Nigerians want change for many reasons. Those of them who travel overseas see life outside Nigeria, but cannot compare what obtains in other economies with theirs at home because there are peculiarities that work against us. Most super successful people have at one stage or the other milked the system and the government directly or indirectly to remain in business, while the traders, importers and industry players have cut corners, cheated the system in order to remain afloat in business, and many still do it.

A government may have allowed corruption to thrive brazenly like we saw under the PDP government from OBJ to GEJ, or wishes to fight corruption, and endeavours to send some messages , like we now have under GMB, there are some peculiarities with Nigeria that make it extremely difficult for the kind of changes expected by the people to happen here. These peculiarities are the reasons why those who benefit from the system, and those who are victims of the system have alike, accepted the sing-song claim: “ this is Nigeria”, meaning this is a place where anything can happen.

Our years of military experience have created or allowed a peculiar system to thrive irrespective of the slogan politicians may invent to clinch power. This system thrives on what I call the toll-gate economy. Key government agencies and their personnel, toll their responsibilities for their individual survival and successes to the detriment of the collective psyche and will of the people. A rather simple process could be so complicated from design that the officer in charge can exploit it to make money for himself and for his agency by appearing to be helpful to a citizen who needs that service.

A few examples will explain what I mean here, beginning with our law enforcement agencies, of which the Police Force leads. When a citizen makes contact with the Police either at the station or on the road at a check point, the officer tries to find a fault with the driver by checking first the passengers, their destinations and baggage, then the driver for driving license and vehicle particulars, the idea being to intimidate the driver or even the passengers to part with some money to regain their freedom.

At the Police station, you must part with money irrespective of whether you are the complainant or the accused person, or a witness. There may be a big notice saying “bail is free”, but what it really means is that you are free to negotiate bail depending on how desperate you consider your matter.

You part with money when you visit the Police or they visit you, and the juniors make returns to their superiors, making it a Nigerian peculiarity which will take years to efface.

The civil servants have been forced over the years to devise methods to survive a wicked system that gives them no housing, no health care, no water, no light, no transport, just nothing. And now no job security under PMB, where a Permanent Secretary can be sacked without prior warning or notice and with immediate effect! They simply toll their job descriptions and responsibilities, by breaking processes into stages, and the citizen pays money at each stage of the processing of any application, be it for birth certificate, land acquisition, import or export processing, International Passport, just name it; you part with money for your file to move.

Earlier in the 1980s, travel was a bit easier and cheaper; Nigerian International Passports had a life span of ten years. At issuance you got five years at the end of which it is extended for another five years. Then some one accused the system of corruption and moved the responsibility to the Nigerian Immigration Service, and they quickly tolled the process.

Today, Nigerian International Passport expires after five years, and you just have to obtain a new one every five years, with an option of the small or big size and price ranging from N35,000 to N50,000 to obtain one. It has become a punishment for citizens desiring to travel overseas. Nigerian Immigration Service has become a revenue generating agency for government! In saner climes like the Americas, Europe as well as South Africa, Egypt and Morrocco, the International Passport is for the life of a citizen, but not in Nigeria where it expires every five years!

Greed and perversity have driven our policy makers to toll the ownership of an international passport for citizens of Nigeria, and thereby destroy the sense of pride of Nigerians in their country, as they ask what they get from their governments?

Some orators may tell us to ask what we can do for our country, which is good, but what do we get in return? In the social contract between us and our leaders, what do we get from them? Is it good roads and infrastructure, water, light, housing, education, health care, or birth certificate, death certificate, petrol,International Passport, or driving license?

In other nations where every step is not tolled, the drivers license is for the life of a citizen, and is linked with the national population data for planning purposes, but in Nigeria, tolling of the system by design has made it difficult to link these information centers. We have to queue differently for National Identity Cards, INEC Permanent Voters Cards, drivers license, mobile telephone sim cards, and now bank verification number, and who knows what ideas will come up tomorrow, and they drag us all into queues once again.

Our large population has been converted to our undoing through the tolling of every process to get money out of the people shamelessly by our leaders and policy planners. The result is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to live in Nigeria as an honest and good man, without compromising one thing or the other at some stage, in order to survive. This is why there is some sense in the agitation for a separate nation as this one appears faulty from foundation, and does not seem to be working well for all of us!

Clement Udegbe, a lawyer, wrote from Lagos.