Every society eventually creates the animal it deserves. Ours is a strange bird. It screams whenever corruption flies overhead yet happily feeds on its leftovers. It condemns theft in the abstract but romanticises it when the suspect wears the right ethnic colour, professes the right religion, or belongs to the right political camp. That species has a name. Ayi Kwei Armah called it the chichidodo.For years, many Nigerians defended the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari as though it was a government populated by incorruptible saints. Every criticism was dismissed as propaganda. Every allegation was labelled a conspiracy. Every scandal was buried beneath emotional loyalty. Time, however, possesses a stubborn habit of exposing what propaganda conceals. It has begun to strip away the varnish.The anti-corruption credentials that formed the moral backbone of that administration now stand under intense scrutiny. Former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, once presented as the nation’s chief guardian of justice, is now facing proceedings in which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleged that 57 assets worth over N212bn were acquired through unlawful activities while he served in office. A Federal High Court granted the final forfeiture of 48 of those properties after those laying claim to them failed to establish lawful ownership. These are judicial proceedings, not social media gossip.The story does not end there. The Supreme Court recently affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, about $2.045m and share certificates linked to former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele. A Federal Capital Territory High Court also ordered the final forfeiture of luxury properties, jewellery reportedly valued at about N4.6bn and vehicles worth about N4.2bn linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu. These developments arose through the judicial process, not through mob verdicts. Yet none of these revelations is as disturbing as the response they continue to provoke.The loudest cries often come, not from those presenting evidence of innocence, but from those weaponising identity. Tribe is summoned. Religion is recruited. Political affiliation becomes an escape route. Suddenly, accountability becomes persecution. Facts become secondary. Emotion takes over the courtroom of public opinion.That is precisely the moral contradiction Armah immortalised in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. The Chichidodo hates excrement with all its soul, yet feeds exclusively on maggots that flourish in filth. It despises corruption while surviving on its fruits. It condemns the disease but develops an appetite for its symptoms. Few metaphors have captured Nigeria’s national hypocrisy with greater precision.Mark Twain drew the same distinction from another direction when he observed that patriotism means supporting your country all the time and your government only when it deserves it. That remains one of the clearest boundaries between citizenship and blind allegiance. Defending public officials against credible allegations simply because they belong to “our side” is not patriotism. It is complicity wearing patriotic clothing.The tragedy of corruption is never measured by the number of luxury houses or exotic cars eventually forfeited. Its real cost lies elsewhere. Somewhere in Nigeria tonight, a child will die because oxygen that should have reached a public hospital became Italian marble in someone’s mansion. Somewhere else, a brilliant teenager will sit for another admission examination without ever having touched a functional laboratory. Another graduate will wake tomorrow with a certificate in one hand and hopelessness in the other because industries that should have created jobs never came. And another road will transform into a death trap. Corruption does not only empty government accounts; it quietly empties graves into families that should never have buried loved ones.Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. For years, many Nigerians defended the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari as though it was a government populated by incorruptible saints. Every criticism was dismissed as propaganda. Every allegation was labelled a conspiracy. Every scandal was buried beneath emotional loyalty. Time, however, possesses a stubborn habit of exposing what propaganda conceals. It has begun to strip away the varnish.The anti-corruption credentials that formed the moral backbone of that administration now stand under intense scrutiny. Former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, once presented as the nation’s chief guardian of justice, is now facing proceedings in which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleged that 57 assets worth over N212bn were acquired through unlawful activities while he served in office. A Federal High Court granted the final forfeiture of 48 of those properties after those laying claim to them failed to establish lawful ownership. These are judicial proceedings, not social media gossip.The story does not end there. The Supreme Court recently affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, about $2.045m and share certificates linked to former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele. A Federal Capital Territory High Court also ordered the final forfeiture of luxury properties, jewellery reportedly valued at about N4.6bn and vehicles worth about N4.2bn linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu. These developments arose through the judicial process, not through mob verdicts. Yet none of these revelations is as disturbing as the response they continue to provoke.The loudest cries often come, not from those presenting evidence of innocence, but from those weaponising identity. Tribe is summoned. Religion is recruited. Political affiliation becomes an escape route. Suddenly, accountability becomes persecution. Facts become secondary. Emotion takes over the courtroom of public opinion.That is precisely the moral contradiction Armah immortalised in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. The Chichidodo hates excrement with all its soul, yet feeds exclusively on maggots that flourish in filth. It despises corruption while surviving on its fruits. It condemns the disease but develops an appetite for its symptoms. Few metaphors have captured Nigeria’s national hypocrisy with greater precision.Mark Twain drew the same distinction from another direction when he observed that patriotism means supporting your country all the time and your government only when it deserves it. That remains one of the clearest boundaries between citizenship and blind allegiance. Defending public officials against credible allegations simply because they belong to “our side” is not patriotism. It is complicity wearing patriotic clothing.The tragedy of corruption is never measured by the number of luxury houses or exotic cars eventually forfeited. Its real cost lies elsewhere. Somewhere in Nigeria tonight, a child will die because oxygen that should have reached a public hospital became Italian marble in someone’s mansion. Somewhere else, a brilliant teenager will sit for another admission examination without ever having touched a functional laboratory. Another graduate will wake tomorrow with a certificate in one hand and hopelessness in the other because industries that should have created jobs never came. And another road will transform into a death trap. Corruption does not only empty government accounts; it quietly empties graves into families that should never have buried loved ones.Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. The anti-corruption credentials that formed the moral backbone of that administration now stand under intense scrutiny. Former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, once presented as the nation’s chief guardian of justice, is now facing proceedings in which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleged that 57 assets worth over N212bn were acquired through unlawful activities while he served in office. A Federal High Court granted the final forfeiture of 48 of those properties after those laying claim to them failed to establish lawful ownership. These are judicial proceedings, not social media gossip.The story does not end there. The Supreme Court recently affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, about $2.045m and share certificates linked to former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele. A Federal Capital Territory High Court also ordered the final forfeiture of luxury properties, jewellery reportedly valued at about N4.6bn and vehicles worth about N4.2bn linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu. These developments arose through the judicial process, not through mob verdicts. Yet none of these revelations is as disturbing as the response they continue to provoke.The loudest cries often come, not from those presenting evidence of innocence, but from those weaponising identity. Tribe is summoned. Religion is recruited. Political affiliation becomes an escape route. Suddenly, accountability becomes persecution. Facts become secondary. Emotion takes over the courtroom of public opinion.That is precisely the moral contradiction Armah immortalised in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. The Chichidodo hates excrement with all its soul, yet feeds exclusively on maggots that flourish in filth. It despises corruption while surviving on its fruits. It condemns the disease but develops an appetite for its symptoms. Few metaphors have captured Nigeria’s national hypocrisy with greater precision.Mark Twain drew the same distinction from another direction when he observed that patriotism means supporting your country all the time and your government only when it deserves it. That remains one of the clearest boundaries between citizenship and blind allegiance. Defending public officials against credible allegations simply because they belong to “our side” is not patriotism. It is complicity wearing patriotic clothing.The tragedy of corruption is never measured by the number of luxury houses or exotic cars eventually forfeited. Its real cost lies elsewhere. Somewhere in Nigeria tonight, a child will die because oxygen that should have reached a public hospital became Italian marble in someone’s mansion. Somewhere else, a brilliant teenager will sit for another admission examination without ever having touched a functional laboratory. Another graduate will wake tomorrow with a certificate in one hand and hopelessness in the other because industries that should have created jobs never came. And another road will transform into a death trap. Corruption does not only empty government accounts; it quietly empties graves into families that should never have buried loved ones.Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. The story does not end there. The Supreme Court recently affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, about $2.045m and share certificates linked to former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele. A Federal Capital Territory High Court also ordered the final forfeiture of luxury properties, jewellery reportedly valued at about N4.6bn and vehicles worth about N4.2bn linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu. These developments arose through the judicial process, not through mob verdicts. Yet none of these revelations is as disturbing as the response they continue to provoke.The loudest cries often come, not from those presenting evidence of innocence, but from those weaponising identity. Tribe is summoned. Religion is recruited. Political affiliation becomes an escape route. Suddenly, accountability becomes persecution. Facts become secondary. Emotion takes over the courtroom of public opinion.That is precisely the moral contradiction Armah immortalised in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. The Chichidodo hates excrement with all its soul, yet feeds exclusively on maggots that flourish in filth. It despises corruption while surviving on its fruits. It condemns the disease but develops an appetite for its symptoms. Few metaphors have captured Nigeria’s national hypocrisy with greater precision.Mark Twain drew the same distinction from another direction when he observed that patriotism means supporting your country all the time and your government only when it deserves it. That remains one of the clearest boundaries between citizenship and blind allegiance. Defending public officials against credible allegations simply because they belong to “our side” is not patriotism. It is complicity wearing patriotic clothing.The tragedy of corruption is never measured by the number of luxury houses or exotic cars eventually forfeited. Its real cost lies elsewhere. Somewhere in Nigeria tonight, a child will die because oxygen that should have reached a public hospital became Italian marble in someone’s mansion. Somewhere else, a brilliant teenager will sit for another admission examination without ever having touched a functional laboratory. Another graduate will wake tomorrow with a certificate in one hand and hopelessness in the other because industries that should have created jobs never came. And another road will transform into a death trap. Corruption does not only empty government accounts; it quietly empties graves into families that should never have buried loved ones.Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. The loudest cries often come, not from those presenting evidence of innocence, but from those weaponising identity. Tribe is summoned. Religion is recruited. Political affiliation becomes an escape route. Suddenly, accountability becomes persecution. Facts become secondary. Emotion takes over the courtroom of public opinion.That is precisely the moral contradiction Armah immortalised in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. The Chichidodo hates excrement with all its soul, yet feeds exclusively on maggots that flourish in filth. It despises corruption while surviving on its fruits. It condemns the disease but develops an appetite for its symptoms. Few metaphors have captured Nigeria’s national hypocrisy with greater precision.Mark Twain drew the same distinction from another direction when he observed that patriotism means supporting your country all the time and your government only when it deserves it. That remains one of the clearest boundaries between citizenship and blind allegiance. Defending public officials against credible allegations simply because they belong to “our side” is not patriotism. It is complicity wearing patriotic clothing.The tragedy of corruption is never measured by the number of luxury houses or exotic cars eventually forfeited. Its real cost lies elsewhere. Somewhere in Nigeria tonight, a child will die because oxygen that should have reached a public hospital became Italian marble in someone’s mansion. Somewhere else, a brilliant teenager will sit for another admission examination without ever having touched a functional laboratory. Another graduate will wake tomorrow with a certificate in one hand and hopelessness in the other because industries that should have created jobs never came. And another road will transform into a death trap. Corruption does not only empty government accounts; it quietly empties graves into families that should never have buried loved ones.Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. That is precisely the moral contradiction Armah immortalised in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. The Chichidodo hates excrement with all its soul, yet feeds exclusively on maggots that flourish in filth. It despises corruption while surviving on its fruits. It condemns the disease but develops an appetite for its symptoms. Few metaphors have captured Nigeria’s national hypocrisy with greater precision.Mark Twain drew the same distinction from another direction when he observed that patriotism means supporting your country all the time and your government only when it deserves it. That remains one of the clearest boundaries between citizenship and blind allegiance. Defending public officials against credible allegations simply because they belong to “our side” is not patriotism. It is complicity wearing patriotic clothing.The tragedy of corruption is never measured by the number of luxury houses or exotic cars eventually forfeited. Its real cost lies elsewhere. Somewhere in Nigeria tonight, a child will die because oxygen that should have reached a public hospital became Italian marble in someone’s mansion. Somewhere else, a brilliant teenager will sit for another admission examination without ever having touched a functional laboratory. Another graduate will wake tomorrow with a certificate in one hand and hopelessness in the other because industries that should have created jobs never came. And another road will transform into a death trap. Corruption does not only empty government accounts; it quietly empties graves into families that should never have buried loved ones.Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. Mark Twain drew the same distinction from another direction when he observed that patriotism means supporting your country all the time and your government only when it deserves it. That remains one of the clearest boundaries between citizenship and blind allegiance. Defending public officials against credible allegations simply because they belong to “our side” is not patriotism. It is complicity wearing patriotic clothing.The tragedy of corruption is never measured by the number of luxury houses or exotic cars eventually forfeited. Its real cost lies elsewhere. Somewhere in Nigeria tonight, a child will die because oxygen that should have reached a public hospital became Italian marble in someone’s mansion. Somewhere else, a brilliant teenager will sit for another admission examination without ever having touched a functional laboratory. Another graduate will wake tomorrow with a certificate in one hand and hopelessness in the other because industries that should have created jobs never came. And another road will transform into a death trap. Corruption does not only empty government accounts; it quietly empties graves into families that should never have buried loved ones.Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. The tragedy of corruption is never measured by the number of luxury houses or exotic cars eventually forfeited. Its real cost lies elsewhere. Somewhere in Nigeria tonight, a child will die because oxygen that should have reached a public hospital became Italian marble in someone’s mansion. Somewhere else, a brilliant teenager will sit for another admission examination without ever having touched a functional laboratory. Another graduate will wake tomorrow with a certificate in one hand and hopelessness in the other because industries that should have created jobs never came. And another road will transform into a death trap. Corruption does not only empty government accounts; it quietly empties graves into families that should never have buried loved ones.Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. Political economist Susan Rose-Ackerman has consistently argued that corruption functions as a tax on development. It diverts public resources from productive use, weakens institutions and destroys public trust. Once corruption becomes socially acceptable, inequality expands while state capacity contracts. Nigeria offers painful confirmation of that thesis.Related NewsKogi begins enlightenment campaign on new tax lawsEFCC returns N108m recovered from fleeing Lagos firm staffMy colleague couldn’t pay daughter’s school fees despite being a lawmaker – RepThe rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. The rot, unfortunately, extends beyond elected politicians. Corruption has woven itself into bureaucracies, regulatory agencies and public institutions. It survives because countless gatekeepers are willing to exchange public duty for private reward. The World Bank has repeatedly maintained that corruption flourishes where accountability is weak and where societies tolerate abuse of office instead of punishing it. Nigeria has perfected that dangerous tolerance. And that was why the Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew’s saga — the fake DG — perfectly played out.Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. Perhaps the most heartbreaking spectacle is watching impoverished citizens volunteer as defenders of those accused of plundering the very resources that should have lifted them from poverty. Hunger now argues for privilege. Deprivation becomes legal counsel for affluence. Victims passionately defend the architects of their suffering.Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. Aesop captured this blindness centuries ago in The Frogs and the Sun. The frogs rejoiced when they heard that the sun intended to marry. Only one wise frog refused to celebrate. If one sun could already dry up their ponds, he asked, what would happen if it produced offspring? The others mistook impending disaster for good news. Nigeria repeatedly makes the same mistake. We applaud personalities while ignoring consequences. And every election cycle, the ponds grow smaller.The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. The deeper problem, therefore, is not simply that public officials steal. Human societies have always produced thieves. The greater danger is that society increasingly treats theft as negotiable. We reserve our outrage for opponents while extending forgiveness to allies. We have replaced moral consistency with political convenience.Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. Nigeria is not cursed by geography. Neither is it abandoned by Providence. The country is suffocating beneath a culture that too often celebrates connections above competence, loyalty above legality and patronage above principle. From the street corner to the highest offices of state, too many people seek advantage through manipulation rather than merit. Where integrity becomes optional, development becomes accidental.No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. No civilisation has successfully built lasting prosperity upon organised hypocrisy. Structures erected on fraud eventually collapse under the weight of truth. History is remarkably consistent on that point. Nigeria does not require theatrical anti-corruption slogans. It requires certainty. Those who loot public resources should know that forfeiture of illicit assets is inevitable, restitution unavoidable and permanent exclusion from public office inescapable. Grand corruption must carry consequences severe enough to outweigh its temptations. Justice loses its deterrent force when looters continue to enjoy luxury financed by public misery.If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. If we genuinely desire a nation governed by equity, then we must first evict the chichidodo from our collective conscience. A society that habitually shields alleged looters because they share its identity has surrendered its moral authority before any court delivers judgment. Nations rarely collapse because corruption exists. They collapse because corruption becomes respectable.Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. Nigeria’s greatest battle, therefore, is not against thieves alone. It is against the millions who have learnt to applaud them. We must abandon the dangerous philosophy captured in the Yoruba saying, “Se bí gbogbo wa pàtà ni mọ̀là; ẹni tí ilẹ̀ mọ́ bá ni barawo?” In essence, it argues that everyone steals; only the unlucky are caught. Nothing has done more to cheapen integrity and elevate criminality than that reckless submission. The greatest corruption in Nigeria is no longer in Abuja. It is in the conscience of citizens who have learnt to applaud the theft of their own future. A republic of chichidodos cannot produce honest governments because it has already normalised dishonest citizenship.The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa. The conversation does not end here. You can continue it with me on X via @folorunso_adisa, LinkedIn: Folorunso Fatai Adisa, or on Facebook: Folorunso Fatai Adisa.