Konrad Ekiyor is a Professor of Philosophy from Bayelsa State. In this interview with Pauline Onyibe, he talks about the moral decadence in all arms of government, the society and how the situation can be remedied

There is a degree of moral decadence in the country. Where did we get it wrong?

We got it wrong in choosing materialism over idealism. We got it wrong in choosing the quest for material prosperity over the quest for spiritual prosperity. Countries like China, Malaysia, India and Russia, believe so much in idealism and philosophy. They believe so much in the quality of the person all boiling down to the issue of morality.

Now, you find a group of people who all they think about is how to be rich – it doesn’t matter whether you follow the right way or the wrong way. So, you begin to wonder, is it the problem of the person or the problem of the structures? Is it the problem of the country or the problem of the individual?

We all suffered colonialism like all these countries that I mentioned. They were all colonized. So how come they have gone beyond colonialism and they have risen above their colonial masters. China was at one point colonized by Britain but today, you can’t even talk about Britain near China. It is the most industrialized nation on earth. America was once colonized by Britain but today you can’t talk about Britain where America is. So, we need to go back to the most important thing which is the idea of morality – the issue of justice and doing what is right. The issue of the hereafter and the issue of spiritualism instead of materialism.

Ask yourself what is more important, is it my idea of what is right or wrong or my idea of what I gain in life? Africanism has not helped us. Democracy has not helped us, so we must return to the quality of the human person in Nigeria. Thinking about what is right and what is wrong as against how much do I gain. It has even entered the young ones today. Nobody is interested again in morality. Everybody is interested in being rich at twenty. You want to drive a car even before you finish secondary school. It may not be the way other people want to look at it talking about the economy and the politicians. No. It is not where the problem is. The problem is a foundational one. Until we go back to the 60s and 70s when Nigerians were more interested in their quality in terms of doing what is right than pursuing money, nothing will change.

What aspect of the society in this country is supposed to start this sensitization of getting back on track?

I think it should go down to the family. You will now ask yourself which of the family structure do you want to talk about now. Is it the parents teaching their children morality? The parents themselves are very immoral. It is a very serious dilemma that Nigeria is facing right now. And we are not even talking about it. This is a foundational problem and how do we solve it? We must return to moral education, and it begins with the individuals. The individuals must come to that realization. You don’t need your father or mother to tell you. You don’t need your church or school. Every Nigerian must return to that realization that how have I fared? What is my idea of morality? Do I even believe in what is right or what is good or do I get rich quick by all means and at all cost? There must be an individual realization, self-consciousness and awareness that there must be a change. Look at it, we are in a state where it is power and might that is right; where anybody can do anything and go free. That is why the bandits are having a field day.

The criminals are having a field day, armed robbers are having a field day. Corrupt politicians and corrupt pastors too, because the system is weak. The law enforcement agencies are corrupt. The legislature is corrupt; the executive is corrupt. The judiciary is corrupt. So where do you fall back on? It is completely a mess so we must realize ourselves. You don’t wait for anybody to come and tell you. Every individual in Nigeria must sit down and begin to ask ourselves how have I fared? Where am I standing? I’m I standing on the part of righteousness, on the part of justice or I’m I just thinking of how to make myself better than the other person in terms of materialism? So, we must dump materialism and return to idealism where we pursue what is ideal, what is just, what is right, and what is good.

At what stage in this country, do you think we started getting it wrong?

We got it wrong from the very beginning. Go back to 1960. As at 1959, we were still under colonial rule. By 1960 Nigeria gained independence and we were still operating under the British System until 1963 when we became a Republic. So, you ask yourself, when Nigeria gained independence in 1960, what kind of structures did our people put on ground? Now. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe took over as Governor General and kept representing the Queen of England so to speak.

The British monarchy was still in charge of Nigeria until 1963. So, what reforms did Azikiwe put in place? What reforms did the independent government of 1960 put in place to create this Nigerian consciousness? We didn’t change anything. We left everything like that until 1963 when Nigeria became a Republic and at the same time it was still the same Azikiwe that was there. So, you find a situation where from the beginning, we didn’t create a moral principle. Pluto said in his writing that the greatest education any society can have is moral education but we de- emphasized moral education and we are busy pursuing material education. Up till today, we are still pursuing material education. We are not thinking of how to educate ourselves on morality. How do we educate ourselves on moral principles. So, we got it wrong from the beginning and we are still getting it wrong till today. The average parent is not teaching the child how to be morally disciplined, we are busy teaching the child how to be rich and how to prosper. Until we begin to build a foundation of morality, we will continue to be like this. Do you know that In Japan, the first two years of a child’s education is dedicated to morality.

They teach the child issues of justice and how to be truthful and how to be law abiding before they now start teaching Mathematics and Physics. But in our own situation, we don’t even have a structure in place to groom our children on what is right or wrong. I grew up in Lagos as a child being taught how to wake up in the morning and greet your parents and the elderly ones. Don’t tell lies, don’t steal. Those were the things that were pumped in my head when I was growing up. Today, nobody is even talking about that again. There was what is called moral instruction in school when I was growing up, today there is nothing like moral instruction. All people learn now is how to make money. How to get power and steal.

And how do we now get it right? We can only get it right from today. We shouldn’t wait till tomorrow. We should try starting today. Every individual in Nigeria must begin to ask himself of what use I’m I to this country? What are my ideals? What am I pursuing in life? Do I want to be a good man or a rich man? Do I want to do what is right or what will give me gain? We should begin to think of our society. How do we make our society better rather than how do I become better than the society?

It is a question of returning to Philosophy. The study of what s right and wrong. We must return to morality and ethics, the principles of morality. Every individual person must be reformed. The quality of the Nigerian person must move from how to be rich to how to be right and how to be good and moral.

Do you also think that the judicial system is contributing to the decadence in the society?

I don’t know if it is to heap it only on the Judiciary because there is so much rot everywhere. To be a bit religious, the Bible says that if the foundation is destroyed, what can the righteous do?. The entire Nigerian system now is corrupt. Government at all levels is corrupt. The individuals in Nigeria are corrupt; the system that is running this country is the system of immorality, injustice and evil. So, you don’t expect any aspect of society to do well. It is like when the body is sick, there is no way the leg will walk well. There is no part of the body that will walk well when the body is sick. It is a pathetic situation because when you look at everything, you will now ask yourself which aspect of Nigeria society will you depend on to help the other part.

Now the judiciary is no longer the hope of the common man. It is not even the hope of the rich man. If a governor can face injustice in a country, you now ask yourself who else can be spared? Even the rich today are victims of the injustice in the Nigerian Society. You can only depend on yourself and on higher powers spiritually to save yourself.

In terms of security, the insecurity today is as a result of corruption in the Security Sector. There are no security personnel that have signed to die. They have all signed to use their uniform to become rich. A judicial officer has not signed to superintend over justice and the rule of law. It is to make money. There is no politician today that is going to make life better for another person. It is how to steal. So, it is a general mallaice and we are all victims. Even though politicians will look at themselves and think that they are benefiting from the system, they are equally victims. If you know how much the rich spend to be safe and to be secure, you will ask yourself what use is all of those material acquisition if at the end of the day, there is no security.

You spend all your life stealing money, then you now spend all your life protecting what you have stolen. It doesn’t make sense. There is no aspect of the society that can be singled out, even the church is corrupt. Corruption is a virus that has permeated the entire system in the country. From the family to the school, to government to the church, to judiciary. It is completely rotten and it will continue like this. A time will come when the system itself will explode. The time frame for that, nobody can say but a time come when this corrupt system will explode and from that explosion, a new system will come out new people will come out, new reality will come out.

I believe that there is a remnant that believe in morality and virtue that God can use to rescue this nation. Until then, we just have to see how we can manage. What is happening now is that you just have to join the system and create a system for yourself or you don’t let the system affect you. Inside this rottenness, look for a way to protect yourself so that the system will not destroy you. Ninety-Nine per cent cannot withstand it, so they have to be part it and reap the evil that comes with it