Vice Chancellor of Delta State University, Professor Andy Egwunyenga has stated that integrity is the threshold of democratic consolidation.
This assertion was made in a lecture he delivered at the ‘2024 Public Service Lecture’ entitled: ‘Integrity And National Development In Nigeria: What Nexus? held in Asaba, Delta State.
Prof Egwunyenga in his presentation outlined and highlighted on different levels of integrity and its linkage to national developments.
He also pointed out the root causes of why Nigeria has been having hiccups as integrity has been eroded over the years.
Read full text of the lecture below:
Introduction:
“The subject matter of integrity continues to resonate in contemporary discourses on Nigeria’s future as a nation. In the opinion of Tromp (2010), integrity is the foundation upon which good governance can be built.
“It is the key variable in the determination of national development. In this exclusive forum specially created by the University of Ibadan Alumni Association, Asaba Chapter and in alignment with the developmental thrust of this Association, I have therefore chosen to speak, on this crucial variable – Integrity.
“Conceptual Clarification
Integrity. Integrity can be seen as the quality of high moral uprightness and discipline in an individual or an organization. It entails conducting oneself along strong moral principles towards excellence.
“A person of integrity deliberately seeks what is good and acceptable in any given setting, then aligns himself with it and channels his efforts towards attaining it.
“Integrity is attitudinal and mostly self-propelled in efficacy rather than being externally enforced. Integrity evolves from an internal conviction from within the individual or organization about the path to follow in achieving excellence albeit in a personal, corporate or even public setting.
“For any entity to be sustained and developed, it must adopt integrity as it fundamental core value. It is the father of all core values and the foundation on which other values may be built. Integrity calls for individuals to be honest and to have a set of strong moral principles upon which they do whatever they have to do.
“A man of integrity does not change his principles of conduct very easily once he has resolved within himself to pursue them. He is consistent in his dealings with others.
“A man of integrity does not claim to be perfect but usually aspires towards perfection in all that he puts his mind to do. He easily accepts his mistakes and quickly seeks ways to correct them to attain perfection. He is an ever-willing learner and craves for knowledge of what is required to attain excellence at any given time.
“He is often submissive and very humble, and does not engage in unnecessary arguments. A man of integrity is sincere and his “sincerity comes from a pure motivation to do what is right even when it might be inconvenient” (Chadwick, 2019).
“Your integrity as an individual is often very well tested during times of crisis and serious difficulties. The strength of your integrity is underscored by your ability to avoid compromise in your resolve to do what you believe is right even at the risk of standing alone.
National Development: National development is perhaps the most significant objective of any State. From both a historical and contemporary perspective, the subject matter of national development remains an intriguing variable across all academic disciplines.
“Yet it is one ground in which academics and other analysts have found convergence very elusive. As a natural scientist, I can always identify development in an entity when it undergoes a process of change in structure. Thus by noticing a transformational change in the structural configuration of an organism, I can confidently say that the organism is developing.
“To the economist, sociologist and other social scientists however, development may be explained from the point of view of transformational social change resulting from a growing national income. The transformational social change is all-inclusive involving both material and human standards of living.
“The goal of development is to raise the quality of life and the environment. From this perspective therefore, national development may be better construed more as an economic and social phenomenon than as a natural scientific process.
“Various scientific well-articulated theories have been developed in the social and management sciences through the classical, neoclassical and modern eras to explain the process of growth and development. These include such theories as the Cobb-Douglas growth models; Rostowan 5-stages take-off growth models, Wallerstein’s Core & Periphery models and the Endogenous growth models (Loan & Loan, 2015; Jacobs, 2024; Sorinel, 2010; Park, 1994).
” However, from whichever perspective one looks at national development, the concept remains a sine qua non for every contemporary State in the comity of nations.
Typology of Integrity:
“Following the scheme laid down by Cox, La Caze and Levine (2003) we may identify broadly, four types of integrity namely:
“Personal integrity: The individual sets his own moral standards of honesty and sincerity independent of what the society offers and work conscientiously to maintain such standards anywhere he finds himself. The individual whether in his closet or in the glare would exude the sterling qualities of a man of integrity and he is seen by others as such. A man of integrity does not publish himself, others publish him.
1. Workplace integrity: In workplace integrity, the individual is required to demonstrate high quality of honesty and ethical behavior when dealing with clients and colleagues at the workplace. Such employees have a strong moral compass to do what is considered to be the right thing whether or not someone is watching.
“The employee is not the Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne kind of worker whose productivity is highest when he is aware that he is under watch or supervision. A bank teller who returns a customer’s over payment when the latter is unaware of making such over payment may be described as having integrity, just as a taxi driver that returns valuables forgotten in his car to the owner-client. In the same way, a university lecturer that refused to yield to students’ temptation to take money for “blocking” even when nobody is aware has integrity. Characteristic workplace integrity requires that employees take responsibility for their errors and not blame others for such.
2. Professional Integrity: Unlike workplace integrity which concerns workplace relationships, professional integrity requires the individual to uphold the ethos of his particular profession even in the midst of whatever threats from the environment. In the academic circle, the issue of professional integrity is often tested when academics attempt to publish what is expected to be their original research in learned peer-reviewed academic journals.
3. Political Integrity: This type of integrity is required of political officers who are expected to keep to their promises upon ascension to political power. A key component of political integrity is consistency of principles and actions. It is often said that the politician is “a man of many words.” This epitaph is perhaps the result of the people’s experience of many years of “failed promises” from political officers. Their political decisions and actions should be based on reasonable arguments or premises and these should directly reflect the set of principles which such officers hold in their public offices.
These types are all related and they strengthen each other.
Why Integrity?
Individuals need integrity as a key component of their personalities for
1. Building Trust: Trust is the key to every business success. People desire to do business with those they can trust. If clients have doubts about your sincerity in business they are very likely to lose trust in you. A man of integrity will always command trust in his relationship with his neighbours, clients and business partners.
2. Building Reputation: Reputation is the respect and name that is earned over the years in a man’s relationship with others. Reputation is exclusive and is earned, not awarded. A man of integrity builds reputation on a continuous basis through honesty, reliability and consistency in his behavior when relating with others around him. If you desire reputation, follow the path of integrity
3. Providing good Leadership: A critical quality of a leader is integrity. Leadership built on integrity will always deliver on good governance (Tromp, 2010). The first question that electors at public elections or organizations looking for leaders would ask is “Is he a person of integrity?” Followers seek leaders who have integrity and can bring them to excellence. Once your integrity as a current leader is challenged from the onset with substance, followers next time will be reluctant to decide their future leadership in your favour. Even if you finally emerge the leader “anyhow” your integrity will continue to be put to test and your task therefrom will become enormous trying to prove challengers wrong through honest and accountable leadership behaviour. Yet if you do not have integrity, you cannot fake it.
4. Success: Long-term success in business can only result from years of integrity. Integrity seeks all round excellence in behavior and this can only lead to success. In private organizations where the goal is profit-making, the relevance of integrity among staff cannot be over-emphasized. The opportunities and the reaches of a man of integrity are endless and armed with the strong moral principles of excellence he can attain long-term success in his endeavours.
Developing a culture of integrity:
Integrity is not in-born but is learnt. A poor culture of integrity is detrimental because it breeds distrust in personal, workplace or other social relationships. In the opinion of Robert Chesnut, “companies that do not think seriously about a crucial element of corporate culture—integrity—are destined to fail.” Chesnut (2020) provides a six-point scheme in developing a culture of integrity as an individual or corporate entity namely;-
1. Lead by Example: To make others in your group or organization follow your style of conduct, you must be the first person to show it. As a leader, you must be the first to openly embrace integrity. The leader is the role–model that others in the group look up to and he must be the one to set the tone of ethical standard that others will follow. He must not be seen flouting the rules he has set, nor cutting corners or ignoring bad behaviour from his followers.
2. Make your ethic codes your own: Create the set of ethical codes you intend to follow and start with yourself applying them instead of copying codes that work for other people. They may not work for you or your organization.
3. Talk about it: Just embracing it is not enough to make people build a culture. The leader must openly talk about it at each opportunity that comes to him. As a chief executive of a big organization, you could provide an orientation talk where you personally meet new employees one-on-one and interact with them on integrity-related issues and subjects.
4. Report Violation: The reporting process in a group or organization must be open and all-inclusive. Most often, reporting that chief executives want to hear is about success on the job function. Reporting processes in these big organizations are often silent on violations and this breeds suspicion and distrust from employees or members of the group. People should know how to report violations so that appropriate steps are taken to correct them not necessarily by reprimanding erring persons but by finding solutions on a long-term focus.
5. Demonstrate consequences: When violations to ethical standards are made, the leader must ensure that these are investigated and fairly and reasonably dealt with when found to be substantial. In the same manner, when you violate your own ethical standard, you must seek ways of self-discipline to avoid future occurrences
6.Provide a Functional Leadership: A functional leader may be seen as one that adopts team building and collaboration in leading his group rather than concentrating decision-making at the top. Functional leadership focuses on teamwork, adaptability, and each team member is empowered based on their strengths to deliver on the set-goals and produce the right results. To do this, the leader must set direction, motivate and empower people to carry out their tasks while at the same time foster innovation and building relationship among his working team. A functional leader must be able to create environments that enable small teams and groups of employees to engage with one another on positive ethical behaviors. By providing functional leadership, the people around you learn from your integrity. People often look to their leaders for guidance on how to act by unconsciously internalizing their traits. Functional leaders are role-models and are therefore seen as such. If your set goals are properly driven home by effective result-oriented teamwork approach in the decisions and actions you make, followers will align themselves with your attitude and build on your kind of integrity.
6. Provide a Functional Leadership: A functional leader may be seen as one that adopts team building and collaboration in leading his group rather than concentrating decision-making at the top. Functional leadership focuses on teamwork, adaptability, and each team member is empowered based on their strengths to deliver on the set-goals and produce the right results. To do this, the leader must set direction, motivate and empower people to carry out their tasks while at the same time foster innovation and building relationship among his working team. A functional leader must be able to create environments that enable small teams and groups of employees to engage with one another on positive ethical behaviors. By providing functional leadership, the people around you learn from your integrity. People often look to their leaders for guidance on how to act by unconsciously internalizing their traits. Functional leaders are role-models and are therefore seen as such. If your set goals are properly driven home by effective result-oriented teamwork approach in the decisions and actions you make, followers will align themselves with your attitude and build on your kind of integrity.
Integrity vs. Corruption in Nigeria – a national outlook
Integrity and corruption are mutually exclusive because they are enemies and thus cancel each other out. To deploy the principles of integrity to the Nigeria public sector is no doubt an onerous task.
The subject matter of corruption in Nigeria is well researched and published in the extant literature and well known. For time and space constraints, we can only rehearse some of the known scenarios. Beginning with the Civil Service is the issue of bureaucratic corruption. Bureaucratic corruption occurs when officers in an organization technically use the power of their offices to engage in acts devoid of integrity simply to gain some advantages for themselves or other interested parties. The twin factors of incompetence and inefficiency according to Mbaku (1996) have been responsible for the incidence of bureaucratic corruption. Desta (2019) agrees that these variables have shown strong manifestations in the development of the civil service in Africa.
As a social variable, integrity (and particularly the lack of it) among public officers in Nigeria has taken a toll on the growth and development of the nation-state. Dishonesty and flagrant violation of official procedures among public officers have led to incidence of (and hence phenomenal) corruption in virtually all spheres of the national life in Nigeria. Even the ivory towers (institutions of higher learning) have not been spared of this phenomenon.
The want of moral probity and integrity among public officers prompted the creation of organs aimed at not only promoting but also enforcing anti-corruption behaviors. These corrective institutions include the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) among others. Yet due to the scope and complexity of the structure of corruption in the Nigerian State, these state-owned institutions have as yet to provide any meaningful respite in achieving the required standard of moral probity among public officers in all sectors of the Nigerian economy and polity.
[9/24, 6:56 AM] Onoski: Government’s attempt to realize not only clean-ups but also to forestall a further deterioration of current levels of integrity have been futile (Mbaku, 1996) while even some of those officers charged with bringing down corruption have integrity-issues hovering around them. This phenomenon has thus “obstructed and retrogressed development in Nigeria (Abu & Staniewski, 2019, Aluko & Adesopo, 2017).
The picture that corruption in Nigeria has painted of the nation is a very sorry one that it looks only theoretical to imagine having a talk on integrity in a nation-wide environment that is whetted by corrupt practices. Those professing integrity are seen as pretending therefore. On a national scale, integrity consciousness equates to almost zero as corruption behavior has smeared basically all the sectors or institutions including those which hitherto were held in high reputation for the degree of their moral standards.
From the family, to the group and then to the state/national setting in Nigeria, integrity “questions” continue to recur. Family trust has plummeted that even brothers suspect each other when money (or woman perhaps) is involved in their dealings. It becomes difficult to convince others around you that your aspiration to a public office is nothing more than a desire to amass wealth for yourself and family. People congratulate you not sincerely as a cheering process to identify with goodness or great success but deep down with a mindset that through you, some of the so-called “dividends of democracy” would fall on to their hands. Thus, when you become a local government chairman, a state governor, a university helmsman or a chairman to a statutory board/commission, your phone memory is stuffed with congratulatory messages from cronies who wish to identify with you not for succeeding in achieving goodness but more importantly to register their membership of your team in drawing from the largesse of your office. By the time you are done with your office and their aspiration is not fulfilled, you are branded a failure, a misfit, a tragedy or “not a proper son of the community” among other epitaphs.
On a national scale, integrity questions surround public appointments, elections, contracts, project executions, supply/distribution processes, service delivery mechanisms, public/civil services, judicial services and even the clergy. In the political arena, integrity questions resonate from the issue of electoral integrity. Political scientists talk about electoral integrity when they want to ask the question of how much an electoral process delivers on its mandate of providing a worthwhile electoral outcome.
Electoral integrity is a threshold for democratic consolidation in a state and hence the signpost for expecting and predicting good governance behavior among public officers. We have all been witnesses to the degree of integrity in our public elections in Nigeria. Someone coined the words “politicized judicialization” of the electoral process in Nigeria in explaining the tendency now for contestants in public elections to see the courts as the only conclusion of every electoral contest. They no longer have confidence in the capacity of the electoral machinery to deliver independently on its mandate. By looking forward to the judiciary as the final arbiter in each electoral contest, they make the judiciary become an integral part of the electoral process (Omotola, 2024). This phenomenon is due simply to integrity questions emanating from several years of losing trust in the independence of the electoral structures. Integrity questions have made public service pronouncements by political officers to be tainted with skepticism and suspicion. People no longer take the policy-making pronouncements that are made at important national days seriously, as they have had enough impetus to be despondent on the efficacious implementation of these policy pronouncements. They believe that such pronouncements are “dead on arrival” on the sacrificial table of non-implementation, poor execution or corruption.
In the service delivery arena, integrity issues are commonplace. Merit considerations are now historical and exist only in theory in an environment where public contracts, appointments, promotions are won by those that are “on the good books” of their chief executives or that are capable of “playing ball” when given the opportunity. Your promotion may be “sat-upon” or even denied by your superior officer for no defensible reason or for the fictitious and flimsy excuse of “he is not loyal.” Loyalty now becomes a public service jargon in Nigeria and any unfortunate servant, who falls within the prism of being branded as “disloyal” no matter the quality of service delivery he sacrificially offers the system, would suffer injustice in eternity .without possible respite.
The sorry picture of integrity is the same at the professional level. We have seen doctors who abuse their revered professional calling through bad professional behaviors or engineers who undermined the ultimate dangers and the social consequences of approving public projects that are deficiently executed.
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released by Transparency International in 2023 puts Nigeria with a score of 25/100 on a rank of 145th position out of a total of 180 countries ranked with the higher ranking value representing being more corrupt. This index is computed from series of Public Sector data obtained from countries based on sources covering “bribery, diversion of public funds, officials using public office for private gains without facing consequences, ability of government to contain corruption in the public sector, nepotistic appointment in the civil service, laws ensuring that public officers must disclose their finances and potential conflict of interests” among others (Transparency International, 2023).
A country is not bound to accept these statistics even though they were derived from actual live national data collected by global institutions like the World Bank (IBRD) and the World Economic Forum (WEF). Yet the procedures for determining them are available for everyone to access (Transparency International, 2024). However, we cannot ignore the seriousness of the matter of corruption when looking at national development in Nigeria.
Thus, from the national outlook, integrity and corruption have played exclusive roles in Nigeria’s development.
A. Establishing the nexus
We shall now attempt to establish the nexus between Integrity and National Development. The connection between a culture of integrity and national development is straight forward. It begins with leadership. A leader of integrity will always deliver on good governance (Tromp, 2010) and good governance is an overarching recipe for national development. Good governance involves the efficient and effective deployment of the resources available in the state to meet the immediate and long term needs of the people in the state. Only leaders of integrity can identify and optimize the opportunities provided by these resources to attain excellence. A corrupt leader will see these opportunities as a means of personal enrichment and by so doing misappropriate them. Good governance calls have been strident in Nigeria especially at these times when there have been national protests under the #EndBad GovernanceNow! clamour. The culture of integrity will help eliminate corruption right down from the family level through the corporate level and then up to the national level. The gap between the rich and poor countries in the world is only being widened by the degree of integrity that is available in such states. Integrity transforms a society and open up endless opportunities of growth and development. According to Olaloku, et al (1980) there are five sectors of the Nigerian economy namely the Government, Agricultural, Industrial, Trade and Service sectors No matter the sector of the economy one finds himself, integrity is the key word for optimizing opportunities of growth and development and as Chesnut (2020) opines, any organization that seeks growth and yet ignores integrity culture is bound to fail.
B. Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, the foregoing discussion has been our attempt to dilate on the importance of integrity as a vital variable in the determination of national development in Nigeria. Public officers often talk of the value of sustainable development in Nigeria.
Yet there must be some development in place for someone else to “sustain.” Integrity is the key variable to drive development in Nigeria. The country is where it is today because this vital variable has been ignored by policy makers and our state builders over the years and until the nation return to the path of integrity in all our dealings, the road to national development in Nigeria may become even much longer.
