It is true that man was the last of all things that Almighty God created. Scriptures also record that everything that God created was perfect including man. At what point therefore did the virus of kleptomania set in the personality of man? The plausible answer may not be unconnected with the sin of disobedience evidenced in the Garden of Eden. The ‘self’ inherently connotes the totality of an average human being’s personality as distinct from one person to another. From the psycho-analytical standpoint, the mind as an integral part of human personality is differentiated into three dimensions viz: id, ego and super-ego. The id dimension of human personality indulges one to desire all manners of things in the world and set about to acquire them at all cost without a modicum of thought about the ethical demands on the choice means of acquisition. That is to say, the individual driven by his/her id, does not care a hoot whether the tools deployed to meet his/her needs and wants are right or wrong.
On the other hand, the super-ego operates quite on the opposite direction. The individual propelled by the influence of the super-ego, considers primarily the ethical and moral justification for his/ her actions vis-à-vis the acquisition of his/her needs and wants (utilities) both in private and public settings. The ego dimension thus serves as the moderator between the tendencies orchestrated by id and super-ego. Hence, the management of self as a safe-guard against the blight of kleptomania entails exercise of a great deal of self-control and discipline – attributes that are very rare in our days and time.
Given the foregoing premise therefore, it is not unreasonable to infer that the virus of kleptomania in human society and Nigeria in particular is inextricably linked to the disproportionate influences or forces fuelled by id dimension in the personalities of so many people especially our fellow countrymen and women. Kleptomania being an incurable urge to steal can be inborn or acquired depending on the company one keeps and the world view of such a clique. Long before now, the incident of stealing was rare in our society because majority of members of the society were bearers or epitomes of the societal norms, religious and cultural values. These noble values were not only respected but also constituted the bulwark of the society as a whole. But today all that have disappeared such that stealing which has become common place at elementary level of self-gratification (selfishness) has also graduated through greed to attain a postgraduate status called corruption with all its attendant vices on the larger society.
Currently, we live and grapple with the menace of corruption in all ramifications of our national life staring us in the face. Selfishness as perpetually self-seeking propensity, has loomed large as a colossus and metamorphosed with the passage of time into the monster of corruption which has defied all antidotes applied so far. The impact of corruption ranges from insecurity, unemployment, looting of public treasury, nepotism, god-fatherism, thuggery, prostitution, abortion, cultism, financial scams in low and high places, sorting, examination malpractices, cyber-crimes, advanced fee fraud (419), kidnapping, militancy, Boko Haram escapade, perversion of justice etc.
It is germane to note that there are key facets to the life of any nation. These facets include: political, economic, social, technological, religious and cultural. Bearing our dear country in mind, one may be tempted to ask: which of these facets can be adjudged to be bereft of the plague of corruption? The honest answer would be none of the above. Corruption is so rife that we find it in government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), at all levels, local, state and national assemblies, business organisations, schools, churches, and what have you.
Many of us have taken delight in blaming the unfortunate situation on the lack of purposeful leadership. One agrees that leadership has a major role to play. May we, however, not forget that leadership is neither a solo game or can it be exercised in a vacuum. Wherever we find leadership, there must necessarily be followership in between which divides, lay the responsibilities and the environment or context of the performance of leadership role. Hence, the followership also has equal blame. We must also remember that those who become leaders were followers yesterday. Leadership, for all intents and purposes, is a team work for it to record remarkable success. The term “TEAM” as an acronym is critical because it stands for “together each achieves more” which is synonymous with synergy.
It is a fact that majority of us do know what are the problems of our country Nigeria. But strangely enough, we pay lip service to their resolution. We need to conscientiously talk less but much more, work the talk. To do this successfully, we need as Socrates urged “man know thyself” aware that “an unexamined life is not worth living.” We need to examine and purge ourselves of all negative instincts that have consistently crippled our corporate efforts to make a quantum leap development-wise. When we, as individuals and as a collectivity, decide to suppress and control the instincts of id in our personalities while at the same time, bringing to the fore the imperatives of the super-ego of our personalities, we would soon come to appreciate that management of self is, indeed, the antidote to the virus of kleptomania in our private and public life.
Matthias Nkuda
