Some weeks back, I received a message from the FCMB Plc. It read that, henceforth, any of its Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards stuck in another bank’s ATM would be destroyed and a new one issued at the customer’s request and cost.

It is an issue that many often discuss with sentiment, palpable frustration and anger over the seeming inability of successive governments to eradicate it. On such occasions, the political leadership, government functionaries and public institutions charged with the anti-corruption war are always at the receiving end of the public display of disappointment.Such was the case […]

It is an issue that many often discuss with sentiment, palpable frustration and anger over the seeming inability of successive governments to eradicate it. On such occasions, the political leadership, government functionaries and public institutions charged with the anti-corruption war are always at the receiving end of the public display of disappointment.
Such was the case recently when a statement credited to the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Chief Ekpo Nta, that stealing is erroneously reported as corruption, drew scathing criticism from some members of the public. He had, during the visit of a delegation of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria to the commission, observed that Nigerians needed more understanding of the various dimensions of corruption in order for all to be able to tackle it effectively.
His observation apparently hit the wrong chord in the hearts of some people who reacted with severe criticism, suggesting that he was probably not committed to the war against corruption. Some stakeholders, including a section of the media, went to the extent of calling on him to step down, arguing that his statement portrayed him as a tool in the hands of the political authorities whom they accused of not showing the required seriousness to effectively address the menace of corruption.
However, there are some stakeholders who believe that the furious shooting of diatribe by the critics at the chairman over a harmless and sincere observation that merely pointed attention to the obvious but often ignored misrepresentation, was unnecessary, particularly after the clarification issued by the commission to shed more light on the statement. The commission had explained that stealing is corruption if it involves a public officer abusing his office for private gains as provided in sections 16 and 19 of the ICPC Act, while stealing or theft as defined by criminal code and penal code falls within the police powers to investigate and prosecute.”
This clarification can hardly be faulted. From the legal and constitutional perspective, stealing is recognised in the statute books of every country as a criminal act, whether it is committed in or outside the public service. It has prescribed punishment in the relevant criminal and penal codes. Even private business concerns and corporations have rules for dealing with stealing or theft, in their establishments, which may include recovery of the stolen items and dismissal of the culprit, with or without prosecution.
There is no denial, by the critics, that a lot of Nigerians actually report plain stealing as corruption such as the theft of crude oil or theft of refined petroleum products through pipeline vandalism. This means that the critics also subscribe to that notion. Why is this so?  Perhaps it is a way of blaming the government for everything that goes wrong. Perhaps it is because of the historical antecedent of what is associated with corruption in Nigeria. The face of corruption Nigerians readily point to is the stealing of public funds through embezzlement, or the mismanagement or abuse of public heritage.  This is referred to as the ‘chopping’ of government money in local parlance.
The purge of the public service during the Murtala Mohammed military regime which sanctioned both the military political office holders and civil servants deemed to have corruptly enriched themselves, and the arrest and prosecution of political office holders of the Second Republic by the Buhari/ Idiagbon regime, for misappropriation of funds and corrupt enrichment, were seen by the people as stealing of government money. To many Nigerians, the offences of corrupt enrichment, misappropriation of funds and cases of fraud involving money all mean stealing.
Nigerians will readily pardon any form of corruption such as favouritism, falsification, forgery and acts of official misconduct that do not involve money. They would rather wave such corrupt practices off. It is against this background that the observation by the ICPC chairman raises a challenge that must be taken seriously.
As he has rightly pointed out, Nigerians need to understand what constitutes corruption, its various forms and how to tackle it collectively. It is only then that the people can appreciate the efforts of anti-corruption agencies and offer their own support where it is needed to rid the country of the menace. It should also be understood that Nigeria is not alone in the anti-corruption war. It is a global campaign that also affects the most developed countries of the world. It is a structured war with internationally recognised templates for prosecution and assessment.
The war against corruption is properly structured under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) 2006. Nigeria is a signatory to this convention, which offers a broad framework for countries to design their own campaigns in accordance with their environment and laws. What constitutes corruption is well defined under this convention.
What the ICPC chairman said, which appeared to have been clearly misinterpreted and misunderstood by his critics, is that a lot of Nigerians are yet to understand that corruption comes in various forms and dimensions.
The ICPC chairman has raised a very important point in the anti-corruption war. The people must understand the war and how to support it.
Babalola wrote from Surulere, Lagos.