There is no such thing as Corruption in Nigeria #occupynigeria

I had the privilege to live and work in Nigeria for almost two years and in that time I met loads of Nigerian Politian’s, including His Excellency The President. But for the context of this post I have to go back to before I left England and headed to Naija. Before I left I went online and read all about the country. Violence, Fat Houses, poverty, no education, no roads, no health care, massive unemployment, and of course corruption, that’s all you read when researching Nigeria, that’s the outside world’s view of Nigeria. Fact, everything they say is correct, and is understated. Fact, all of this does not tell the whole story of one of this planets most wonderful countries. As you read this, know that the author is a super fan of Nigeria, I truly love the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its people.

But after living there I have to say, there is no such thing as corruption in Nigeria, not as we in the west know it. I remember a number of conversations with very senior people, “big boys” and journalists and they would all tell me the same thing, there is no corruption. But hold on I hear you say, we can see it, everywhere, and I for one experienced it, first hand. So what are they talking about? What am I talking about? Nigerians are very patriotic, they love their country and so no Nigerian will ever admit to me, an oyibo, that it exists. What does exist is “the Game”, and every single person plays that game.

“Eating the money” became my favourite expression within weeks of me arriving, “Chopping the money” and “small smalls” were sayings I soon had to learn the meaning of. You see the Game is how this country works, or rather, it is why this country does not work, but most Nigerians don’t see that. If a normal person chops some money, that’s okay, if a Politian does it, that’s the game, if an outsider does it, wahala day, especially if that outsider is black. No Politian in Nigeria can get anywhere without playing the game, no one. The game is so ingrained in the fabric of the nation, it is so integral that the whole system relies on it.

During my time in Nigeria I saw it first hand, Tax collectors, Union Representatives, Judges and Lawyers, hotel staff, sales people, suppliers, accountants, doctors and teachers, charity workers, including UN staff, civil servants, journalists, tourism officials, NGO’s, the police, government officials, immigration people, the SSS, absolutely everyone was playing the game in one way or the other. It is not corruption, it is the way it is, the way the country’s economy is built, even the anti-corruption people are playing the game ! But for me as an outsider, an oyibo, the single biggest failing of the system is that they would eat the money before doing the job, at the expense of doing the job, so nothing moves forward, nothing improves.