ADMIN.
By Comrade Evan Akahson. (08109404856)
Corruption in Nigeria is endemic and it is crumbling us from inside.
It is no longer news when another allegation drops. No single day passes without a report of fraud, contract inflation, or diversion of public funds by one government official or the other. The result is clear: development has been hijacked.
Corruption is the reason Nigeria is moving backward. It is corruption that jeopardizes our development, and from it flows insecurity, unemployment, and poverty. When money meant for roads is stolen, our farmers cannot move produce to market. When security votes disappear, bandits take over highways. When job funds are shared among cronies, our graduates remain on the streets.
The root of it is simple: self-serving leadership and lack of vision. Too many in power see public office as a shop to enrich themselves, not as a duty to serve. That mentality is what has been creating speedy failure in Nigeria.
Even this present APC government has not been spared. From palliative diversion scandals to padded budgets, Nigerians are tired of promises without delivery. But the problem is bigger than one party. It is a system that rewards silence.
The evidence is everywhere in recent enforcement actions.
In *2024, the EFCC recovered ₦277.3 billion and $86.2 million* in proceeds of crime, and secured 1,332 convictions. That same year, the Commission arrested officials and contractors involved in diversion of social intervention funds.
In *2023*, EFCC prosecuted a syndicate that posed as a “Presidential Task Force” to defraud citizens. The suspects could not have operated without accomplices inside government who leaked information.
Also in *2025, the ICPC secured 65 convictions*, including public officers jailed for payroll fraud and inflated contracts in MDAs. These cases prove one thing: corruption is organized, and it has helpers.
We cannot defeat this by shouting alone. We must challenge corruption to a crumbling state through law, oversight, and citizen action.
First, lawmakers must pass bills that force real-time publication of budgets and projects. Second, NASS committees must stop protecting MDAs and start sanctioning them. Third, citizens must demand accountability in every government ministry. In Nigeria, we will introduce a Project Tracker Board so our people can see what Abuja brings home.
Nigeria is bleeding, but we are not powerless. If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. The time to act is now.
Comrade Evan Akahson writes from Owerri,Imo State.