With the pervasive vice of dishonesty coupled with stealing and other acts of crookedness so prevalent in our country now, how long, I pray, can Nigeria endure this act of self destruction before she collapses on her head? Without some basic honesty which engenders trust, no society on earth can survive. That is why nation builders talk about prophets and profits, that is: honesty and gain. This is so essential for the survival of any nation whether ancient or modern.
I have a feeling that like Sodom and Gomorrah, our sins of cheating, stealing and lies may have filled a giant basket and are crying unto heaven for vengeance. We are so many but I can wager that if 100 million Nigerians are gathered in a place, you are not likely to see up to 10 honest and upright men and women among them. So dishonest and dishonourable have we become that like Abraham intercede with God in vain for the life of Sodom and Gomorrah, an Abrahamic intercession for Nigeria will similarly fail because even if he goes down to as low as three honest men and women among a 100 million Nigerians gathered, he is not likely to find such a number! He may not even find one. That is how bad things have deteriorated in Nigeria.
The greatest plague afflicting Nigeria right now is not incompetent leadership or the well known issues of bribery and corruption, which are still the upshots or roots of the dishonesty we are talking about here, but it is simply and squarely dishonesty.
No one to rely upon, no enforceable rules to ensure reliance on laid down rules and regulations. No institution trusted to stand for what is right and fair to all. We are like reptiles in their rocky or forestry habitations each biting the other in an insane hatred. No honest and reliable measures any more. Everyone is out to cheat his next neighbor. This is the summary of my Nigeria that I have come to since my relocation to my village. The level of dishonesty operating in the rural areas here seems more prevalent than even in the cities that I have been living in for the better part of my years on earth.
If space and the interest of my readers will permit, I will give a representative sample of my varied experiences in the village to support my claim of the unspeakable level of dishonesty in our country.
In the past, we, down south, used to talk of the relative honesty of Northerners we collectively call “Hausa people” but in the past few years I have had to deal with some northerners that have made me conclude that those Hausa men we used to hail for honesty have all disappeared only to be replaced by vicious Hausa liars. In the past we used to talk of women being relatively more honest than men. These days, I come across more women likely to cheat than men. In the past, you could rely on some religious leaders of all faiths for honesty. These days you need to pray for a leader by God before you can invest your trust in some of them.
My encounter with Godswill (14), a JSS 3 student in one secondary school nearby:
I have been trying to build a house in Abuochiche, the headquarters of our LGA. I came across Godswill, a JSS 3 student in a secondary school nearby who parks sharp sand from a river nearby to sell to many patrons who are building houses in order to support his father training him in the school.
When I asked Godswill what the cost of one trip of sharp sand is, he told me it is nine or ten thousand Naira but that ‘’because of me’’, he will do it for eight thousand Naira “last”. I asked him why he would do anything because of me when he does not know me and we have not met before in any transactions with me to enable him to conclude that I am a good man worth being more favourably considered in a transaction than some others. He merely laughed over my statement and I realized that that is a normal business line taken by most Nigerian sellers of their goods or services. ‘’Because of you’’ is a normal business line in Nigeria which hides a thin line of their dishonesty.
In the course of our transaction, I heard that Godswill actually charges seven thousand for a trip of sand but he said he charged me eight and stood rigidly by that because I looked rich and that that is the line he adopts when he meets rich men like me!
But that is not my main problem with my small friend Godswill. My problem with him has to do with his very, very unfair and dishonest dealing with a small friend of his called Abiola who is about 11.
He recruited Abiola to partner with him in packing the sand out of the river and told him he had negotiated with me to pay them four thousand Naira, which he told Abiola was a very fair deal for both of them!
After I saw that he had parked the sand, I went to his house to pay him but was told by his sister that he was out with his friends playing football in a neighbouring house. I asked the sister if I could leave the money for Godswill with her and sought to know what figure his brother charges for his service. She told me four thousand Naira. I was confused by her disclosure which is half of what Godswill told me is his fee for one trip of sand.
I eventually sought him out and the first thing he told me was that he had recruited a friend to assist him pack the sand and that he had told him they will be paid four thousand Naira so I should not pay him the eight thousand agreed in the presence of his friend! I was shocked. Here I am being recruited by a boy of 14 to tell a lie so he can so viciously cheat that one out of his just entitlement. What should I do? I quickly reasoned that if I should let the cat out of Godswill’s bag, I will immediately begin a civil war between Godswill’s parents and those of Abiola, a war that may not end for a long time.
I also reasoned that Godswill may have been lying to his parents about what he actually collects as fee for a trip of sand. He is not doing honest disclosure to his parents as he ought to!
Godswill, on his part, had earlier disclosed to me that while he packs a trip of sand for
clients at eight thousand Naira, his father who is a truck driver, sells the sand to the wider public at N25, 000! In one instance here, I have been led to a web of lies, deceit, outright cheating, unfair and dishonest dealings involving a boy, his young friend and a father and the wider public. Has dishonesty become ingrained as a part of our normal way of doing things?
