On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton, speaking of her plans for the American economy, said  she wanted “to make the economy work for everyone, not just those at the top”. Social justice is an important theme in the upcoming US elections, one which elicits passion and feelings of outrage across board. We in Nigeria are all too comfortable with inequality in our society, which is seen as an almost inevitable fact.

When government’s plans for a social safety net were first announced, I was one of those who felt that finally, Nigerians would perceive direct benefits from their government, that is feel its presence in their lives, which had hardly ever been the case in a country grappling with chronic insecurity, power outages, a lack of running water, etc. However, as little has been said about plans to make sure that unemployed Nigerians who receive the N5000 monthly stipend have a long term way out of poverty, I believe it is now time to raise the alarm. We have a culture, in this country, of expecting and accepting gifts, “awoof”, “freebies” or whatever you want to call it.

Corruption in itself, is the belief that one can survive off of free money and handouts rather than relying on the real economy and its wages. It is worrisome that not much has been said about the long-term plans to end poverty in this country, beyond sporadic handouts which might not be sustainable. A country that produces next to nothing, that imports virtually everything, cannot afford to pay unproductive citizens to remain idle. Let us go back to Mrs Clinton’s quote mentioned earlier. The real question is, beyond handouts, how are we going to make the Nigerian economy work for everyone rather than just a few?

From 2010 to 2015 alone, Nigeria made N51 trillion in oil earnings. Where this money is now, why it hasn’t impacted the average Nigerian, is the crux of our problem as a country. We’ve always favoured a top-down approach, believing that our society and economy could function based on the would-be “trickle down” effect of corruption. But, the minute you remove oil from the equation, the whole system crumbles. From make-up artists, to party planners, everyone lived off the spoils of corruption.

In a system where contracts are awarded based on who one knows rather than what one has to offer, our current economic situation was inevitable. We’ve hardly ever focused on closing the income gap, choosing to celebrate the billionaires who make money from government patronage and ignoring the many who suffer because of this. There are many brilliant, hard working Nigerians who don’t have the luxury of a friend in government who can award them a contract right before their summer holidays.

For them, the frustration of not being able to apply their natural abilities in a society where one must know the MD of a company before so much as getting a foot in the door, is nothing short of a tragedy. A fairer society with a strong middle class is good for everyone but Nigerian politicians (many of whom are far from good policy makers) have revelled in their selfishness and small-mindedness, wanting to be “big men” with an army of sycophants and beneficiaries massaging their egos. So, we’ve ignored the first rule of capitalism and modern economics: if workers have more money (if the minimum wage is high enough and people get paid for working overtime) businesses will have more customers.

Most businesses commonly claim they can’t afford to increase salaries, with all the other costs they have to endure (power generation, high taxes etc). But in a country where government remains the highest employer of labour, things get stranger and stranger. Why can’t state governments afford to pay salaries if not because of corruption? Where does all the money go?

The supreme injustice done to the Nigerian people is the non-prosecution of corruption cases so that Nigeria’s money continuously goes to leeches and parasites, rather than creating opportunities for those willing to work. Those who voted for the APC thought they were getting an activist government, one that would literally “walk the talk”, recover stolen funds and invest in what a country needs to turn its citizens into productive individuals. There have been few debates on the state of our educational system, which produces robots who cram facts and figures but cannot create new ideas of their own. There have been even fewer debates about healthcare, beyond discussing the President’s medical tourism.

Redistributing some funds to those who desperately need help is a step in the right direction but on its own, this’ll remain a quick fix, a cosmetic measure. A lot has been said about creating jobs through investments in infrastructure, for example, but not enough has been said about concrete measures to create more fairness in our economy. One might say the stratified nature of the economy is the natural order of things: low paying jobs will always exist relative to higher paying jobs.

But in Nigeria poverty seems almost generational, and this is another facet of the great tragedy or injustice called corruption. With resources pulled away from the Nigerian system into the economies of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, a child born into poverty has almost no prospects of ever escaping it. It is this sort of debate on how to lift as many Nigerians as possible into the middle class which is sorely missing in the polity. We have an all too religious understanding of poverty, thinking it is the will of God that some be poor and others rich. God doesn’t accept stealing, which is the cause of the abject poverty found in Nigeria today.

The justification of padding is another injustice, as it secretly allocates funds to projects which neither the executive nor the public have much knowledge of, ensuring their lack of completion is never scrutinised or queried.

I’ll end with a few quotes I believe every Nigerian should ponder, as we begin to finally think about what real change means:”Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance”—Theodore Roosevelt.

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it”—Mark Twain. “The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonourably, foolishly, viciously.” —Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot.

I’m personally fed up of explaining to young children why they must love a country that does nothing for them and of debating over issues which are a thing of the past in other climes. What one expects from government, at this point, is the coordinated release of programmes which tackle our many issues from different angles.

Yes, corruption is at the centre of our problems. But without other measures to tackle the socio-economic gaps which encourage and enable corruption, we are doomed to see more mistakes, and more evil rise. This is the time to be bold, rather than timid and to prove that Nigeria is worth much more than the recycling of has-beens in power.

Sports ministry

Mr Dalung’s uniform has been, so far, his central attraction on social media but one should play close attention to rumours of Sports Ministry officials’ family members being sponsored to attend the Olympics in Rio in place of athletes’ coaches and other necessary assistants. What happened to the Presidents’ directive stating official outings shouldn’t be turned into opportunities for public officers to amuse themselves and their friends at the country’s expense?

Budget monitoring

News of the ICPC training government departments on effective budget monitoring is a welcome development. However, citizens need to be empowered to do the monitoring themselves. Indeed, officials and politicians will always protect each other. Transparency, that’s the real change Nigeria needs.