CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SOCIAL INSECURITY AND CORRUPTION
Man is a social being who needs social security which leads to the realization of man’s humanity. The word social means the act of living a communal and gregarious life that is full of companionship. The word social is connected with human society which encompasses the ways people organizes their society, interact with others and live their life. Hence, a human being as a social animal has an innate socialistic tendency in him. And he will remain unfulfilled and unsatisfied until he actualizes his social status.
Therefore, we can define social security as the security of man’s social systems. The social systems of man are his social needs. In other words Social security refers to the protection and recognition of man’s social needs by the state.
Furthermore, social security systems encompass all government programmes and actions geared towards protection of the social needs or social wellbeing of the citizenry. The social security of any state has to cover all citizens whether poor or rich.
However, many contemporary social scientists have repeatedly defined social security as the security of social needs or social wellbeing of the poor, the disabled, the infirm, the minors, the unemployed, the elderly, the sick and other economically disadvantaged citizens. But I tell you that social security systems are broader than that. It is social network. It is not limited to the less privileged or those in the lower class. This is because both haves and haves not need social immunities. For instance employees have to be socially secured in terms of having a sociable, livable, and workable working condition, security of their jobs, quality health care services, social infrastructure and other social services at their disposal.
Politicians also need social security for their office or tenure and when they complete their tenure good social services and protection. It is obvious that security is all about protection. And social security is the chief form of security. It is the primary responsibility of the state to protect the social needs of its citizens.
Therefore we have seen how important social security systems are in making man to become human. In other words it is man’s inalienable or undeniable social right. In case of governmental tendencies to compromise or deny citizens these social needs, it will definitely lead to other dangerous practices in the state as we are going to enunciate them.
Many countries especially the developing ones have made their citizens to be socially vulnerable and morally preservationist due to the negligence of their primary responsibilities. They have woefully failed to provide the three basic needs of man which are food, clothing and shelter let alone extending hands to the other important social needs of people like quality health care services, employment opportunity, infrastructural development and so forth.
In other hand, some developed nations understood that security of the social needs of man is paramount because without it other governmental activities may be mere waste of time and resources because it will ruin and overshadow the effort of government. For example, in the United States of America, the social security of its citizens is the number one priority of the government since the formation of the state particularly during the Great Depression of 1930s. During the Great Depression of 1930s, the then president Franklin D. Roosevelt (a democrat) in his ultimate wisdom and political understood that government exists not for its own sake or for aesthetic value but for the sake of offering social services to the people. In the face of Great Depression then, Roosevelt introduced numerous social policies in the state through what was called New Deal plan in other to immune or protect social security of American citizens. He used the programme to tackle poverty, unemployment and other social illness in the state then. Today, the United States no doubt is a state to reckon with in the issue of adequate, reliable and sustainable social insurance for her citizens’ wellbeing. The state has a formidable and a well institutionalized social security network.
Today in the US there are numerous social security programmes in the state which we can be broadly categorize into four viz:
Retirement Insurance
Disability Insurance
Dependents Insurance
Survivors Insurance
Under these four social security programmes there are: health care insurance for the aged and the disabled, unemployment benefits, spouse retirement benefit, benefits for spouse of disabled workers, children of the disabled worker, disabled minors or disabled children of diseased workers, widower benefits, even the divorced spouse benefits, and host of other social security networks.
The analyses have showed that social insurance has remained the largest government programmes in the US. Yes, social security systems should be the largest sector government should channel its national budget because the essence of government is to serve; otherwise, there is no need for the state let alone its machinery [government]. America is one of countries that understand the meaning, terms and conditions of social contract between government and citizens [the governed]. Both the government and the governed in states have abided by the terms of the contract. That is why an average American is loyal and willing to defend the dignity and sovereignty of American state even if it means paying the supreme sacrifice.
The reasons are not far fetch because the act of patriotism everywhere may only exist when one knows that the state has something positively to offer. It is the duty of the state to foster a feeling of belonging and importance among the people of the state. That is when the national loyalty will override the sectional loyalty. Can a hungry man or frustrated man become patriotic to a government that he knows full well is the source of his ordeal? The answer is NO!
Furthermore, many western countries apart from the United States have realized that the social being of man is questionable without social security. Social security is the highest form of security any government can offer to its citizens. Armed security is the perversion of social security. In other words, it is the outcome of the failure or collapse of the social security systems.
This is because insecurity in any form is caused by man when he is searching for his social needs. Whenever the social wellbeing of man is not altered or compromised with other forms of social, political and socio-cultural injustice and negligence, there will be peace and development in the state.
Many countries in the world like the United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Chile, Poland, Canada, France etc just to mention but a few have programmed different forms of social security systems for the social well being of their citizens. The whole world is now gradually moving left (socialism). For example in the UK, Britain even established the Department of Social Security which has been replaced by the Department for Works and Pensions. The primary responsibility of the department is to cater for the social needs or welfare of citizens.
This programme is even extended to British citizens living outside the UK. The department offers social welfare programmes like that of the US social security insurance scheme. Some of the services include: the pension services, jobseekers allowances, unemployment and support allowance, disability services, the child maintenance services etc. In Netherlands and Australia, the two countries have even more organized and reliable social security services network.
A country that holds the primacy of man’s social security as its sacred, the responsibilities the citizens are to reciprocate the same positive gesture towards the government. That is the only condition a stable and sustainable development can be ensured. Loyalty or legitimacy cannot and will not be obtained by coercion. For example, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) has clearly or empirically demonstrated to the whole world that she has not failed in her primary responsibilities of protecting and catering for the welfare of her citizens. This was clearly manifested in September 18, 2014, when a referendum was conducted to Scotland to vote “yes” or “no” whether to remain in the United Kingdom (a union that is made up of England, Britain, Scotland and Northern Ireland) or to become an independent state. And the Scots voluntarily voted “yes” that they want to remain in the union because their social needs or welfares are adequately catered for.
In other words, the social security of the Scots have not been compromised or jeopardized unlike what we have in many socially insured third world countries. It is only in socially immunized region like Scotland that the majority will vote “no” in preference to “yes” which would have made her a sovereign independent state coupled with her human and natural resources. Scotland as a region is more powerful than many peripheral countries.
For instance any day a socially vulnerable state, especially those in Africa decides to organize a referendum for her constitute regions whether to be independent or to remain together in the name of unity or in the name of one nation, that will be the end of that country in question because the different regions will opt-out not minding their poor human and material resources in their respective regions. For example, if anybody is in doubt let Nigeria try it.
There is nothing like protection or immunity, especially, immunity against the three basic enemies of man namely: disease, ignorance and poverty. The UK been as a Unitary state has devoluted more powers to the regional governments that formed the union even more than those socially inscured countries that are claiming to be federal states in this contemporary global politics.
The problem with many underdeveloped or third world countries is that they have not understood the meaning of unity. Unless they understand that unity does not mean uniformity or absence of differences, they may not develop. This is because, they cannot decentralize power let alone allow devolution of political powers to the component regions which are necessary objective conditions for development and protection of man’s social needs because it will bring government nearer to the people and ensure unity in diversity. For instance in America, a survey shows that local governments have more direct impact to the life of an average American more than federal and state governments. Unity can only exist in a state when the people understand that they are different either etymologically or personally. It is only when these differences have been recognized, accommodated, and respected that true unity and prosperous state can emerge.
Social Insecurity
Social insecurity on the other hand, occurs when the above social security services do not exist in a state. In other words, this occurs when the state has failed in its primary responsibilities in protecting and catering for the social well being of its citizens. All socially insecured countries are failed states. As we have pointed out early the state does not exist for its own sake but for the sake of service to humanity. In other words, the essence of the state and its machinery (government) is to serve people. Apart from catering for the well being of the people, the existence of a political organization called the state will be unarguable, and unquestionably unnecessary. Most of the people in the third world countries are socially insecured. Social insecurity system leads to other insecurities like economic, political, cultural and even religious insecurities.
Armed security exists due to the absence of social security. Armed security which is the perversion of social security system came into being when the social security systems collapsed under the slave owning society. This was when slave lords failed to provide and protect social security of the slaves. For that reason, slaves turned against their lords which made them [slave lords] to be prone to attacks by angry slaves. The slave lords therefore had to arm themselves against socially vulnerable slaves.
Hence a socially insecured state is a politically unstable state. This is because the social needs of man have been compromised in the name of politics. This will in the short or long run depending on the consciousness of the citizens lead to revolts against the state. It is only a matter of time because accumulated frustration will definitely lead to aggression. And aggression if not checked may lead to revolution which will throw new social and political systems if the objectives are not reneged. Revolution is the holistic and fundamental change of existing political and socio-economic systems of a state. Nigeria is one of countries in the world where social insecurity has accumulated and degenerated into all sort of maladministration, injustice, illicit act and other anti-social behavior.
Corruption
The questions are: What is corruption? And who is corrupt? Corruption has been one of the frequently used terms. As well as one of the most tolerated illegal acts, especially in the developing and underdeveloped countries. Although corruption has no boundary, it is everywhere but it is more obtainable and tolerable in some places more than others. It is the most politicized and anti-developmental acts in the world. It is an act that everybody has condemned publicly yet its illicit practice has remained unabated.
Due to its controversial nature many scholars define it in different ways. Different in the sense that they view it in diverse ways; and they also agreed that it is an illicit act. As we have said, many social analysts and commentators have viewed corruption in different perspectives. Therefore we are going to clarify these perspectives into two categories of schools of thought. The two schools of thought or perspectives are: Political Perspective and Socio-holistic perspective.
According to the Political Perspective, corruption is an illegitimate and an illicit act of misuse of public power by public office holders for private gains. They see corruption as any action or inaction of individuals (whether elected or appointed, politician, civil servant and other public office holders against public collective interest. The conceptualization of corruption by political perspectivists is in order but they see corruption from one side which made them guilty of exclusion and bias. For them there is a major and a minor corruption. And they mostly attributed corrupt practices to the public office holders. One of the global anti-corruption agencies, Transparency International [TI] belongs to this school of thought. The agency defines corruption “as the misuse of public power for private benefit.” The agency publishes an annual Global Corruption Barometer and Corruption Perceptions Index.
This perspective may not help us to understand and know the nature and character of the socio-political and economic perversion of corruption. For these reasons, we will not adopt the definition as our research reference point. At this juncture we shall examine the Socio-holistic Perspective.
The Socio-holistic Perspective sees corruption as any illicit act by an individual that is contrary to the established code of conduct that guides societal systems. According to this school of thought every society has societal norms whose deviation contrariety will amount to corrupt practices. Any deviation no matter how small that violates the acceptable ways of behavior is corruption. For the socio-holistic perspective any unfair advantage over others is corruption. This perspective has no political and socio-economic stratification of corruption. For the socio-holistic disciple, corruption is corruption whether it is being committed by the public officer holder or layman on the street. They further define corruption as an act of moral perversion. For them an act of moral perversion is an act of moral perversion whether you are a bourgeois or a proletariat. The proponents see corruption as when elected or appointed politicians or civil servants embezzle or misappropriate public funds as the same thing when a farmer or businessmen doctored or falsified their products. For them there is no major or minor corruption. That when a farmer adds stones in his bags of cereal to increase its quantity it is a corrupt act. When a policeman collects twenty naira from a cyclist, it is corruption. When a lecturer demands money or has an affair with a student in order to pass the person, it is corruption. When a politician embezzles millions of dollars from the state treasury, it is corruption.
Hence, this perspective is more encompassing and comprehensive therefore it will serve as our working definition in this work. Therefore we can define corruption as an act of moral perversion. And any person that engages in this act of moral perversion is a corrupt person.
Forms of Corruption
Corruption can be in any form but it often manifest its dreadful face in the form of bribery, misappropriation of fund, embezzlement of fund, money laundry, falsification and adulteration of goods, etc.
Furthermore, corruption has become so rampant and prevalent in Nigeria polity with its putrefaction effect. Due to its celebrated status in Nigeria, an average Nigerian has his/her own definition of corruption. An average Nigeria will define corruption as any act which he/she does not benefit from whether it is moral or immoral. As long as the system favours him/her nothing will be wrong with the system.
Corruption being an asocial act is committed by man who is a social being.
The question now is: what is the cause of this act of moral perversion (corruption)? This question and other issues will constitute our next chapters © A.O. Eze
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