by Tunji Andrews

 You get to ask yourself, how Nigeria then grows at an average of 7% GDP year on year, in a nation with no power, no jobs, no security, no credit, no roads, no social security, etc; and yes, you would be right to point at corruption.

I recently wrote an article on how Corruption was in its own way boosting the GDP of emerging economies like Nigeria {click here to read}. It was an article I was particularly proud of as I attempted to explain; shocking discoveries, I came across on the effects of corruption on GDP growth. In it, I showed that though I could see the negative effects of corruption in the poor wealth redistribution mechanism within such societies, I still could not rule out its positive effects in the scale of National income. I stated that though it was true that corruption in its most base forms had such massive negative impact on developed/structured economies purely because they had their institutions built on tenets, which demand that things be done right. Unfortunately, the reverse is the case for almost every emerging economy and I even went as far as calling corruption a factor of production (secondary) in such climes.

The responses I got from readers (local and international) was a bit puzzling, as many viewed the article without the objectivity I pleaded for at the start of the article; objectivity, which would have shown the merit of my case. I was not (at the time), advocating for corruption, so I did not get why anyone reading the article would base their judgements solely on the word ‘CORRUPTION’. A few people however did understand my point and I do thank every one of you; but, the other reactions I received went a great way in spurring me to write this sequel, to which I hope to challenge the thinking of every reader a little to see the hypocrisy that exist all around us.

I would enjoin you, that we start with the syntax of the word itself, could it be possible that we have become so biased at the word that in whatever form it may appear, its presence alone provokes irritation and a lot of negativity? I sincerely believe this to be the case and thus, I would rather we base our analysis on a similarly offensive word and use it to draw comparisons with the word, Corruption: and that word would be MURDER. There is no country on the face of the planet where which murder isn’t seen as an offence (sometimes attracting the death penalty). To snuff out a life which you didn’t create, is just the highest height of evil possible; it’s dastardly and will always spur emotions of anger and the likes. However, it is also true that Murder is a word subject to interpretation. As when the same act is done in other instances, its transforms from the very evil word, to more subtle words, like killing, manslaughter (Pistorious), etc. I recently saw on CCTV, where the father of a killed Syrian rebel, whom his son had breathed his last in his arms, was cursing the Syrian government and labelling them Murderers. To such relatives world over, their loved ones who lost their lives in such circumstances, had been murdered and depending on which side of the divide you are, this loss of life will always be defined as either a killing or a murder.

Many of us have hailed the emergence of China, the largely underdeveloped economy that experienced massive growth over the last two decades, growing at an average of 15% GDP. The “Rule of individual” which China practices has been frowned at by the rest of the world; and many feeling that this would stifle growth as it would discourage foreign investment; even though this has not stopped China from growing past Japan to being the 2nd largest economy in the world. The transition to a market economy has been a major factor in a move towards the rule of law, because a rule of law “They say” is important to foreign investors and to economic development. It remains unclear however if this rule of law in China will be limited to commercial matters or will spill into other areas as well, and if so whether that spillover will enhance prospects for related values such as democracy and human rights. On many levels, I can’t seem to understand why “the rule of law” in China is being widely discussed and debated by both legal scholars and politicians in and outside China; as I firmly believe that “If it is not broken, don’t fix it”. It is my firm belief that China’s political structure which put in place several systems (no rule of Law inclusive), got China to where it is today. Going forward, China may need to adapt to new systems to meet with its present status, but it has clearly proven that ‘Rule of Law’ is not a perquisite for development.

India, Asia’s 2nd largest economy and fast becoming a global super power also attained its new status on the back of some very ‘un-ethical practices-made legal’; growing on the back of an export based model; exporting everything from casserole oil to human hair. Also, being known as one of the world’s medical giants, India has become one of the (if not the) largest producers and exporters of pharmaceuticals in the world. They produce everything from HIV retroviral to Cancer treatment drugs at very cheap prices compared to their American and European counterparts. One would quickly wonder how they manage to fund the R&D for such groundbreaking treatments and then sell them off very cheap.

Now, even though India does fund some of its own R&D, but a bulk of its medical produce are actually the generic versions of Western developed drugs. Drugs, medical giants spent millions and millions on, in research to create, in a hope, that via sales, they may be able to recoup their funds, with valid patent laws, which apparently are weak in India. Recently, India’s top court dismissed Swiss drug maker Novartis AG’s attempt to win patent protection for its cancer drug Glivec. The Supreme Court’s decision comes after a legal battle that began when Novartis was denied a patent for Glivec in 2006, a blow to Western pharmaceutical firms targeting India to drive sales and a victory for local makers of cheap generics. The decision sets a benchmark for intellectual property cases in India, where many patented drugs are unaffordable for most of its 1.2 billion people, and does not bode well for foreign firms engaged in ongoing disputes in India, including Pfizer Inc and Roche Holding AG.

A few have argued in defence of the Indian firms, especially Healthcare activists, who have asked the government to make medicines cheaper in a country where many patented drugs are too costly for most people, 40 percent of whom earn less than $1.25 a day, and where patented drugs account for under 10 percent of total drug sales. The general notion is that these infringing firms are fighting for the poor, and even though this is completely false, as they are still selling for a profit (that which they stole); my actual fear is in the future reluctance of medical giants to fund future research, just because they fear they would never be able to make their money back. Thus, on the long run, this may actually kill more people than it would save (classic irony); but, for now, it is growing India’s economy.

Now, you may have noticed that I did not mention corruption with any of these societies, in which though it exists in very large proportions, it however is not their biggest flaw; unfortunately though, corruption happens to be Nigeria’s biggest flaw. The naivety here however, would be to think that this great evil does not come with its own benefits (however exclusive as they may be). You get to ask yourself, how Nigeria then grows at an average of 7% GDP year on year, in a nation with no power, no jobs, no security, no credit, no roads, no social security, etc; and yes, you would be right to point at corruption.

As it is the reason why Nigeria boasts of the worlds richest black man, yet a staggering unemployment rate. It’s the reason why Porsche has a thriving show room on Akin Adesola, in Victoria Island, yet just a few meters away, agberos wait under a tree to collect their daily dues from bus drivers. It is the reason for the vast inequality within our society, as a few have taken it upon themselves to BE Nigeria, with the rest of us, mere squatters in their land.

I say it is their land because they get to pick the first of everything good and leave the crumbs for us the squatters. They run the governments and the election process; they own the courts and the police agencies. It is their land because they are responsible for a large portion of the GDP you see. They own the companies that are backed by federal might and lawmaking policies, they have access to credit, they get tax and customs waivers, they enjoy semi-monopolies, they make all the money, and they grow our GDP. So, the next time you applaud or boast about Nigeria’s GDP, bear in mind, that YOU have just hailed the dividends of corruption.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.