If I say you are selfish, you are likely to react to my harsh words but if I say an average human being is selfish, you are more likely to give me an ear to know what I want to say next.

Sometimes, you see yourself doing what you accuse the other person of either doing or not doing right and you turn round justifying it because it is you and not the other person.

I recall 2012 when former President Goodluck Jonathan attempted to remove fuel subsidy. The opposition plus the civil society was unanimous in grinding the economy to a halt until he capitulated and we returned to status quo.

That is not even my drift in this piece. This happened at Ikeja, Lagos and it reminded me of how self righteous man can be even when he is on the wrong side of history.

The owners and management of Ikeja City Mall may not know it but this is an eye witness account of the corruption we complain about in Nigeria even when the citizenry aid and abet the hydra headed monster.

I finished shopping at Ikeja City Mall on a Saturday evening and drove behind a cute couple in their cute car. They took a little longer with the attendant at the exit gate and that caught my attention.

The man exchanged a N200 note with the attendant and the latter used his master ticket to give them passage. That master ticket is meant to be for noble causes to address emergencies, I guess.

The N200 was not the normal tip an attendant gets from a generous shopper. It was the parking fee the couple was meant to pay to the facility managers for keeping the facility running. How many more of such N200 have ended in private pockets?

I challenged the attendant and I’m sure he felt embarrassed. I counseled him how not to be a corruptible citizen and he promised not to do it again. I hope he is sincere with his promise.

The right thing the couple wouldn’t do was the little sacrifice to stay on a short queue to pay the fee officially to the purse of the facility managers. The dishonest staff chose to be an accomplice to a dishonest couple to rob a system that is meant to be self sustaining.

I bet this couple is well travelled and would be the type that condemn government functionaries in high places of high level corruption. They will be the type that seek a society that works.

You can only earn the liberty to complain about corruption in high places if you are accountable in small matters at your village meeting, else you will be a disaster waiting to happen in a public office.

I’ve been asking myself, am I part of the problem or part of the solution to the problem Nigeria seeks to solve? N200 is so little but the damage it can do to a working system is better imagined.

Be an inspirational liver, not just an inspirational speaker.

©️Akin Oluwadare Jnr
05 June 2023