By Lawan Musa Danlami (Baba Lawan)
October 2025
When a nation pardons its criminals faster than it rewards its heroes, it sends a dangerous message — that corruption is not a stain but a strategy. In today’s Nigeria, men who looted public funds walk free under political protection, while honest citizens who served with integrity fade into poverty and obscurity. This moral inversion doesn’t just weaken institutions; it breeds a generation that sees crime as a shortcut to success. When impunity becomes policy and integrity becomes punishment, the very soul of the nation is at risk.
A Culture of Rewarding the Wrong People
Across Nigeria, citizens have watched in disbelief as the same politicians accused or convicted of corruption are granted state pardons and welcomed back into power circles. The 2022 presidential pardon of two former governors — Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State — both jailed for misappropriating billions of naira, was a classic example. Their release, justified under the guise of “compassionate grounds,” sent shockwaves through the nation. To many Nigerians, it was not mercy — it was mockery.
What message does this send to the struggling civil servant or to the youth watching from the sidelines? That crime, if done in the right company, guarantees redemption. Meanwhile, those who live honestly, pay taxes, and serve faithfully receive nothing but neglect and silence.
This selective forgiveness has become a political tradition. From the oil subsidy scams to pension fund thefts, countless cases fade into oblivion once the accused pledges loyalty to the ruling party. The phrase “join us and your sins are forgiven” is no longer metaphorical — it’s political reality.
Heroes Without Honor: The Forgotten Lecturers
In stark contrast, the nation’s real heroes — its lecturers, researchers, and teachers — are left to suffer in silence. These are the intellectual soldiers who train doctors, engineers, administrators, and policymakers — the very people who sustain the system. Yet, they live in conditions unworthy of their calling.
University lecturers, under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), have repeatedly gone on strike, not for luxury, but for survival and the preservation of Nigeria’s collapsing educational system. Their salaries are meagre — in many cases, a professor earns less than ₦400,000 monthly, an amount that cannot sustain a family for a week in today’s economy. Their laboratories are obsolete, their libraries underfunded, and their research unsupported.
While corrupt politicians receive national honors, academic staff who dedicate decades to intellectual development are ignored. The same government that grants billion-naira contracts to cronies claims it cannot afford to fund education adequately. The hypocrisy is staggering.
A lecturer molding future leaders goes unpaid for months, while a politician who plunders public funds receives applause and protection. This imbalance reveals the warped priorities of a nation that values wealth over wisdom, and connections over contribution.
The Politics of Selective Justice
Justice in Nigeria is not blind — it is wide awake, watching who stands before it. Many corruption trials collapse not for lack of evidence but for lack of political will. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has investigated dozens of high-profile cases that ended without consequence. When the powerful are accused, the legal process slows down, evidence disappears, and witnesses lose courage.
When former governors and ministers accused of looting public funds suddenly find political refuge by defecting to the ruling party, prosecutions mysteriously vanish. But the same system moves swiftly to punish poor citizens for minor offenses — the petty trader without a license, the okada rider who breaks a traffic rule, or the student protesting poor conditions on campus.
This two-tier justice system breeds resentment and distrust. When the law protects the powerful and persecutes the powerless, the entire notion of morality collapses.
The Generational Consequences
The danger of this culture is not only in what it does to the present — but what it teaches the future. When young Nigerians see that corruption leads to comfort while integrity leads to suffering, they begin to question the value of honesty.
The result is visible: examination malpractice, internet fraud, and vote-buying have become normalized. A growing number of youths now believe that “the system is rigged,” and the only way to survive is to play the game. This is not merely a moral crisis — it is a national security threat. A generation that loses faith in fairness will not defend a nation that betrayed
Restoring the Value of Integrity
Reversing this dangerous trend requires courage and a deliberate moral revival. The government must first end the culture of political pardons for corrupt elites. Justice must be equal, consistent, and transparent. The judiciary should be insulated from political pressure, and corruption trials should be concluded without interference.
Second, Nigeria must reinvest in education. No nation can rise above the quality of its teachers. The country must prioritize fair pay, modern research infrastructure, and welfare for lecturers and educators at all levels. If a country can afford to subsidize political excesses, it can certainly afford to fund its universities.
Third, the media and civil society must begin to celebrate integrity rather than wealth. National honors should be reserved for those who serve selflessly, not those who enrich themselves. Let the teacher, the nurse, and the honest public officer become the face of national pride.
Finally, moral reorientation must start from the home and the classroom. Children must be taught that integrity is not foolishness, and that success earned through honesty is more honorable than wealth obtained through deceit.
Conclusion: A Nation at a Moral Crossroads
Nigeria stands at a moral crossroads — between redemption and ruin. Every time a corrupt official is pardoned, the nation loses part of its conscience. Every time a teacher goes unpaid, the nation weakens its intellectual backbone.
A country that pardons thieves and neglects thinkers cannot build a future. When criminals are crowned and educators are crushed, progress becomes impossible.
If Nigeria truly seeks transformation, it must choose to make integrity a culture, not crime a career. The survival of the nation depends on it.
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