THERE is no question that the Nigerian people are very generous and always willing to offer a helping hand when the need arises based on their abilities, as this is certainly universal, the region of the country notwithstanding. This generosity is evident in the numerous display of this giving spirit when families celebrate the birth of a child, graduation, the marriage of a child, or the loss of relatives, in this case, during the wake keeping and other related activities, which frankly are too numerous to list here. However well intended the act of giving in the Nigerian context is, the exercise of this act of giving by our people has been taken to a stratospheric new level that it is now a huge cause for concern in our society, given the pressures it places on those who are unable to participate in it, thereby leading to temptations and the dark alleys of corruption parlance. The near-universal nature of this shameful and ugly behavior, including the potential of leading people on the pathway to corruption, has made it necessary to draw the nation’s attention to it so that we can begin the steps of decoupling this from our national life. The development of any nation is underpinned by its culture, traditions, norms, and what it values; thus, today’s culture of Naira spraying and all it entails indicates a lack of seriousness of us as a people, which has to change: culture change.
In the Nigerian setting or traditional African setting, the act of giving is cultural and often extends to celebrations or parties. Where in the exercise of this act Nigerians now engage in throwing or showering of Naira notes on celebrants or anyone dancing at organized events and occasions. I must say on a personal level that I have deliberately refused to participate or engage in this exercise of spraying money for a variety of reasons which were not initially on moral grounds, but rather due to lack of disposable income when I was starting as a young adult and the awkwardness of dancing around like a drunken sailor throwing bills of hard earned money at persons of interest during parties or other social events. While, now a working adult with some disposable income, I still find it difficult to understand and refuse to engage in it because I find it despicable, uncivilized and see the long-term negative impact on our society and nation. When you go to any Nigerian party today at home or abroad, you are bound to see this reckless display of money spraying without any restraint, or sense of decency, responsibility, or decorum, and thus causes the inquiring mind to wonder how and where these people get this money that they so freely and lavishly give away at every party since you meet the same cast of characters when you venture to be active on the social scene.
Amongst the question that a sideline observer at one of these parties would ask is what would it take to be able to spray money this way, especially when you see the perceived joy and happiness in the faces of all those engaged in the situation? So imagine for a minute that there is a hypothetical young man or woman observing these human excesses at a party, who is regularly exposed to large sums of public or private funds at work, or has approving authority over contractor payments, and then think of what will be going on through the minds of this individual in a celebratory society such as ours. Instead of the above hypothetical young man or woman, let’s, in our attempt to further drive home the salient point consider a veteran politician, say the chairman of a government agency or a minister like Chief Lanre, Chief Ike, or Alhaji Musa, who is deeply involved in the social circle and sprays Naira heavily at every occasion they are invited to like there is no tomorrow. In this unfolding scenario, after a weekend of Naira spraying galore, which deflates their bank account, what do we expect these highly placed persons to do to refill their coffers in other to meet the alleged societal obligations of spraying at the next occasion? Please do not bother to answer, as I will spare you the agony of that thought and say without equivocation that they will look for where to steal or loot more funds or, better still, place a call to any business person with contracts or interests before their ministry or agency to send them some money for urgent engagement which the businessman or person of interest will gladly oblige and thus therein begins your nexus of corrupt relationship to the detriment of our society and nation and all to what end? Vanity.
While there is nothing wrong with the idea of giving a helping hand to others or supporting fundraising efforts during celebrations or in cases of loss of relatives when one can afford to do so, this should be done in a responsible way that not only promotes the right cultural values but is done in a dignified way that conveys a sense of responsibility, civility and without incentivizing corrupt tendencies that reckless Naira spraying potentially does indirectly encourages. There is ample evidence, though unscientific, of a relationship between this act of spraying Naira on the prevailing unethical culture in our nation, including the high degree of youth involvement in internet-related criminal enterprise popularly known as Yahoo-Yahoo, whose participants are called “Yahoo Boys.” In light of where we are today as a nation and the need to make our country work by eliminating corruption and other societal vices, there is no better starting point than the immediate cessation of the Naira Spraying tradition, which at best is uncivilized and shows a lack of respect for our national currency, and at worst a clear pathway to corruption and unethical behavior in our nation. Some have argued that Naira spraying at marriages, birthdays, graduation or dance parties, or wake keeping for departed loved ones is part of our culture and that this act called making it rain is fun and should not be criminalized, a position that I strongly disagree with for reasons already enumerated here.
The role of the prevailing culture in our national life cannot be minimized; thus, for our country to move forward, we must eliminate some of these behaviors and norms, like “Naira Spraying,” that does not add any value to our nation or help in any way in bringing about the nation of our collective dreams, but rather serve as a gateway to corruption. Consequently, we would need to embrace cultural change from the ground up to address this and other vices afflicting our nation, from political corruption to banditry, kidnapping, and violence against women and children, and that journey must begin today and now if we must save our nation. Finally, I am compelled to draw an inference to the Holy Bible to extend my point of view by saying seek ye first culture change and the resultant societal transformation, and all other things shall be added unto it, including prosperity for all, good governance, transparency, and a well-functioning nation with peace and tranquility.
*Osaikhuiwu is the Executive Director of the African Council for Cultural and Economic Renaissance (ACCER).
Comments are closed.