mikeansy:
Those criticising the president are the very people trivialising stealing and the seriousness of what goes on in Nigeria

Stealing is not corruption

Public officials diverting public money are thieves, that's the point the president is making

mikeansy:


In the scheme of things calling a man corrupt when he is a common thief trivialises the seriousness.

That's the point the president is making

tuborme:


I am not a partisan politician, but truth be told...nigerians do not deserve good leaders because of our attitude towards politics. We call a spade a spade when it favours us. These two words are clearly defined in english language and they mean very different things. It is just like saying that fornication and adultery are thesame thing. The president was trying to make distinction on the different approaches being used to fight theft and corruption in government. The approach you use in caching a thief is purely different in the approach you use in caching a ghost worker. We should not politicise everything in this country.

TheMadame:
If a PHD holder does not know that stealing is corruption,then he should go back to all the schools he attended and ask for a refund.
Vote wisely,your vote is your power.

mikeansy:
In the real sense of the word "some" forms of stealing can qualify as corruption. Some cant.

E.g. A public officer diverting public funds to private accounts qualify as both stealing and corruption

A public officer using his office to ease the process of getting his relative employed qualifies as corruption but that's not necessarily stealing

But an armed robber waiting for vehicles with guns and robbing people is pure stealing but that is not corruption.

The essence of the word corrupt or corruption assumes some level of responsibility and dignity that is being tarnished or adulterated due to some malpractices. Nobody looks up to a thief with some dignity or expect them to operate on a higher moral pedestal that is why it is out of place to describe a thief with the word corrupt.

Hence those who try to distinguish between the word stealing and corruption are not in anyway trivialising corruption. If anything they are emphasizing the enormity of what is going on in public offices in Nigeria when they try to draw a distinction between stealing and corruption. They are arguing that the seriousness of siphoning public funds into private accounts gets downplayed with the word corruption when in truth what is happening is outright stealing.

In 2006 Nuhu Ribadu made a similar argument about Sani Yerima of Zamfara State while accusing Governors of Corruption. In the case of Zamfara he emphasized that what is going on there is outright stealing without the involvement of any 3rd parties because in his words Sani Yerima was simply diverting State funds directly from State Accounts to private accounts. He is not even disguising it by setting up contactors with fronts like you currently have in Lagos where Tinubu's proxy companies do all sorts of work for the Lagos State Government and inflating cost without being subject to competition.

So eventhough in terms of technicalities of English language "Stealing is not corruption" may be wrong. I understand the sentiments behind the argument. There is some truth in it.
What goes on in public offices in Nigeria is stealing but in most developed countries you have corruption in public offices!

mikeansy:
In the real sense of the word "some" forms of stealing can qualify as corruption. Some cant.

E.g. A public officer diverting public funds to private accounts qualify as both stealing and corruption

A public officer using his office to ease the process of getting his relative employed qualifies as corruption but that's not necessarily stealing

But an armed robber waiting for vehicles with guns and robbing people is pure stealing but that is not corruption.

The essence of the word corrupt or corruption assumes some level of responsibility and dignity that is being tarnished or adulterated due to some malpractices. Nobody looks up to a thief with some dignity or expect them to operate on a higher moral pedestal that is why it is out of place to describe a thief with the word corrupt.

Hence those who try to distinguish between the word stealing and corruption are not in anyway trivialising corruption. If anything they are emphasizing the enormity of what is going on in public offices in Nigeria when they try to draw a distinction between stealing and corruption. They are arguing that the seriousness of siphoning public funds into private accounts gets downplayed with the word corruption when in truth what is happening is outright stealing.

In 2006 Nuhu Ribadu made a similar argument about Sani Yerima of Zamfara State while accusing Governors of Corruption. In the case of Zamfara he emphasized that what is going on there is outright stealing without the involvement of any 3rd parties because in his words Sani Yerima was simply diverting State funds directly from State Accounts to private accounts. He is not even disguising it by setting up contactors with fronts like you currently have in Lagos where Tinubu's proxy companies do all sorts of work for the Lagos State Government and inflating cost without being subject to competition.

So eventhough in terms of technicalities of English language "Stealing is not corruption" may be wrong. I understand the sentiments behind the argument. There is some truth in it.
What goes on in public offices in Nigeria is stealing but in most developed countries you have corruption in public offices!

docadams:


It's a cross we must bear till the end of this era of ignomy.

BossAyuk:

The same Doyin Okupe that was abusing Amaechi on his appointment as Campaign Director for APC is now indirectly Campaigning for APC?? Welcome to the Irony of Life

ofala:
What else do we all expect from "Bastard" Doyin Okupe!?

Imoy:

Do u have a father at home? Is dis how u insult ur father?

Have some respect boi.

Criticize but don't resort to insult.

Thank u.

philips70:


My friend GEJ was not asked about robbers in the streets. He was rather asked questions bothering on corruption in government. Call SPADES SPADES. What he did is what is called artful dodging not knowing he was undoing himself defending corruption in his government. We sound stupid when we defend the indefensible.

oliy24:




brother you are not justified. all stealing are corruption but not all corruption are stealing. but gej said stealing is not corruption.

mikeansy:
Those criticising the president are the very people trivialising stealing and the seriousness of what goes on in Nigeria

Stealing is not corruption

Public officials diverting public money are thieves, that's the point the president is making

judiciarypalava:
OP '1stcitizen' Why do you guys like sending wrong impression? Can you please explain what is embarrassing in asking a question and the link to GEJ. Yes he is an aid to the most abused president and somebody like you will always not see any good he has done because you refuse to see it or probably you are blindfolded. Lets keep abusing ourselves and we think we are abusing GEJ, after all we have megabytes and can write.
And l tell you, Atiku sharing between $2,000 and $5,000 and Tinubu/Amechi sharing between $4,000 and $10,000 just in primaries doesn't send a signal to you. Then you are a hypocrite.

MyNameIsMyName:
Well according to the oxford dictionary, stealing is not corruption

tuborme:
the president said that some people are doing outright stealing in the government and not just being corrupt. Get it into your tick skull. In 1984, Buhari regime did not know the difference between the two and bundled everything as corruption....the legal position of the two are different.

Dbboy:
Let make this clear can you define stealing explicitly as corruption or the other way round is corruption stealing?

We argue without making any meaning of what we are arguing about.

mankand:


Already I'm progressive. I became progressive when I stopped believing in the government. Both parties represent the same corporation, they lead to the same slaughter house.

At this point I support the other side of the coin

calaway:


[size=8pt]corruption is prostitution for grades in school in school or promotion at work, corruption is police collected bribe and allowing a traffic offender go. A corrupt person as for inducement to do his job, a corrupt person is morally bankrupt.

Stealing is taking what is not your own with out permission of the owner or owners,

a thief is a criminal there is a big difference!!!![/size]

MyNameIsMyName:
Well according to the oxford dictionary, stealing is not corruption

mikeansy:


In the scheme of things calling a man corrupt when he is a common thief trivialises the seriousness.

That's the point the president is making