I. N. T. E. G. R. I. T. Y: Thou art elusive!

An elusive concept/value.

One that should be in everyone's genes. It's about how we are raised, how we act and react, how we deal with ourselves and most importantly, how we deal with others.

Sadly, it is a fast fading concept right from the lowest cadre to the highest. And without trying to put the cart before the horse, let me take you back to the epistemological definition of the word integrity (now, where did that come from). 

It has been defined according to the Webster's dictionary (or is it Oxford?) as “a quality of being honest and fair. In another breath, it has also been defined as a steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.  But I won’t be surprised sha if a child under 15 years old reading this on my blog has a deep confused furrow on his/her brows and turns to his/her folks and says, “daddy, what is integrity”?

Yes, it is that bad and in case you are wondering what brought about this topic or where this inspiration came from, I will tell u. At no extra cost!

I was on my way to work this morning and I beckoned on those maigidas (abi abokis or mallams? No be same?) selling Orbit and the likes as I can be a sweet tooth some times. And I really don't know what made me ask the dude selling how much the Orbit was despite already rummaging inside my Louis Vuitton bag(na you sabi) for the exact amount I knew it was being sold for, and he announced in a rather unruffled way “N500”.

Whaaaaaaaaat!!!! Orbit of N200??? You dey craze????

You should have seen the way I went on and on in serious Queens English o, telling him it's people like him that won't make Nigeria progress and how MKO Abiola was killed and Muritala Muhammad was murdered due to corruption and I think I must have mentioned the open letter OBJ wrote to Jonathan somewhere in between my rants o, and I kept asking him in a rather heated & slightly raised voice whether it was because I asked for the price. And in a more angry and bewildered tone, I went further to ask whether it was because I was putting on a Fossil wristwatch with a lovely H & C shirt with my Loubotin heels and my Gucci bag (yeah yeah bite me, I like to look and feel good on Monday mornings)

Queen Elizabeth would have been proud of my diction and intonation.

At that moment, the aboki didn’t know whether to walk away from me as I was very certain the only word he could pick out of my rant was the one I kept mentioning “Orbit” & “200 naira”. In fact, by the time the other cars close to me became aware of the one sided rant and how I was speaking heatedly and in pure English to the aboki, I began to suspect they had already concluded on my mental state.

My dear, I was not bothered one bit. This is 300 naira we are talking about.

I still went on and on with the aboki and wanted to know what warranted the above 100% rise n the price of Orbit of N200 for N500. It was bad enough that the Federal Government gave just 3 days as public holiday for the season and that the cost of live chicken and groundnut oil has soared due to the festive season and the Pina Colada at the Ember Creek is so expensive and not even as thick & creamy as the one at Rhapsody’s (Is that the spelling? Whatever! The social birds will know where I am referring to). One aboki now wants to dupe me for 300 naira?

In this Nigeria? Ko jo mehn!  I have not digressed o. I am just still indignant.

Now the point I am trying to make from this is that,  if an ordinary sweet seller cannot be honest on something as trivial as the price of Orbit, how in the name of ten devils do we expect him to be when trusted with bigger responsibilities? And this brings to fore the main gist of this discourse.

We lack integrity in this country. Simple as that!

The bulk of the problems we have can be traced to an individual or groups of individuals who feel by virtue of their position or opportunity presented to them, they can steal and amass as much wealth as they can or take advantage of a lesser person just because they can. 

It's all around us. You want to get someone to render a service he has been employed and paid to do but if you don't tip him, he will not even move an inch. LACK OF INTEGRITY.

.

You go to White House in Yaba to buy amala with gbegiri, ewedun, ogufe & other orisi risi (jeez, am getting carried away again) and rather than join the queue to buy food, you shunt and when people start raising eyebrows, you say you were here earlier on, but had to quickly get to your car. LACK OF INTEGRITY.

You do not show up at work and call in sick but when you are called, you mention that your car broke down on 3^rd mainland bridge and in a rather quiet background that does not even sound like you are on 3^rd mainland, (and the same excuse for the 8^th time that year by the way), or that your grandfather is dead (making it the 6^th time since you joined the company that your grandpa passed away), or that your sister just gave birth (judging by the number of times you have used that line, your sister needs contraceptive pills and family planning), or that robbers are in your compound (this is really hilarious, and the most ridiculous of all), or the brave and most famous one every HR officer has heard one time too many, you send a text that you are purging. All? LACK OF INTEGRITY.

You have a beautiful drop dead gorgeous wife at home and you would rather be with another missus who does not even dress as much or even look as classy as wifey. LACK OF INTEGRITY my brother.

ASUU thankfully have called off their strike. And why did it drag so long? Simply because the government has refused to keep to their own end of the agreement that they willingly entered into just a while back. What’s the cause of that? LACK OF INTEGRITY.

This disease as I have decided to call this impending decay has cut through all facets of life and this is what is gradually killing the economy. 

Did I say gradually? Apologies. I meant, this is what has killed the economy.

You ask a child what he wants to become in future and he says “a politician”. Do pray tell, politician na professional job? Last time I checked, politics should be about service to humanity but what do we see now? People killing people to serve people.

It’s even now a taboo to have and show integrity as you will be mocked and taunted for not knowing how to come up with psyches and convenient excuses. The more sleek your lies, the more respect and awe people will hold and extend towards you. This explains why men with questionable and philandering habits that is glaring to all usually get the best of women due to the reassuring lies they emanate the minute they open their mouths.

Oh yeah, the more lies you give, the more women you get. The more gigantic your bulls**t, the higher your chance of social  popularity.

No course is being taught in university that has academic & social integrity among its electives or core subjects. Many students/workers/employees do not know what the term means. Everyone lie at the barest opportunity presented to them, ”I promise”, “I will be there in 10mins, “I did not take it”, “I am not cheating on you”, “I promise to love you and cherish you for better for worse” and bla bla bla. Some people actually say those vows with their mistress/lover sitting among other guests while they exchange the face value vows with their spouse. Some men are now getting very bold as to inviting their side chicks to their wedding while some women bravely sign the dotted lines with another man’s baby growing in their belly.

Hian! I’m sure even the devil is aghast.

You think I’m lying? Ask any youth what the term “Integrity” means and you will hear sentences like “I know I have seen & heard that word before but I am not sure what it means”.

Try it and you will be shocked.

Parents no longer inculcate integrity as an integral part of growing up. Many are simply interested in amassing passports and visas for their kids and showing their latest wears via Social Medias and updating the latest cool pics they recently took on their way out of the country or into the country.

Sad!

The foundation of our problems as a whole in Nigeria is LACK OF INTEGRITY. And for integrity to be a recurring and most yearned value for the development of an individual AND of a nation, the onus lies in each and every one of us, not the teacher, not the employer nor the lecturer but in YOU, as a parent, as a sister, a brother, a father, a mother, a grandpa, and a grandma.

Charity begins AT HOME. Charity here means INTEGRITY & TRUST. Teach your kids the value of respecting the next individual by speaking the truth at all times. Let your child take responsibility for all errant behavior. Set realistic punishment/goals for your children. Inculcate integrity on every aspect of their being and watch the start of a developed nation.

So, while the country at large can focus on mundane issues like Stella Oduah's BMW saga, Obasanjo’s open letter to Jona, Iyabo’s letter to OBJ, my open letter to my hubby and the likes, I will continue to rant about why my Orbit seller would sell Orbit at an exorbitant price, why my mechanic will use my hard earned money to build a mansion in his village, why people over promise on their resumes and during interviews and fail to deliver when recruited, why my hair stylist will cancel at the last minute just because I negotiated from 5000 to 2000, why Hubby did not tell me he was domestically challenged while we were courting, why I have to pay the servers at some wedding before they can bring me a glass cup of Chapman and small chops.

As for whether I can boast of having the so much talked about Integrity, I will leave you to be the judge.

I rest my case.