Over the years, I noticed that in Nigeria most people don't take plagiarism serious( including politician, lecturers etc)

What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is the act of  copying another person's ideas,text, or other creative work, and presenting it as one's own, especially without permission.

When I entered into higher institution, we were told that plagiarism is wrong and we're taught proper citation and referencing. But to my surprise, most lecturers in that same institution never cite their work.
They will just give handouts without any references. In fact some will copy and paste a part of a textbook or an article from the net without giving reference. But yet this same lecturers will still tell you to give reference when doing their assignment.

Some weeks ago, A former central bank governor was dragged before the federal high court over an alleged case of plagiarism was recently discovered. Ask your yourself How many Nigerian students, even amongst the best of the best can produce an original work of proper Thesis/Dissertation without cutting corners and transgressing. Some days ago, A lecturer in one of the Nigerian universities said “ Dipo, What you discuss with me about Plagiarism in the our institutions is what has been disturbing me even as a Lecturer in Nigeria, It is appalling that majority of our students (Undergraduates, Graduate students and Postgraduates are not made aware of the grave consequences of plagiarism”(Dipo Daramola, 2014)

Most cases of plagiarism are considered misdemeanors, punishable by fines of anywhere between $100 and $50,000 — and up to one year in jail. Plagiarism can also be considered a felony under certain state and federal laws. For example, if a plagiarist copies and earns more than $2,500 from copyrighted material, he or she may face up to $250,000 in fines and up to ten years in jail.(from www.plagiarism.org)

Therefore I urge every Nigerian to take referencing serious because plagiarism is a crime . Students and the population should be highlighted on the dangers of plagiarism. In the West plagiarism is a crime(literary offence) and may attract fines or gail terms.

Author : Kalatium