Corruption is a societal evil crippling our country Nigeria; who takes the most blame- our leaders or the followers?





Jogs by the sideline as he awaits the announcement of the commencement. That is a Nairaland Debate Competition Team 6 member getting ready for the event at large.

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Team 6 members are to come here with their literary weapons and exhibit their argumentative prowess towards the topic "Corruption is a societal evil crippling our country Nigeria; who takes the most blame, our leaders or the followers?".



UNIUYO, Nairaland University and UNIJOS shield the Leaders while

UNILORIN, and UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN will support the Followers.

Judges: KingTom, adeaks
Coordinator: Fattbabakay
Date: 27th December
Time: 4pm

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CORRUPTION IS A SOCIETAL EVIL CRIPPLING OUR COUNTRY, NIGERIA, WHO
TAKES THE MOST BLAME? OUR LEADERS OR THE FOLLOWERS.


Distinguished Chairman, distinguished panel of judges, my co-debaters and my esteem audience, all protocols observed. Good day to you all. My name is Mustapha Bura, a 200 medical student at the university of Ilorin.
I write through this medium to convince my august audience that the bulk of the blame for the corrupt evil practices crippling our nation stems primarily from poor followership and not merely the absence of good leadership. I begin with a quote from a mentor of mine, he said and I quote " The volumes of people in Nigeria are ignorant " This is a common trait in almost every fabric of our society, cutting across all age groups. People are generally poorly educated, with little or no understanding of the way systems work in their community and the nation at large. I bet if one goes on a public survey about the right of every citizen in our country, the statistics will return no less than 80% being ignorant of their rights. This is a major loophole the leaders of our country have hijacked, that made them to perpetuate themselves in power cycle without the slightest hesitation that their dreaded and monstrous act of corruption will see the light of the day. The common follower doesn't have the simple understanding of the bureaucracratic
principles that one can make use to ascertain the power of the
proletariat. If one takes a random sampling statistics, one will
realize the response not to be farther than this, that they do not
have the knowledge that a senator representating their constituency
needs to have a platform through which he could keep them abreast of
issues or developmental projects concerning their particular
constituency; that they don't know they can present their collective
problem to him and that the onus rest him to bring such issues or
problem before the national Assembly for consideration and effection.
This has led most of our representatives to see us as a mere pun, to
be used and dumped at will without having any form of contact through
out their political tenure, only to come home during the period of
election fever with minimal and temporal development to their wards.


A second major norm that is prevalent in our different societies is the attitudinal grandeur that the common run of the
society attach to political leaders, albeit the fact they are corrupt criminals who in the real world need to be behind the bars. Every known looter and corrupt leader is being glorified and held in high
esteem in his locality, thus, edifying him and making him unremorseful of his devilish criminal acts. Instead of the followers to call him to order for his or her misconduct, we fawn around them everywhere we see them seeking to get immediate gratifications to make ends meet. Thus, we stay in an undeveloped state, characterized by poor water supply, epileptic power supply, poor roads and inefficient hospitals, no kudos
to our attitude towards the same leaders that brought us to the aforementioned problems.


A third and crucial phenomenon that pervades every political society in our nation is the staunch principle of sycophancy and blind followership. People belonging to a particular tribe, region or religion view the act of blind support to one of their own as a duty
entrenched in their cultures and beliefs. Even though it is a glaring fact that such leaders are inept and unfit to represent the populace, we still rally behind them and identify with them in every course,
right or wrong, for the mere fact that he is "one of our own". A particular case is that of the court proceedings ( which I happened to witness, fortunately or unfortunately) between the EFCC and James Ibori of Delta State which took place in the High Court of Justice,
Kaduna, during the Obasanjo tenure. I saw a mammoth crowd of supporters that traveled all the way from Delta State to the venue of the proceedings to drum support and identify with "One of their own" albeit being charged with mindboggling looting of the Delta State
treasury.


Another facet wherein the common followers have their hands deeply soiled in the sand of corruption is the electioneering process. Instead of canvassing for vote through the legal process of discussing manifestoes based on principles and standard, the to be
leaders buy the conscience and votes of the gullible and hungry citizenry. This, to me, is like an investment in the business of lootery, with huge profit expected to be derived from the coffers of the treasury of the state. And guess what? Who is the loser in the long run? Your guess is as good as mine.


My co-debaters, respected judges and esteemed audience, at this juncture, I would like all of us to take a deep breath and have a thought on the issue of discipline and righteousness in the common populace of your respective societies. I would believe that once you return from that journey of thought, you will agree with me that the various nefarious act of indiscipline and unrighteousness had had a hand in shaping the corrupt evil practices we see in our different society. Well, I also took a deep breath and a thought and
here are some of the pictures I was able to conjure : The act of bribing a judge to pass a judgement in our favour; the act of buying examination question papers before the scheduled time for the exam;
the act of "shunting" in a long queue; the act of inflating prices of commodities by the ordinary sales men and women; the act of giving bribe to policemen etc. All these acts of indiscipline and unrighteousness have shapened our thoughts and attitudes over time and
we now see corruption as a normality instead of an abnormality, thus,
condoning the evil and corrupt practices of our leaders.


My respected Judges, co-debaters and my esteem audience, I need not to scratch further into the debris of crimes and wrongs that the followers have piled over time in order to concur with me that the bogus pendulum of the corrupt evil practices swings much more towards
the followership than the leadership of our country, Nigeria. Nevertheless, before "I take a bow and leave" I would like to outline some corrective measures that could help to tame and bring the act of corruption to its knees. First of all, we all need to have mind reorientation and rebranding of our attitudinal views. We need to stop glorifying and edifying every "formalized" thief, wearing the
deceptive gown of leadership; we need to stop idolizing mediocrity instead of expertise in the name of ethnicity and sectionality; we need to develop ourselves educationally so as to "open" our eyes to the reality and finally, we need to instill the act of discipline and
righteousness into our growing youth population. I think you will agree with me without any iota of doubt that if we translate the aforementioned solutions into moving actions, the evil corruption
crippling our society would be nailed to the coffin.


Thank you.



REFERENCES

1. www.transparencyng.com/contributions/13-akintokunbo-adejumo/2808-the-role-of-the-youths-in-nation-building-in-nigeria.html
2. www.thenationonlineng.net/archive2/tblnews_Detail.php?id=40361
3. Wiktionary.com

CORRUPTION IS A SOCIETAL EVIL CRIPPLING OUR COUNTRY, NIGERIA, WHO TAKES THE MOST BLAME? OUR LEADERS OR THE FOLLOWERS.

I start with a quote of Chief Obafemi Awolowo who says “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no ‘Nigerians’ in the same sense as there are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’ or ‘French.’ The word ‘Nigerian’ is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not.”


Distinguished Chairman, distinguished panel of judges, indefatigable moderators, my co-debaters and my conscious readers. All protocols are duly, absolutely observed. My name is Abdulkareem Abdulmumeen, a sophomore student in the department of Anatomy, University of Ilorin, representing my alma mater in this third edition of Nairaland Inter Institution Debate on the aforementioned topic where I am blaming the followers as instructed. As if you don't know, Corruption is defined as dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery. A leader is a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country: ‘the leader of a protest group’; and a follower is one that follows, especially one who accepts the guidance, command, or leadership of another.


Firstly, followers "help" in immortalizing the corrupt politicians and leaders. This is a very rampant attitude of followers which is unanimously unethical. When leaders misappropriate public funds, instead of finding means to bring them to book, followers will be eulogizing them. They make these looters feel respected and honored as if nothing is wrong with their looting. For how long will I continue to pretend that even our present senate President among others, is also a victim of being a pampered looter. His looting was visible even to the blind and audible to the deaf among Kwarans, yet some adulterated and unscrupulous Nigerians were campaigning against his trial at the tribunal after being accused of a 13-count charge of corruption by the Code of Conduct Bureau. That is what am saying. Followers cover these looters with the umbrella of "Our own" even when the hostility of justice bring them rain. Instead of making them feel remorseful of their ungodly act, followers unfortunately give them unmeritorious awards and some royal families even endow these "certified armedless robbers" chieftancy titles for their unquestionable public fund misuse because of their own personal benefits. Neither do we shun them nor do we bring to their notice that it's our collective wealth and not their family wills. This has led to innocent young uprising and promising future leaders hoping to tread the path of accumulation of wealth via corrupt means. Thus, a vicious cycle is set in; recycling of corrupt leaders being normalized in every society at the detriment of the development of the state.


Secondly, followers are the ones establishing examination miracle centres where treacherous and indolent candidates can sit down idly in the exam halls or sit down comfortably in their homes and have A's sloping down in their O Level certificates. As corruption tries to obstruct the vision of Nigeria’s spectacles, there is a need for sensitization against the miniscule acts of corruption in our sphere of influence. Corruption finds its way into the corridors of power because it was not nipped in the bud. Nipping it in the bud starts from the fight against examination malpractices which is an abuse of the intelligence of a students and their integrity; students supposed to be shown only one way towards their academic pursuits which is hardworking and not otherwise. It gets pathetic when you see parents sponsor their children as they enroll fully in the school of examination malpractice. Examination malpractice is a pure example of injustice to hardworking students who do not take part in the ignominious act. Little wonder, we as a nation have an emblem of corruption for ourselves because in the long run, these students with questionable integrity will become our leaders and escalate corruption. and we, followers, blaming them forgetting they are actually products of our examination immorality.


Mr Chairman, followers involvement in corruption of our country could also be traced to evasion and avoidance of individual responsibilities. John F. Kennedy once said, "My fellow Americans, ask, not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" Who says our leaders are saints? Who says Nigeria leaders are not corrupt? Nigerians keep shouting and complaining; our leaders are bad, our roads are not in good condition, our health centres are death centers and on and on like that. But in the real world are these always incompetence of leadership? Of course No! European Journal of Business and Social Sciences reports " Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance..." Why are Nigerians clamouring for the change they refuse to be instrumental to its realization? Nigerians always forget to remember their own deficiencies. Nigerians never envisage on how their own contributions will make difference. How they can alleviate poverty by nongovernmental organizations. Only to blame the leaders. Even if the linen worn by our leaders are thick with the grime of corruption, shall we not take it to the laundry of true justice? The laundry of justice where all acts of injustice will be convicted and brought under the meticulous microscope of the Law.


Another way corruption is crippling our country and will, if care is not taken, continue to, is the indiscriminate cursing of leaders by the followers. Nigerians send their leaders more missiles and grenades of curses than prayers. If one takes a survey of Nigerians that pray for their leaders today, hardly will one get 10%. Sometimes at home, whenever Radio Nigeria is tuned in and I hear "Radio Nigeria... Uplifting the people and uniting the Nation" I'll just leave that place because I know cursing our leaders will be imminent. The most annoying part of this is, most of these people cursing are neither civil servants nor salary earners. So in this type of situation, the blame of looting of our leaders will rest on us, the followers because cursing brings no good but harm which followers are directly wishing their leaders and indirectly wishing themselves.


Conclusively, Mr Chairman, indefatigable judges and my patient readers, the panacea for the aforementioned blames of followers is for them to accept and correct those nonchalance attitudes like stopping the production of bad leaders at miracle centres of examination; knowing and taking their responsibilities for a better Nigeria and not just expect heavens and earths from our leaders as if they are gods among mortals; frowning eyes to corrupt leaders and not just the continuity of pampering and desist from cursing them instead beseech divine guidance for their successful administrations. Not until then Nigeria will be a corruption-free country and a habitable atmosphere for all and sundry. I am sure you must have, having read this from the genesis, concur with me by now that, as I used to say " Our P are our P and not our P" meaning, Our Problems are our People and not our President.

Thank you.


REFERENCES
1. Path to Nigerian Freedom by Chief Obafemi Awolowo
2. http://mobile.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnfkenn109213.html
3. http://www.thefreedictionary.com
4. General Studies in The Humanity: Topical Issues. University of Ilorin
5. European Journal of business and Social Sciences. Abstract by Dr. Abdurahman Olalekan, Department of Political science, Lagos State university, LASU
6. http://www.thescoopng.com/osho-samuel-a-corrupt-nigeria-so-who-is-responsible/
7. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/190161-conduct-bureau-slams-13-count-corruption-charge-on-senate-president-bukola-saraki.html

“Nigerians are what they are only because their leaders are not what they should be” Chinua Achebe
Nigeria as a country, can be described as a “chick sitting on corn and yet dying of hunger”, Nigeria which is home to numerous natural resources coupled with a large human resource, is still ranking very low when it comes to development. Among other factors, corruption seems to account to a large percentage for this unfortunate situation, and the set of people who should take the lion share of the blame are the leaders.
I am noskyboy, representing University of Jos, arguing that the leaders are to blame for corruption in Nigeria. Good day moderators, judges, co-debaters and all.
Corruption is a global problem, and exists in varying degrees in different countries, but it is more prevalent in the developing countries like Nigeria. The definition of corruption provided by Atlas (1968) and Lipset and Lenz (2000) provides a clear picture for us, especially in the context of the topic at hand. Altas (1968) sees corruption as a symptom of dysfunctionality of the relationship between the state and the people, characterized by bribery, extortion and nepotism. Lipset and Lenz (2000) views corruption as an effort to secure wealth or power through illegal means for private benefit at public expense. Corruption don’t occur in a vacuum, it is perpetuated by someone or set of people. In the case of Nigeria, corruption has become so wide spread that it is perpetuated in different forms by almost all and sundry, and Nigeria over the years has been ranked high for wide spread corruption, especially political corruption and corruption in government, therefore by implication Nigeria would be among the constant recipient of medals if corruption was an Olympic sport. Corruption has a negative effect on Nigeria, this is evident in the fact that almost all sectors of the country, have either broken down or is on the verge of breaking down simply because resources and funds for developing the country have been corruptly used.
The big question remains, who is to blame for corruption in Nigeria? Our answer is simple; the leaders must take the blame. Aiyede (2006) defines a leader as “an individual appointed to a job with authority, and accountability to accomplish the goals and objectives of the society. Therefore in this context, a leader is anyone who occupies any public position, elected, appointed or promoted. I am going to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the leaders are to blame for corruption in Nigeria, using the arguments below;
Leaders set the trend: The primary function of any leader is to set the trend for others to follow. A leader must possess the ability to create in the followers the necessary enthusiasm and put in every necessary effort to deliver on set goals. Thus the leader must have the ability to conceive and communicate a vision or idea is to followers. Therefore whatever situation you find in any country the first place to look, is to the leaders. This means that leaders practically lead the country by their actions and deeds not by long speeches. This has been exemplified by leaders like Abraham Lincoln of USA, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Le Kwan Yu of Singapore and the likes, such leaders created a clear vision and stayed true to it and so did their followers. As for Nigeria, the leaders and heads of state that have lead Nigeria from its inception till date, have either been convicted or investigated for corrupt practices (Wikipedia 2015). This is coupled with the ostentatious and flamboyant life style of those in public offices. To maintain such life style they live way above their earnings, and public funds are then converted to private use. Where we have leaders who themselves engage in corruption what kind of example and vision are they setting for the followers? One that encourages corruption I guess. And on what grounds do the leaders want to stop subordinates and followers from engaging in corruption? Therefore if anybody must be blamed for corruption in Nigeria, the leaders must be the first to be blamed.
Another major reason why the leaders must be blamed for corruption in Nigeria is the fact that, corrupt leaders and public office holders don’t get punished or persecuted for corrupt practices and the reason for this is very simple, viewing from a Marxist perspective, it is easy to understand that the ruling class controls the law. This is evident in Nigeria; we constantly see the political class escape the law with grave crimes. The same leaders, who make the laws, break the laws and the legal system is powerless because they are controlled by the leaders, evidence to prove this isn’t far from reach, the case of the Police Pension Fund Fraud involving John Yusuf, who was given two years sentence or a fine of #750,000 for a scam worth #32billion, the subsidy scam, the NNPC $20billion scam and a host of other corruption cases reported on the media, perpetuators went unpunished. A country with such structure cannot be free from wide spread corruption, because the younger generation and the public are inculcating a culture of corruption and people aspire to be in public offices not for service but for personal gains through embezzlement of public funds because they have been taught by the leaders that the system rewards those who are corrupt.
Another reason why corruption should be blamed on the leaders is that the leaders who are entrusted with public funds meant for development, which would automatically alleviate the poverty of the common man have been embezzled, according to Transparency International reports, Nigeria has lost over $400billion to corruption, therefore the populace have been left to fend for themselves in the harshest of conditions ,as such the common man and average Nigerian becomes enticed to engaging in corrupt practices to survive, it becomes a case of “all man for himself and the devil gets the last man”. The once booming textile industry is dead, same with other industries, refineries don’t work, Agriculture neglected, electricity is inconsistent, small and medium enterprises don’t get support neither do they have a favourable environment to function and whose fault is this, absolutely the leadership. As such, no employment for the common man. To survive his last resort is to engage in corrupt practices. This adds to the corruption done by leaders and at the end what we have is a country where everyone is potentially corrupt either as a result of opportunity or bad circumstances and all because of bad leadership.
Chinua Achebe, a renowned Nigerian Novelist proclaimed that “The trouble with Nigeria is squarely a failure of leadership… The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility of personal example ….”. I had an experience with a little boy, he said he wants to be a governor; I asked him what a governor does, he said, nothing but by cars, build houses and enjoy life. This indicates that the leaders are not just to blame for corruption, but they also help in socializing the upcoming generation into a culture of corruption. Thank you all.

Reference
Achebe, C. (1983) The Trouble with Nigeria. Fourth Dimension Publishing Co.; New Ed edition (5 Sept. 2000)
Aiyede, R. E. (2006) “The Role of INEC, ICPC and EFCC in Combating Political Corruption” in Money, Politics and Corruption in Nigeria. Abuja: Garkida Press.
Altas, S. H. (1986) The Sociology of Corruption: The Nature, Function, Causes and Prevention of Corruption. Singapore. Hoong Fatt Press.
Article on Corruption in Nigeria. retrieved from http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption-in-Nigeria
Ebegbulem (2012) corruption and leadership crisis in Africa: Nigeria in focus. International journal of business and social science vol. 3 no. 11;
Police pension fraud: A chronology of plea bargain compromises. Retrieved from http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/02/police-pension-fraud-a-chronology-of-plea-bargain-compromises/
http://scannewsnigeria.com/featured-post/nigeria-has-lost-over-400billion-oil-revenue-since-independence-says-ezekwesili/

Olalarey
this is it

Olalerey, 300level law student, representing the Premier university, University of Ibadan (first speaker)

Nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world with an estimated population of over 170 million people, is endowed with a lot of natural resources which include crude oil, coal, tin, columbite and obviously a vast human resources. The country which is perceived as the giant of Africa in some quota got its independence from Britain in the year 1960, since then, Nigeria has been ruled by thirteen (13) leaders at different point of its history, either as military head of state and/or democratically elected president (with a few exceptions). All this thirteen (13) heads of states and presidents which to an extent, reflects the diversity of Nigeria in terms of ethnicity and religious beliefs have one thing in common; they all have allegations of corruption attached to their names.
Corruption is a societal evil, crippling our country Nigeria; who takes the most blame, our leaders or the followers.
My name is obiZEAL, I am representing the bright students of University of Jos, but before I continue, I will like to send my unreserved appreciation to seun, the founder of Nairaland for his ingenuity which has provided us with this platform and also to the inventors and coordinators of NISD, not forgetting the judges and my opponents. I am arguing that our leaders should take the most blame for the corruption that is crippling our beloved country Nigeria.
Corruption, according Transparency International (TI), is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, TI further stated that corruption can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amount of money lost and the sector where it occurs.
To justify my stand on this debate, I will carefully analyze the 2014 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International (TI) which ranks Nigeria 136/175, this implies that Nigeria is the 39th most corrupt Nation out of the 175 countries examined. Nigeria scored 27 CPI (where 0 means a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 100 means that a country is perceived as very clean) behind Denmark which scored 92 CPI and Botswana with 63 CPI. The CPI score is based on how corrupt a country's public institutions are perceived to be. Public institutions in Nigeria include Federal and State executive councils, Local government and municipal government, National and State assemblies, NNPC, Nigerian customs, FIRS, NPF and a host of others. All the above mentioned institutions construct into the ''leaders'' of Nigeria and these leaders have been ranked as corrupt by TP. Now, a close look at Botswana will show that they have less resources compared to Nigeria, but surprisingly, a survey carried out by United Nations shows that Nigeria's Developmental Index from 2005 to 2013 was just 0.49 points, while that of Botswana from 1980 to 2013 was as high as 0.62 points, further study of the survey shows that in the year 2013 alone, Botswana scored 0.683 points while Nigeria scored 0.504 points. This comparison shows that although Nigeria is potentially richer than Botswana, the level of corruption in Nigeria's public institutions, which is carried out by the leaders of these institutions have crippled the country's development.
With this succinct comparison which is backed by statistics from reliable organizations, it should be clear to all and sundry that Nigeria's Leaders are to be blamed for the corruption inherent in Nigeria.
To further highlight why our leaders should take the most blame, if not the total blame for the corruption that has marred our country’s progress, I will bring to light part of the data released by United Nations concerning Nigeria's corruption. The report indicated that Nigeria lost a whooping sum of 400 billion dollars to corruption and corruption related practices which has plunged the nation into untold poverty and hardship, executive director of United Nation Office on Drug and Crime, UNODC, Antonio Costa was quoted as saying ''... Unscrupulous leaders( Nigerian leaders) pilfered the national coffers and stashed away billions of dollars in foreign bank accounts...'' the sanctity of this statement as it relates to this debate is unquestionable, this is because in a democratic country like Nigeria, our leaders and the ruling elites, have, sometimes, unrestricted access to our National treasury, this one privilege followers don't have, this have rendered our treasury at the mercy of our leaders, simple logic will tell you that you can't blame someone who have never entered a building for anything that goes missing in the building. If our leaders had been a little more credible with our wealth, the 400 billion dollars which Antonio Costa said, when placed end to end can make 75 round trips to the moon, would have been enough to finance Nigeria's 2015 budget of 4.36 trillion Naira, pay off our external debts and we will still have left over funds that can be used to build thousands of kilometer of roads, hundreds of schools, hospitals and water treatment facilities that would have increased the standard of living of Nigerians.
Finally, I will like to bring to bare one last reason, as regards this debate, which absorbs the followers from sharing any blame for the corruption that has ravaged our beloved country. Section 308 of the 1999 constitution provides impunity to some certain people in our society, it is stated clearly in the constitution that '' no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against a person to whom this section applies during his period of office'' it further stated that '' a person to whom this section applies shall not be arrested or imprisoned during the period either in pursuance of the process of any court or otherwise''. NO, this much talked about ‘person’ in this section of the constitution that have been given the go ahead to rob the nation and carry out corrupt practices without any fear of punishment what so ever, are not the followers, this 'person' is the leader.
Simple reasoning will reveal to anyone who is objective enough to engage in such, that if we have a Mr. A and a Mr. B, with Mr. A being fully aware that he will be punished for any act of corruption he indulge in and a Mr. B knowing that he is protected by law from being 'arrested or imprisoned' for any act of corruption and dishonesty, Mr. B will likely enrich himself with resources that belongs to millions of people. That is exactly the case obtainable in Nigeria, we have had presidents and governors looting the treasury of the country or states for years, effectively protected by the immunity clause, and when it is time for them to leave office, the manipulate the electoral process and install their stalwart and surrogates who covers their tracks and continue the looting from where his/her predecessor left off, there by plunging the nation into a vicious cycle of corrupt leaders which leaves us with the kind of situation we have now; corruption, a societal evil crippling our country Nigeria.
The above outlined facts are self-evident and stand to suggest that, in no condition should the Nigerian citizens (in this case, followers) be blamed for the corruption that have brought the giant of Africa to its knees.


References
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik/Corruption_in_Nigeria
http://sunnewsonline.com/new/nigerias-latest-corruption-perception-ranking/
http://www.transparency.org/country/NGA
http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results
http://www.compareallcountries.com/Botswana/Nigeria/human_development/
http//firstafricanews.ng/index.php?dbs=openlist&s=13351
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/187783-nigeria-lost-over-n6-4-trillion-to-corruption-ridden-nnpc-oil-sales-nrgi-report.html

http://segundawodu.com/olaniyonu2.htm
http://thelawyerschronicle.com/the-immunity-clause-under-the–nigerian-1999-constitution-a-curse-or-a-blessing/

Dongraspo and Geestarry for Uniuyo

cc fynestboi

Geestarry:
Dongraspo and Geestarry for Uniuyo


cc fynestboi

OK seen...

Thollulope
2nd speaker
representin the university of ibadan

Nice one.. Smiles..

Do we have all the school fully represented.?




Stroll through the thread..


Lol thank God we do...

All participants get ready... To ignite this thread with your essay...

We are starting in the next 5mins ...

Judges are we set?





KingTom
Sateje
Adeaks

Participants ready?

Shifting ground for the coordinator In charge.



fattbabakay

Yeah

Let me remind you of the topic again...


Corruption is a societal evil crippling our country Nigeria; who takes the most blame- our leaders or the followers?

Participants you have just one hour to unveil your essay. Your time starts now.






Thanks..

The last General Presidential Election in Nigeria was like a revolution in the History of Election Engineering in Nigeria as almost, if not all, Nigerians, both literate and non literate, glued to their television becoming 'mathematicians' overnight all in the name of trying to have their in government and change the course of the latter to suit their demand. I wondered if my learned opponent was not a party to such a historic development. Also, last week, I was at miss Simbi's Wedding ceremony where 'A', I MEANT ONE SOUVENIR, was being given out to everyone that was present there but unfortunately, I could still see sister Mulika, brother Solo and Madam Kenke trying to get two, three or even more souvenirs for themselves at the expense of other people who had not even got one. WHAT A LIFE! Good day the incorruptible panel of judges, amiable moderators , my learned opponents and highly esteemed intellectual audience. I am Olalerey, a bonafide representative of the Premier University, University of Ibada. I am canvassing my succinct argument on the topic that " THE FOLLOWERS , NOT THE LEADERS ARE TO TAKE MOST BLAME OF THE CORRUPTION WHICH IS AN EVIL CRIPPLING NIGERIAN ECONOMY". However before I proceed, for vast knowledge of the intellectual discourse, I will like to define the keyword, 'corruption, using the following authorities; First, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission Act, Section 2 states " corruption includes vices like bribery, fraud , extortion and other related offences". Also, Meriam Webster Dictionary says "it is an impairment of integrity, virtues or moral principles; it is also an inducement to improper or unlawful means(bribery)". also, Law.com Dictionary describes the word 'corrupt' as being disloyal or spoilt" Corruption is at the root of many of Nigeria’s problems. Corruption takes many forms and infiltrates all political institutions and economic sectors. In 2013, Transparency International deemed Nigeria one of the most corrupt nations in the world, ranking as 144th in Corruption Perception Index out of the 177 countries measured. Mathematically, it shows that Nigeria was the 33rd most corrupt country in 2013. In the year 2012, a Gallup poll found that 94% of Nigerians thought corruption was widespread in their government. The spoils of political corruption— billions of US dollars—are stashed in foreign bank accounts. The Abacha administration in the 1990s notoriously looted upwards of $3 billion. Since then, government institutions like the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and Economic and financial crimes Commission have been put in place to eradicate or reduce the level of corruption in Nigeria, however, some myopic Nigerians have been ironically pointing accusing fingers to leaders with ignorance of the consequences of their frivolous and economic destroying acts. For instance, Take a look around you; your everyday activities, the people you meet, the deals you get involved in. The things you have seen or heard; ranging from policemen taking bribes, the market women that reduce the size of their measuring device to make extra profit, to the students that give threats or offer their bodies to lecturers to obtain marks, the admission process in our tertiary institutions, West Africa Examination Council "miracle" centres, ghost workers, pension scam, and people like brother Simon,of sister Mulika and madam Kenke cited above. Are we not worse than our leaders? Thus, to prove my stand that the followers and not the leaders should take most of the blame of the corruption which is an evil crippling our economy in Nigeria, the following are my points. First,"Man Know thyself" said Aristotle, this made man to have his independent individual opinion and express what he feels. Every citizen of Nigeria has his political rights which he can exercise at any fixed time no matter how the government of the day is cruel, no wonder past governments or leaders who were corrupt, like Abacha and Babangida and even heads of Ministries like Oduah, were made known to the public through the peopls'natural way of critic, so also leaders that have been commended in the past. So it follows that if corruption has eaten so deep into our economy now, the followers should be mostly blamed for such since they failed to exercise the political powers bestowed on them as even the Latin Maxim says ' Vigilantibus Et Non Dormientibus Jura Subveniunt', meaning Equity only aids the VIGILANT AND NOT THE INDOLENT. Our inactions as followers is the greatest form of ignorance in such times where our governments have been busy over their own agenda other than her citizens who are the tax-payers.Prot ests, industrial actions and union related measures have in recent times swayed and altered the decision of governments, keynotes references are the MASS PROTEST AGAINST FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL IN 2012 and the ASUU STRIKE of 2013 which negates the moral, civic responsibilities and virtue of this unions. Also, personal interest in the mind of followers has overshadowed their senses towards their duties, their moral guage is at low ebbs.Public officesare being abused through the use of subtle 'incentives' such as cars, kickbacks, commissions and other settlement that leads to malpractices in resource allocations, taxpayers also bribe tax collector peanuts just to evade paying due taxes. Such bilious acts cost the government estimated revenues that were to be used in development of infrastructures.So are these the leaders' fault? Also, the leader which my learned opponent is even arguing to take most of the blame, were they not followers before they became what they became? Or can a house stand without its foundation? Or can any House of Assembly sit without the mace present in the House? Obviously, these are impossibilities that can never happen and so, since the followers are the foundation of every set up, then minimal will be the blame of the follower when he becomes a leader since he is merely doing what he had nurtured when he was a follower. Also, my learned opponent may say that since leaders are the one enforcing government decisions then they should take most of the blame. Yes, that is true but I strongly beg to differ as we all know that without the followers the leaders cannot even think of enforcement or have we all forgot how we try to avoid the monthly sanitation just for us to carry out our self deceptive activities? In conclusion, to my ever viewing audience, incorruptible panel of judges, I will leave with you all this poem by Delbbie Djay which goes as follows " I look and I wonder When will we stop all this plunder All the creativity and talents we continue to murder All the progress and peace we refuse to further I look and I think when will we stop to paint this nation with stink, all the hopes and aspirations we continue to sink All the injustice we see and refuse to blink Then I look and I realise that, until we stop to marginlise and trivalise, until we stop pointing fingers and start to sacrifice, our aims and goals WILL NEVER materialise!" Thanks. References. http://nigerianwiki.com/wiki/­ War_Against_Indiscipline http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/ jun/24/dutch-government-ordered-cut-carbon- emissions-landmark-ruling www.law.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/V/ VigilantibusEtNonDormientibusJuraSubveniunt.as px www.nigerianobservernews.com/2015/06/23/ corruption-bane-of-nigerias-development/ #sthash.70hdey2R.dpbs

CORRUPTION IS A SOCIETAL EVIL CRIPPLING OUR COUNTRY NIGERIA; WHO TAKES THE MOST BLAME -OUR LEADERS OR THE FOLLOWERS?

Good evening the moderators, erudite judges and my co-debaters. I am Grace Kalu, representing University of Uyo. I am of the school of thought that the leaders take the most blame for corruption in Nigeria.

Etymologically, corruption is derived from a Latin word "corruptus" which means "to break or destroy". Literally, corruption means to break away or depart from morality, ethics and civic virtues. The World Bank defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gains. It is pertinent to note that public office is abused for private gains when an official accepts, solicits or extorts a bribe. The Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia defines it as a wrong doing by those in special position of trust. SECTION 2 of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offenses Commission Act, 2000 defines corruption to include bribery, fraud and other related offenses.

A leader, for the purpose of this argument is a representative of the people, a person held in a special position of trust. This presupposes the inclusion of the class representative, student union leaders, heads of educational and health institutions, religious leaders as well as governors and presidents.

At this juncture, it is trite to establish that this argument is not meant to show that Nigeria is corrupt for this is a glaring and an undisputable fact, rather it is to establish why leaders are to take the blame for the prevalence of corruption in Nigeria.

Corruption is caused generally by greed, lack of positive values, porous system, weak enforcement and oversight mechanisms, excessive materialism, societal pressure, lack of virile welfare structures, insecurity of employment tenure, indiscipline, inordinate desire for wealth accumulation, nepotism which includes partiality, favoritism, preferential treatment, bias, discrimination etc. (Media Advocacy Development; 2013).

A cursory look at those causes of corruption will reveal that most of them are the Achilles' heel of our leaders. Inordinate desire for wealth accumulation by our leaders causes him to use the office as a means to exploit or 'get-rich-quick'. Thus, a student union leader in the University will use his office to execute personal projects like buying a car or land, to the detriment of the students. Also, a look at the allowances and budgets of our political leaders will reveal that public funds are used to ensure (their) extreme comfort. In fact, not so long ago, we were surrounded with the news of our government's plan to reduce the 18,000 naira minimum wage of our civil servants. In the light of this, Senator Ben Bruce observed that the measure 18,000 naira may not even feed the dogs of our political office holders for a month.

My learned opponents, would you say that nepotism, a cause of corruption in Nigeria which includes favoritism, preferential treatment, discrimination etc should be blamed on followers? I would not agree; the followers, usually at the receiving ends, are plagued at their expense especially against their will. This is an effect of corruption. Check our university admission lists, our job offer lists, in fact many of such other lists and you would be surprised to see the level of favoritism otherwise known as 'man-know-man' by the common man.

Nigeria today is a nation at crossroads struggling with all forms of vices. The menace called corruption is a big problem in the country. Its effects are quite glaring. It undermines the National image. Thus, it is hard to attract external investors to Nigeria as every Nigerian is viewed as corrupt and dubious outside. Little wonder Nigeria has been consistently ranked among the most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International.

Corruption has threatened the survival of this nation as it prevents the provision of basic social amenities for the citizenry. The money meant for development is often pocketed by a few thus increasing the impossibility of good governance.

It has affected our health sector as well as our educational institutions. As at today, not even one of the universities in Nigeria is rated among the first 100 in the world and none is rated among the best in Africa.

The level of unemployment and under-development in the country is as a result of corruption. Mass poverty is engendered by corruption. Directly or indirectly, infrastructural decay can be traced to corruption. The corrupt attitude of past and present leaders have led to the total collapse of power as well as the road and railway network in the country today. Also, corruption in Nigeria is the breeding ground for crimes and terrorism as well as youth agitation. Ask Boko Haram and Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), they will tell you better.

Furthermore, because of corruption in Nigeria, a massive brain drain has occurred as a great number of Nigeria's best brains have been driven to other parts of the world where they now spearhead developmental and scientific exploits.

I can go on and on but at this point, it is evident that the answer to the big question is that leaders take most of blame for corruption in Nigeria as the cart follows the horse. The 'leaders in Nigeria' being the horse and the followers, the cart.

This argument would be purposeless if I do not mention how leaders could help change the course. Nigeria would be ready to fight corruption when it starts the fight from the Justice administration system. The Judiciary is the hope of the common man and until judges are stopped from being corrupt, they will not have the moral capital to be just. The country's media should struggle for the achievement of anti-corruption war. Therefore, all hands must be on deck so that the war could be won.

Conclusively, in as much as leaders are to be accustomed most of the blame, we should strive to drain the swamp that breeds the mosquito rather than concentrate only on killing the mosquito.

THANK YOU.




Word count : 987



REFERENCES
www.antigraft.org/cc-case/corruption-case-nigeria

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/corruption_in_nigeria

www.peoplesdailyng.com/corruption-in-nigeria-who-is-to-blame/

Fynestboi:
Participants you have just one hour to unveil your essay. Your time starts now.






Thanks..

are we to modify the space we booked or just post our essays below?

noskyboy:

are we to modify the space we booked or just post our essays below?

Modify the booked space.

Olalerey 2 post was that a mistake?

i have moved my essay to the space i booked above. thanks.

fattbabakay:
Modify the booked space.

I fit go rest.