Corruption is a way of life
Posted by: Michael Holdcroft in 419 scam, Living with CorruptionIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. You can also follow me on Twitter or make me your friend on Facebook. Thanks for visiting!
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Most Africans succumb to corruption in their every day lives. They either suffer at the hands of people who relieve them of their money or they are the ones who want the cash.
Corruption does start at the bottom. When a person has an advantage, for example he gets a job where he or she has a certain level of decision making or they provide a service. That is the basis for them to start using this to extort money from fellow countrymen who require a positive decision or service.
This could be anything from a civil servant, for example, who’s job entails issuing any sort of permit or certificate. If they are not paid a fee, the person requiring the permit does not get it. Period.
I know of other cases where Europeans working in Africa have been accosted by local office workers wanting money. If you give them any money, you can be sure they will be back soon for more.
Of course, the higher one gets the more lucrative the corruption opportunities become. Just reading the African press often gives insight as to what so called politicians and high ranking civil servants are doing in countries like Nigeria.
The journalist Sorious Samura shows exactly how corruption forces poverty on Africans in his documentary called “Living with Corruption”. Posing as a local, he shows how corruption rules every part of peoples daily lives. Regardless of what you need or want to do, you have to pay someone for the privilege to get or do what you want.
It’s this deeply ingrained corruption in African society which is the source of 419 and other types of fraud perpetrated by Africans.
In comparison the US, Europe and Asia are seen as being rich. On top of this the 419 scam as such, preys upon the gullibility of us “Westerners”, using greed or the wish of a better financial situation to make normal people into victims.
In my opinion, 419 fraud is not going to disappear any time soon. Corruption is so deeply ingrained in African society, that stopping it will be impossible.
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