Participants at a one day stakeholders meeting have identified decades of unchecked corruption in Nigeria’s public institutions as bane of good leadership which they said have destroyed public faith in governance and created a sense of fatalism.
The Executive Director Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR), Comrade Idris Miliki made this known on Wednesday in Lokoja during a One Day Review Meeting for Media and CSOs on Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Accountability in Elections in partnership with Shehu Musa Yar’adua Foundation.
He noted that citizens are unlikely to be motivated to combat corruption because experience suggests that nothing will change, saying that this perception must change if the war against corruption must be won.
Miliki also stressed that the fight against corruption can be won if new approaches are adopted to create social incentives for collection action against corruption.
He said leaders must inspire faith in Anti-Corruption efforts by implementing tangible reforms in public institutions.
“Civil society and community leaders must develop and promote a national social contract that rewards accountability and enforces social sanctions for unacceptable behaviours.
“Traditional approaches to anti-corruption messaging in Nigeria have been characterized by sensational reporting of corruption cases involving huge amounts of money or the use of extreme language to eliminate undesirable behaviour,” he said.
The executive director also added that an effective way to also tackle corruption would be to teach children to recognize it, reject it and condemn those who tolerate it.
He opined that school curriculum must incorporate ethics and civil education in the curriculum so that the right culture can be inculcated in the children from their tender age.
Miliki added that parents, teachers and school administrators must recognise their responsibility to shape the values of the next generation by exhibiting high standards of integrity, honesty and transparency in their actions.
