The United States Embassy in Nigeria has pointed out that corruption is not limited to diversion of funds but includes a wide range of other infractions, among which is nepotism.
In a Facebook post it made on Friday, the US Embassy noted that instances where public funds were diverted to personal accounts and where a public officer unfairly gives jobs to relatives were tantamount to corruption.
Furthermore, instances of police officers demanding for a tip before granting passage to vehicles and where companies scheme to put their competitors out of business through corporate espionage and bribery were classified as corruption.
The US Embassy’s descriptions on corruption did set the tone for Nigerians who commented on the post with their own experiences of corruption in the country.
Commenting, Odom Egga said corruption was when public officials vow to fight corruption but shield those who are corrupt and punish those perceived as enemies.
In her own description, Osayande Osarumwense equated corruption to nepotism, disobedience to the rule of law and anti-corruption agencies turning away from investigating the $5 milliion bribery allegation against Governor Abdullahi Ganduje (of Kano State).
According to Sulaimon Olusegun, corruption was when the Not-Too-Young-to-Rule bill is passed into law yet the executive asks the youth to wait till 2023.
While Chibueze Steve described corruption as inflation of public contracts, Isaac Ehi likened graft to when government appointment is tilted towards a particular geopolitical zone or ethnic group in the country.
Another Nigerian, Kunle Ajayi, simply described corruption as nepotism, mediocrity and neo-colonialism, while Mahmoud Bala referred to executive interference in the functions of the legislature and judiciary as corruption.
For Amb-Swiss Emmanuel, corruption is “when a public official is waiting to be tipped to do his job; when citizens pay for services that are not rendered; when citizens fail to do the right thing; when a court adjourns cases that witnesses have testified; when young citizens sell their future by accepting N1,000 at polling stations; when the courts only prosecute those in the opposition.”
In his own comment, Ugosinachi Mezie averred that a government in power politicising security agencies to cater for their selfish interests was corruption, while Olu Hebron termed corruption as a situation where a lecturer requests money for a student to be given a pass mark.
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