{"id":1476,"date":"2026-07-14T18:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1476"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:29:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:29:44","slug":"the-unofficial-fee-how-corruption-became-our-second-currency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1476","title":{"rendered":"The Unofficial Fee: How Corruption Became Our Second Currency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By Great Evi Ameh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Scene at 8:03am, Ojota<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A bus conductor shouts, \u201cOjota, CMS!\u201d The driver swerves through traffic. A police officer steps onto the road and raises his hand. The bus stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No ticket is issued. No inspection is carried out. There is only a quick exchange. The driver passes cash through the window. The officer smiles, and the bus continues its journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirty seconds. \u20a6200. Business as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That \u20a6200 is corruption. But across many Nigerian cities, including Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Bayelsa, and Warri, it is rarely called by that name anymore. It is referred to as \u201csettlement,\u201d \u201croger,\u201d or \u201cwater.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It has become an unofficial currency operating alongside the naira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Corruption Is Not Only Stealing; It Is Taxing Hope<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Nigerians hear the word corruption, many immediately think of politicians accused of stealing billions of naira. That is the larger picture of corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there is another form that affects ordinary citizens daily: <strong>micro-corruption<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is the money people are forced to pay to access basic services such as healthcare, transportation, justice, government documents, and business opportunities. It is a hidden tax on everyday life, and unlike official taxes, it comes without receipts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider the experiences of ordinary Nigerians:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mama Bola<\/strong>, a market woman in Mile 12, pays daily fees to local groups and officials while trying to run her business. These unofficial payments reduce the little profit she makes each month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Daniel<\/strong>, a corps member in Port Harcourt, paid extra money to avoid delays during clearance processes and to speed up documentation. For someone surviving on a limited allowance, such payments represent a significant burden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These people are not wealthy. They did not steal public funds. Yet they are still affected by a system where corruption has become part of everyday survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Three Lies We Tell Ourselves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lie 1: \u201cIt\u2019s Just Small Money\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u20a6200 at a checkpoint. \u20a6500 from a trader. \u20a610,000 for a faster service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Individually, these amounts may appear insignificant. But when multiplied across millions of people and repeated daily, they represent a huge movement of money outside official systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Small corruption is often how bigger corruption survives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lie 2: \u201cIt Makes Things Faster\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many people justify paying bribes because they believe it helps them get things done quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But corruption often creates the same problems it claims to solve. A system becomes slow and inefficient because people expect payments before providing services. Then those same payments become the unofficial solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is a cycle that keeps the system broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lie 3: \u201cEverybody Does It\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is perhaps the most dangerous belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not everyone accepts corruption. Some individuals still choose integrity despite pressure from others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An officer who refuses to take bribes may be mocked by colleagues, but such decisions prove that corruption is not unavoidable. Change begins when individuals reject the idea that dishonesty is the only way to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Human Cost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Corruption is not just about money. It affects real lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At hospitals, some patients struggle to access services because they cannot afford unofficial payments. At government offices, citizens may face unnecessary delays unless they provide something extra. In business environments, small entrepreneurs often lose part of their earnings to unofficial demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When corruption becomes a requirement for accessing healthcare, justice, documents, or basic services, it moves beyond financial loss. It becomes a threat to human dignity and well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can It Be Broken?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although corruption appears deeply rooted, examples of accountability and transparency show that change is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technology has helped some communities report public service failures and demand faster responses from authorities. Digital systems that reduce human interference can limit opportunities for unofficial payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Individuals who reject corrupt practices also prove that integrity can influence others. When more people refuse to participate, the culture surrounding corruption begins to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Transparency remains one of the strongest tools against corruption. When citizens can track payments, verify transactions, and demand accountability, it becomes more difficult for funds and responsibilities to disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">We Are Not Powerless<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Corruption often feels like the rain. Since people believe they cannot stop it, they simply carry an umbrella. That umbrella is the bribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But change begins when people stop accepting corruption as normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next time someone asks for \u201csomething small,\u201d it is worth considering the bigger cost behind that action. It affects the trader struggling to survive, the patient waiting for care, and the citizen hoping for a fair system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Corruption will not disappear because of one speech or one policy alone. It will reduce when millions of people make small but meaningful decisions to reject it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The change begins at the next checkpoint, the next office, the next hospital, and every place where \u201csettlement\u201d has become normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The writer is a Journalism and Media Studies student at Delta State University, Abraka.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Great Evi Ameh The Scene at 8:03am, Ojota A bus conductor shouts, \u201cOjota, CMS!\u201d The driver swerves through traffic. A police officer steps onto the road and raises his hand. The bus stops. No ticket is issued. No inspection is carried out. There is only a quick exchange. The driver passes cash through the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":21,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[390,25,61,56],"class_list":["post-1476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viewspoint","tag-corruption","tag-delsu","tag-nigeria","tag-view-point"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1478,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476\/revisions\/1478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}