THIS DAWN — A recent commentary has drawn attention to what analysts describe as Nigeria’s entrenched culture of petty theft and everyday corruption, warning that these small acts of dishonesty form the foundation for the country’s larger crises of governance and accountability.
The article, titled “Nigerians and Eating What Does Not Belong to Them”, highlights ordinary incidents that illustrate how theft in Nigeria often occurs quietly, communally, and with little fear of consequence.
According to the author, this pattern of behavior reflects a broader national problem where corruption is not only institutional but deeply cultural.
Retail Shop Incident Exposes Everyday Theft
One of the cases cited involves a retail business in Lagos owned by the wife of activist Dele Farotimi.
On a Sunday visit to the premises, she discovered that staff members had cooked and consumed company stock without authorization.
- Three crates of eggs, totaling 96 pieces, were fried.
- Twelve tubers of yam were boiled.
The incident was not the work of a single employee but a collective act involving more than 20 staff members.
According to observers, this was not driven by hunger but by entitlement—the belief that accessibility equates to permission.
“This was not desperation. It was audacity,” the commentary noted.
It stressed that the workers rationalized their actions as breakage or routine consumption, despite knowing the goods were meant for sale.
Analysts say such incidents demonstrate how corruption begins at the smallest levels, not in billion-naira contracts but in everyday workplace misconduct.
Theft in the Skies: A Flight Encounter
The article also recounts an incident aboard an international flight.
A man repeatedly visited a woman seated across the aisle, engaging in furtive kisses and cuddles while scanning the cabin to ensure no one was watching.
Initially assumed to be her husband, the man later disappeared during immigration checks, leaving the woman alone.
The episode, described as “romance conducted like burglary,” was presented as another metaphor for theft—taking what does not belong, under the cover of secrecy.
The author linked the behavior to childhood experiences of sneaking money from parents, emphasizing that secrecy is the hallmark of theft.
“No man steals what belongs to him. A clear conscience fears no accusation,” the report stated.
Broader Implications: From Eggs to Elections
The commentary draws parallels between these small acts of dishonesty and Nigeria’s larger political and economic corruption.
- Certificates are purchased rather than earned.
- Elections are rigged.
- Contracts are inflated.
- Billions of naira disappear from public coffers without accountability.
The report argues that the same logic that allows staff to consume company stock or individuals to steal moments of intimacy also drives politicians to loot public funds.
The difference lies only in scale, not in spirit.
Cultural Normalization of Corruption
Experts warn that corruption in Nigeria is not sustained solely by political elites but by ordinary citizens who excuse or participate in minor thefts.
The phrase “Everybody is doing it” is described as the most dangerous in the Nigerian lexicon, serving as moral anesthesia that numbs guilt and transforms theft into communal participation.
According to the article, corruption thrives because it is rehearsed early, normalized often, and excused endlessly.
Small betrayals of integrity—such as stolen eggs, boiled yam, or falsified records—become training grounds for grand looting.
Accountability and the Illusion of Secrecy
The report emphasizes that the absence of accountability is the common thread connecting petty theft and political corruption.
Workers believed they would not be caught, the man on the plane acted as though secrecy absolved his actions, and politicians loot with confidence that the system is complicit.
The tragedy, the author argues, is not merely that Nigerians steal, but that they believe no one is watching. Yet history, conscience, society, and future generations are always observing.
Call for Cultural Change
The commentary concludes with a warning: nations do not collapse from one major act of corruption but from countless small ones left unchallenged.
“You cannot build a just society on stolen eggs and borrowed morals.
“Until we confront the everyday thefts we excuse, the grand corruption we protest will remain untouched,” the report states.
The piece calls for Nigerians to examine their daily actions and confront the culture of entitlement and secrecy that sustains corruption.
