Since the inauguration of the anti-graft Act 2000, ‘anti-corruption crusade’ has remained a household vocabulary in Nigeria. However, before this time Nigerians at home and in Diaspora have seized every available opportunity to discuss corruption that has been a viable enterprise in government and in private circles. In the process many ideas have been tossed around on how to tackle the social cankerworm. But as more solutions are proffered those itching to get a piece of the corruption-pie seem to have devised better ways to milk the nation dry. Sadly, those occupying political offices are the main culprits. Until the firing of Alhaji Hussaini Zannuwa Akwanga in connection to the ‘alleged involvement in the $214 million National Identity Card scam’ last week the anti-graft commission has been a toothless bulldog.

For a while now, hardly any day would pass without the national dailies reporting one type of corruption scandal or the other. For instance, the erstwhile BPE General Director and the current Minister for FCT, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai courageously reported that two Senators (Jonathan Zwingina and Ibrahim Mantu) demanded N54 million from him to clear his ministerial nomination (Weekly Trust, Dec 6, 2003). The ThisDay of Nov 23, 2003 reported that the Justice Obiora Nwazota Judicial Commission of Inquiry that investigated the mismanagement of the Nigeria Airways has indicted many ‘prominent Nigerians.’ This is not to mention the havoc that is being caused by the thin-gods - the so-called godfathers in Anambra State, the Senate contract scam that led to the Idris Katu panel report, and the unresolved political assassinations during the run-up to the 2003 elections. We cannot catalog all the corruption cases in the society, but must not miss to mention that the ICPC was reportedly ready to prosecute some governors over corruption allegation, but for some reasons retreated. Worse still, the Congress (a group that should spearhead the war against corruption) has often dismissed any corruption charges brought against their members without conducting thorough investigation (the El-Rufai bribery exposure is a case in point). The personalities involved in such fraudulent activities seem to suggest to the ordinary persons on the street that it does not pay to be honest, hardworking, and law-abiding. Sadly, the authorities do not blink, because some of them get their share of the bounty. Thus the system seems to have allowed corruption to blossom, yet, the ICPC and President Olusegun Obasanjo vowed to give the treasury looters a good fight. For this many people seem to envision as an impossible task the concept of building a better Nigeria from the one that has been ruined by corruption.

As mentioned earlier, the public, with the dismissal of the Labour Minister, has received the news it wanted for a long time. Thus the ICPC and the Presidency seem to have developed the political muscle to battle the "big shots" that have been looting the national treasury with impunity. And quite uncharacteristic of the federal government and the ICPC other individuals who participated in the colossal fraud were mentioned (Daily Champion, Dec 5, 2003). But, the question now is, can the Obasanjo Regime sustain the momentum? Although the step taken to bring order to the chaos in the society is praiseworthy, this writer hopes that the firing of the Labour Minister is not designed to show to the Commonwealth Heads of Governments currently meeting in Abuja that the Obasanjo Regime is serious about its anti-corruption crusade. In the past some Ministers, Governors, Political Aides, and politicians connected with those in the corridors of power were given a ‘slap on the wrist’ for being caught with their ‘hand in the cookie jar.’ However, if the Commission is now awoke from slumber (and serious with its functions), it should bring all those involved in National Identity Card scam to book. It should also look around the landscape and prosecute the thieves that are masquerading as politicians, police and custom officers, political contractors, and the judges who have seized every opportunity to issue ‘court injunctions’ to stop the prosecution of the big and corrupt politicians. In addition, the Obasanjo Regime should go beyond the mere firing of a minister and tackle the root causes of corruption in the society - such as unemployment, poverty, moral laxity, me-first-apathy, greed, and rabid materialism. To solve a problem of this magnitude the leaders have to be proactive. According to Ackoff (1978) - an authority in proactive problem solving - proactive problem solving includes designing the future we want and finding the most effective way to get there.

One of the effective ways to tackle corruption in the society is to change the mindset of the youth (and the society at large) by including character education in the school curriculum. The moral education of the youth may in the long run clean up the stained moral fiber of the society, curb corruption and strengthen Nigeria’s fledging democracy. Because the founders of the American democracy believed that moral education is essential for the success of a democratic society. The people aspiring to adopt a democratic system of government must posses the appropriate character to build a free and just society and the moral foundations to make democracy flower in a land where it had never been cultivated. To this end, Thomas Jefferson asserted that loyalty to these democratic virtues must be instilled in the people at an early age.

However, the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, defined good character as the life of right conduct -right conduct in relation to other persons and in relation to oneself (Palmer 1986). This consists of knowing the good, desiring the good, and doing the good -habits of the mind, habits of the heart, and habits of action. Other attributes of good character include respect for the rights of others, regard for the law of the land, and concern for the common good. These virtues are necessary for the moral life of the individuals and that of the nation.

To sustain the momentum in the war against corruption, the Obasanjo Regime must increase the national economic pie by strengthening the existing institutions to enable social policies become effective. As Edison (June 2003) notes, institutions, which have varied definitions, could formally be "defined in terms of the degree of property rights protection, the degree to which laws and regulations are fairly applied, and the extent of corruption." Without appropriate social policies and good institutions, and without the people and companies enjoying meaningful property rights and reliable courts. And without improving governance and reducing corruption and conflicts, and other basic market institutions (Rogoff, June 2003), economic growth and prosperity will continue to elude Nigeria.

Historically, three social institutions share the work of moral education in a society: the home, the church, and the school. When these institutions fail to play their role well, forces hostile to good character rush in to fill the void. That has been the problem with Nigeria! Moral education is not a new idea - it is as old as education itself. Serious and wise societies since the time of Plato have made moral education a deliberate aim of schooling. They educated for good character as well as intellect, decency as well as literacy, virtue as well as knowledge. They tried to educate citizens who would use their intelligence to benefit others as well as themselves, so as to build a better world. But, as many Nigerians are worshiping money and material wealth (and less regard for good character - patriotism, hard work, honesty, altruism and courage), the support for old-fashioned character education in schools has crumbled with morality taking a nosedive in the society. Consequently, the schools are today strewn with cases of vandalism and violence, stealing and cheating in school, disrespect for authority and the laws of the land, peer cruelty (cultism) and upsurge in sexual precocity (premature involvement in sexual activities) and prostitution, illegal drugs, and other self-destructive behaviors. Moral education, however limited, should be part of the agenda in Nigerian schools, because as Theodore Roosevelt noted, ‘to educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace in [a] society.’

The government should also adopt some pro-family policies (adopt good reward system, pay workers basic salary and retirement benefits regularly, fix the dilapidated social infrastructure, etc) to enable parents perform their traditional roles in the family. Because poverty, as it has been noted, breeds corruption! As Lickona (1991) has noted, how well parent teach their children to respect their authority would lay the foundation for their future moral growth. And because of the importance of moral education to the moral health of nations, neither the school nor the family should be a neutral bystander in the character education of the youth.

To sustain the momentum on the crusade against corruption, Nigeria needs ‘values education’ (to teach the values necessary for good citizenship and law-abiding society). Experts in human development have noted that ‘values education’ enables a society to survive and to thrive (to keep itself intact and to grow toward conditions that support full human development of all its members). Therefore, Nigerian youths, like those in other democracies, need some dose of moral education to enable them differentiate between right and wrong and become responsible adults, because ‘democracies have a special need for moral education.’ The absence of moral education in Nigerian schools is probably the main cause of the leadership problem facing the nation today, because those who have made ‘respectable life style’ through crooked means are role models today in communities across the land. Those who want a piece of the ‘national cake’ through the back door are devising ways to thrash the system. And the justification is that everyone is doing that! As a result, the society is today littered with Ghana-Must-Go bag politicians who are concerned only about what they will get from the country, and not how to fructify the resources for the benefit of all in the society.

Thus as William Kilpatrict noted in Why Johnny can’t Tell Right from Wrong, "the core problem facing our schools [and our nation] is a moral one. All the other problems derive from it. Even academic [and social] reform depends on putting character first." And without ‘values education’ Nigeria may not win the war against corruption (and other social vices, such as crime, prostitution and illegal drugs). In addition, to prosper businesses need the labor force with the character traits of honesty, dependability, pride in work, and the capacity to cooperate with others for the common good. Because, as William J. Bennette notes in The Book of Virtues "a person who is morally literate will [ceteris paribus] be immeasurably better equipped than a morally illiterate person to reach a reasoned and ethically defensible position on tough issues." Therefore, looking into the moral side of life is important for every society. Finally, the Obasanjo Regime should keep up the momentum on anti-corruption crusade by going after all the big and corrupt politicians in the society. These actions could change the arcane and confused Nigerian system forever. But the question is, can it sustain the momentum? Doubts remain!

Victor E. Dike, CEO, Center for Social Justice and Human Development (CSJHD) in Sacramento, California is the author of Nigeria and the Politics of Unreason: A Study of the Obasanjo Regime [London: Adonis & Abbey Publishers, November 2003]. To order this book, please contact: www.adonis-abbey.com