The elders have failed us in corruption war

An anti-corruption protest in Nairobi on May 31, 2018. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • It is the level of corruption, rather than corruption itself, that is troubling us.
  • Most young Kenyans first encountered corruption in the presence of, or from, an older person.

  • Mostly, young people are guided into corruption by the older folks.

Corruption in Kenya has reached such levels that even the habitually corrupt are shocked. It is the level of corruption, rather than corruption itself, that is troubling us.

People who stole millions of shillings in past years feel like saints. They are shocked at the boldness and tactics of the new kids on the block doing billions.

But how did we get here? How did corruption become such a part of us?

A common factor in all the major corruption scams is the involvement of the older generation — people who are mostly over 40 or have worked for more than 15 or so years.

Most young Kenyans first encountered corruption in the presence of, or from, an older person.

It is the parents who gave bribes to police officers in front of their children. It is the senior accountants who taught their juniors how to ‘cook’ books.

CHEAT IN EXAMS

It is the senior engineers who told their juniors, “This is how it’s done here.” It is teachers who helped students to cheat in examinations.

This does not mean that all the seniors are culpable but corruption in companies and organisations (especially where significant amounts of money are involved) does not occur without their knowledge.

Mostly, young people are guided into corruption by the older folks. It evolves into ‘monkey see, monkey do’. Some young people join in, innovating new stealing methods.

Regarding integrity, there is a great disconnect between what the young people hear and what they see. They are told to work hard and smart but are not shown how.

All they see is an older generation who have a lot of money but most of whom cannot explain how they made it. Young people don’t see the ‘hustle’, which raises questions.

Young people want to see integrity broken down to dos and don’ts. Show us examples of how you fought corruption, how you said ‘no’ to a bribe.

STORIES OF INTEGRITY

To them, fight against corruption sounds mostly like a chicken flapping its wings — continuous rhetoric that yields nothing. We all know the chicken isn’t flying anywhere.

We want to see action, but, more importantly, men and women coming out to give their stories of integrity. Mentors.

Young people have been left to fend for themselves; older people seem resigned to the fact that they can’t relate to them.

When young people have to be spoken to, they go and find the youngest person in age or ideology to speak.

Even in churches, they are confined in ‘youth churches’ with young pastors who, with all due respect, may be struggling just like their congregation.

I know young people who strive to do things right. But they are being frustrated by the elders.

JOB SECURITY

They are asked for almost all their profit as bribes. Their job security depends on how well they ‘co-operate’ rather than their performance.

Values, like vices, are more caught than taught. We all need to be champions of integrity in our spaces. Only then can we begin to build family values and then, maybe, national values.

C. S. Lewis said, “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” Lacking values, we have made cleverer devils through our education system.

It is time to instil values but it can only begin with every individual modelling it, especially those who have people looking up to them.

Mr Naibei is a computer specialist based in Nairobi and also a blogger at www.naibei.co.ke.