History As A Weapon Against Corruption And A Tool For Creating Right Moral Values
In nigeria today,corruption has penetrated in to every facet of human existence.it is in the home,in the work place and in the places of worship. however,where it is more shamelessly and blindly perpetrated is in the government of the nation. As a result, a great percentage of the population live in generous poverty.Yet,we have all the necessary resources for our dear country to stand tall in the circle of the world's tallest nations.
Corruption and poverty are cause and effect to one another.As a result of corruption, poverty became wide spread and government at all levels are lagging far behind in service delivery.Thus ,citizens have to pay exhorbitantly for basic amenities of the twenty first century,such as good schools, motorable roads,reliable electricity supply etc.,that should have been made easily accessible by a good government.On the other hand ,people who are priviledge to be in government or hold key positions in the private and public sectors steal as much money as they could, so they can send their children to best schools any where in the world,buy jeeps to navigate bad roads or fly about in air planes.Hence,it is easy for them to be oblivious to the manace of the two ugly monsters keeping the under privilege masses in gloom and doom.
The situation has so degenerated that people accord great respect to, or even worship,individuals who have become stupendously rich through looting of our national treasury and other dubious means.A prevailing tendency in the land seems to be get rich, aquire and aquire,never mind how.We have become virtually stagnant in the face of the western rapid technological and socio-cultural advancement .Even an average Nigerian is incline to belief that white is superior to black,just because white is white.Should this be the case,must we as a nation accept abnormalities as our destiny?
For over a decade now,the fight against corruption has been much pronounced in the activities of the EFCC(Economic and Financial Crime Commission) and the ICPC(Independent Corrupt Practices Commission) .Yet there is still plenty of rooms to ask if really a march is on to heal the country of its malady.Hunting down and prosecuting corrupt people should not be the sole focus of the fight.There should be a well planned campaign geared towards changing peoples mind-set and general perception of the true essence of life.In doing this,we can not do without history and its lessons.
History is an insight in to the past,for the understanding of the present in anticipation of the future.If we shun it,we are forgeting our past and thus losing our identity.We must now begin to help ourselves to its endless well of knowlege in order to better our situation.
The lesson of history should be made compulsory in elementary schools up to the senior seecondary school level,and packaged in such a way that it will introduce the younger generations to their father land,show them their past heroes and also tell them about the ones still living.Let them know about the qualities and sacrifices that have earned them memorable places in the course of our history as a nation. For instance,why Awolowo,Habert macauley,Azikiwe,Muritala among others,happened to be on the feces of different denomination of our naira;let them know the essence of june 12,1993 and what professor Dora Akuyili did with NAFDAC( National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Conntrol).This must be done in such a way that by the time such a child left the secondary school.he or she knows enough about the country to stimulate pride and passion for her prosperity.In the future,when such a child comes to hold a position of authority,the probability that right practices will be chosen over corrupt ones becomes very strong.
Historical documentries, writen biographies and biographical films,which tell about nigerians and africans who have done great deeds that earned them respect throughout the world, should be encouraged and sponsored by government at all levels.They should see this as part of their effort towards building a better society for the benefit of all.
By the time the general public come to realise that exceptional achievements,ingenuity and outstanding creativity is not restricted to any particular race or class of people,that service to humanity has more lasting effect than service to oneself and family,then there will be self-confident and ground for the right mind-set, which we need to reduce corruption to the barest minimum.So i say, we should take history as one of the fundamental tools in solving our problem.
By Bello Akinola Akeem.