country has stifled and stunted its pool of talented youth which could bring this country forward. So why has Nigeria stagnated over the last couple of decades? 3 words come to mind – Corruption and Greed.
Corruption and Greed is the well known antithesis to economic development for many developing countries (and even developed countries) but for Nigeria, it has become so seeped and deep rooted into our culture that to uproot corruption we would arguably have to uproot our political scene. The thing about corruption is that it breeds more corruption and what we have seen is Corruption at the top has filtered down through all layers of government into the day to day life of citizens as a whole. It is this corruption which has held back Nigeria and created a country destitute of opportunities for its youth due to the lack of resources available. If we look at the 5 key pillars of society – Justice system, Police, government, education and healthcare – we can easily find corruption rampant within it. Today I will just focus on 2 of these in Law enforcement and government.
Corruption in Nigerian politics is one of the worst kept secrets on the planet. For years, politicians, senators and civil servants have fleeced the country’s resources for personal gain, taking away hundreds of billions in money which could have been invested in the nation. A review has shown that Nigeria has lost over $400 billion in oil revenue alone to corruption since independence. The huge sums of money which are siphoned off could be used to invest in education, healthcare, infrastructure and innovation – all things which would have boosted economic activity in Nigeria and improved the lives of the ordinary citizen. To make matters worse, the money which is used is tainted with kleptocracy where government contracts are handed out to friends of politicians who then provide a half finished or poor quality service which doesn’t improve the life of any Nigerian while they pocket millions. So decades of poor public services and a siphoning of public resources which has only increased inequality has fostered this pool of discontent which the youth of today will no longer stand for and demand change. Another issue is the age ranges of our presidents. The last 4 have an average age of 61 while the current president is 77. Politics in this country has long been dominated by the elder citizens who have grown up in a toxic culture of corruption who may not be in tune with what’s needed for the youth of this country or arguably are in power for the wrong reasons. Nigeria needs an ushering of new blood into its politics to bring about the reform needed to rid this country of corruption and push it forward.
Corruption in Law enforcement can be seen as a product of corruption in our government and politics as a whole. What the End SARS movement has highlighted is the rampant bribery, harassment and abuse of power for monetary gain within the law enforcement as a whole. But this environment of bribery is only there because of the lack of public resources invested in the law enforcement as a whole. When politicians are stealing from the nation’s purse what else would be the outcome but the underfunding of a police force which will have inadequate training, inadequate resources but most importantly inadequate pay. The salary of police recruit – the lowest ranking – is N108,233 a year, the equivalent of £240 a year. Meanwhile the Inspector General of Police – the highest ranking figure – is only N8,537,976, the equivalent of £18,973 a year. The salary structure which is a direct impact of a lack of resources shows why bribery in law enforcement is rampant as the police are hardly being paid enough to survive. But corruption has also infected the moral nature of our law enforcement, especially in regards to accountability. Since the protests began, not one police officer has been arrested or one police chief has resigned. A reconstruction of Nigeria’s law enforcement is needed structurally and in terms of pay, but until we sort out the corruption in our political scene, it is unrealistic that corruption will be weeded out of our law enforcement.
I have focused on 2 areas in society poisoned by corruption which need to be reformed, but more interestingly the 4 areas I mentioned are arguably key pillars which make up society. So for things to change in Nigeria, society as a whole may need to be overhauled and the toxic culture and governance which has decayed this country has to be replaced. One area I have alluded to but not directly focused on is culture within this article. Corruption has seeped so deep into our politics that is widely accepted in our culture. To talk about how our culture also perpetuates the country’s stagnation will require a whole other essay however. But these protests in my mind are only the start and will also reshape Nigerian culture. Long may these protests continue.
Sources:
1. https://dailypost.ng/2012/08/31/nigeria-lost-400bn-oil-revenue-corruption-since-independence-ezekwesili/
2. https://nigerianfinder.com/nigeria-police-salary-scale-structure/
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