A former Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, on Tuesday, said Nigeria should not delay its development efforts while attempting to completely eradicate corruption.
Abah stated that while corruption is a challenge, it should not paralyze efforts toward national growth and prosperity.
Speaking at the behavioural change conference held in Abuja, Abah stated that nations like China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia have all experienced rapid development despite significant levels of corruption.
He said,“ Corruption has been described by many as a binding constraint. In economics, binding constraints are those that, unless they are removed, would not allow growth and progress.
“Corruption distorts economic growth, undermines public institutions, exacerbates social inequalities, scares away foreign investors and under-develops human capacity.
“However, it would not be prudent to wait until the constraint of corruption is totally removed before striving for development. Countries like China, India, Brazil and Indonesia are rapidly growing despite significant levels of corruption.”
Abah said one of the most effective ways to curb corruption was by striving to remove opportunities for corruption.
He said, “I am of the view that the key issue around corruption is the presence of opportunity. I am convinced that if the opportunity is there, many people will perpetuate corruption regardless of need, greed, culture or ethics.
“Where efforts are not made to constrain corruption, perhaps the only constraint could be values, where someone chooses not to be corrupt because they have a reputation or family name that they wish to protect.
“However, in societies like Nigeria where the lines between right and wrong have been blurred, relying on intrinsic values is like expecting an amateur swimmer to swim against a very strong current.”
