AFRICA, CORRUPTION AND THE HOPE OF A BETTER TOMORROW.

Africa is such a complex place to understand. There are so many indices and variables that define and shape the nature and character of Africa as one of the seven continents in the world. Quite sincerely, most of these indices are negative ones (Corruption, war and anarchy, poverty, ethno-religious upheavals, political turmoils, kidnappings, pillaging of the economy by some greedy few et cetra). Ultimately, Africans have reached a point in time in their journey to holistic liberation and transformation where they must take firm, decisive and courageous decisions to dust themselves and begin again the work of rebuilding the broken walls of their continent. No doubt, it is a weak continent where people suffer untold hardships; where war ravages human existence, where poverty creates a big gap between the rich and the poor, where public office holders have shut their ears and sealed their conscience against the cry and aspirations of the most vulnerable and poor people in rural communities, where basic social amenities and life saving essentials are at the lowest ebb, where education is not given the support it deserves and where monumental corruption is embraced, nurtured and allowed to fester. As a matter of fact, corruption is the mother of all crimes. Where corruption is rife, there is bound to be chaos and too many problems. Where there is corruption, people live in confusion, fear, anxiety and thus, engage in dangerous ventures. Where there is corruption, development is largely relegated to the background and social vices among youths are deeply entrenched in the fabrics of our society. Regrettably, Africa has dwelt for too long in the murky waters of corruption. Public servants and private sector workers steal funds (meant for the people) with impunity. They divert public resources corruptly for personal use and pillage the economy. Most cases of money laundering and ownership of multi-billion dollar assets abroad are linked to Africans. In one way or the other, Successive governments have had their hands dipped in corruption. Of course when they came on board, they always frowned against corruption and made known their resolve to tackle the evil monster headlong, but, nothing tangible and good had happened yet, and corruption appears to be growing bigger and waxing stronger. This is Africa's greatest challenge at the moment. It is a monster that must not be allowed to consume us all. It has sent countless innocent people to their early graves, broken homes, destroyed the future of young people, dashed the hope and legitimate aspirations of Africans and distorted the image of my continent. How can this Webb be disentangled? According to a former secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria Alh. Yayale Ahmed, "Corruption is a socio-political and economic phenomenon that has hampered the growth and development of the various institutions and segments of our society. It's detrimental effect is increasing to a frightful degree". Yet, former Nigeria's president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo premised his argument on how we can tackle corruption thus, "the fight against corruption presupposes an active judiciary which, unfortunately, remains a far-cry in Africa." Corruption is a global phenomenon and a major obstacle to development. Sometimes, the international community plays and increasingly negative role in this regard. This is because, there has to be a corrupter and a corruptee in order to easily ferry stolen funds overseas. To fight corruption, we must build international consensus, form regional cooperation and be sincere to ourselves. Whoever is found to be guilty must be punished accordingly within the purview of the law. Africa must change and achieve her dream of becoming a great continent. Satmak DAPAR writes from Jos the plateau state capital. He can be reached via satmakdapar1@gmail.com or +2348030546215.