INTRODUCTION
Corruption is injustice. It is cheating. It is the massive theft of public wealth by a few. Corruption is the conspiracy of those put in charge of public offices and state institutions, to divert public goods and moneys unjustly into private pockets. Corruption is the unlawful diversion of national resources into private resorts for the enjoyment of a select minority. Corruption enriches a few at the expense of the majority and at the cost of national cohesion and development. Corrupt leaders either siphon off moneys meant for projects; or they over-inflate the costs of projects and use the difference for themselves. They also ‘turn a blind eye’ to waste, to shoddy works, to gross negligence and to incomplete and therefore, useless projects. In addition, corruption breeds corruption. Whenever corrupt people are in charge, they infect and encourage others to be corrupt. This further strengthens the numbers and the powers of the corrupt as a criminal class. All these things add to the overall decadence, backwardness and insecurity of the nation. Over time, the corrupt class becomes the deep state. They take every measure to bend the state towards fulfilling their self-interests which are invariably illegal, unconstitutional and socially regressive. There is therefore, no doubt that the more corruption there is in any nation, the weaker the people; and the poorer the nation.

CORRUPTION AS CULTURE
Because everybody knows about the evil consequences of corruption in stifling national development, many persons starting from the United Nations, governments, non-governmental organizations and more, have long campaigned against it and issued all sorts of advice, guidelines, decrees and rules for minimizing corruption. Unfortunately,  Transparency International’s corruption perception index and the many video reports of Anas Armeyaw Anas and others show year after year, there appears to be corruption everywhere especially in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. There, the problems appear to be truly bad and getting worse time after time. Faced with this massive and recurring phenomenon, it is tempting for many to jump to the conclusion that perhaps corruption is a “natural” African or human problem and that there is nothing that there is not much that can be done about it.  The problem with that assertion is that even if we assume for the sake of argument only that Africans are a unique specie and corrupt by nature, which is not admitted but expressly denied, ‘natural’ does not mean unchangeable. As human beings we change nature every day. The whole thrust of civilization is the progress of change from nature to manufacture. Furthermore, many are the diseases and other undesirables such as ignorance and slavery, that are supposedly natural and yet, they have been eradicated by us through collective efforts and determination, over the centuries. Even if for the sake of argument only it were established that it is human nature to be corrupt, that nature can be managed to minimize or to prevent large-scale or significant corruption. Nature is always being managed by us and it can be managed to serve us better. Interestingly, the fact that some nations are more corrupt than others due to differences in their cultures, politico-legal systems, religious beliefs, market-opportunities and so on, show that corruption is a social problem. Logically, the fact that some nations have over time become more or less corrupt further prove that the problem is not one of nature but culture. It is what we do but not what we are, that makes us corrupt.

ENTER WISDOM
Enter wisdom. Wisdom is the power to know the true sum of events through correct additions, subtractions, divisions or multiplications of things. Wisdom is the intellectual equivalent of the microscope or the binoculars. Through it we see things clearly as they are, as opposed to seeing things as we think or assume them to be. To be wise therefore, is to be correct. Wise people offer the best route to any destination taking into account all the actual and potential obstacles, options and factors that constitute the journey. It is only when we apply wisdom to solving the problems of corruption that we can be assured of the correct approach to eradicating the problem. The problem of corruption cannot be solved by politics, by prosecutions, by accusations or by moralizing. The practice has its logic, its spirit and its eco-system.  What is required in the fight against corruption is not some half-baked theory about race or morality but an approach that deals with the phenomenon as an inherently persuasive and living system for those in power. This means that in addressing the problem of corruption we must be first and foremost be scientific in our definitions, in our goals, in our methods and in our measures and expectations.

The wholesale import and application of foreign recipes and rules to domestic situations is not wise, for unique contexts make nonsense of so-called universal conventions. Loud protests and criticisms of corrupt leaders without more, is not wise for they do not add an inch to the negation of the causes of the phenomena. Merely recording and showing corrupt practices without more, is not wise for apart from its sensational or emotional value, the evidence of corruption does not in and of itself reduce the causes and conditions for corruption. Prosecuting and convicting persons caught in the act, without more, is not wise for conviction only affects those caught but it does not touch those who have not been caught; it does not affect the unreachable, the hidden and the future-corrupt. Pouring money into anti-corruption campaigns and non-governmental organizations to watch and to report on corrupt leaders without more is not wise, for the money corrupts the watchers and makes them a part of the problem. Applying well laid down anti-corruption actions and programs based on historical and even tested observations without more, is not wise for in the context of rapidly changing human, social and technological capacities, fixed truths easily become outdated and irrelevant to corruptibility and to volume of corruptibles. Blaming corruption on bad character is not wise, for without opportunities, character is useless to effect corruption.

THE ENABLERS OF CORRUPTION
Wisdom demands that we carefully examine the enablers of corruption in order to be able to identify, control and deal with each of the causes of corruption in a pragmatic and effective manner. This would mean that we must proceed on facts and principles that have been tested and found to be true. Assumptions, overgeneralizations, prejudices and wishful thinking must be avoided at all times. We cannot assume that the illness of corruption is caused by one virus or that the virus does not mutate. Human action always arises as a consequence of the combination of personal capacities and situational enablers. Corruption is no different. A very corrupt person alone in the desert cannot engage in any corruption. The characters, the goods and the opportunities are simply not there. Where do we go from here? Upon careful analysis of corruption we have understood the following seven laws to be the main enablers or causes of corruption.

THE SEVEN LAWS OF CORRUPTION
There are seven laws of corruption that explain the relationships and the conditions that create, facilitate and grow corruption. The ability to understand how these laws work in any given context is key to understanding, to the control, to the weakening and to the prevention of corruption, place by place: time after time. Here are the laws.

FIRST LAW
There must be a mutuality of interests between offerees and offerors.
NOTE: Where interests conflict between seeker and answerer, collusion is less likely. Unless there is a meeting of desires, the collusion cannot hold. Those who hold genuinely contradictory political, environmental, ethical or political beliefs on any given issue find it harder to conspire on that matter. It is difficult to bribe the true environmentalist to allow for the pristine waters to be polluted under his watch.

Second Law
There must be manipulability or subversibility of official process or outcome.
NOTE: Flexibility of applications and discretions in decision-making increase the chances of corruption. The more discretionary power a decision-maker has, the more corruptible he is. Things, files, criteria, requirements, awards, data, processes, procedures and judgements that can be edited, changed or even ignored will be manipulated to yield personal preferences for decision-makers. The less control a person has over a decision, the less corruptible he is on that matter. The more control a person has over decision-making, the more corruptible he is.

Third Law
There must be a finality to the transaction and same must be non-reviewable.
NOTE: Decisions that are not subject to effective challenge, review or appeal by third parties or higher parties in a reasonable manner, are more likely to be corrupt. When decision-makers have no one to answer to but to themselves only then their logic, their wishes and their allegiances become their ultimate arbiter of their decisions. Where such things demand subversion of collective welfare for private welfare, so it shall be. Decisions subject to the review and control of a diversity of actors is less likely to be subject to the whims of a few and less likely to prefer select private interests over the greater collective interest.

Fourth Law
There must be security from prosecution and other risks.

NOTE: Those who are untouchable or those who are secure from arrests or prosecution because of their wealth, status or power, are more corruptible than those who are vulnerable to arrests and to speedy prosecutions. The risk of being hassled, being caught and being punished is a deterrence to corruption. The higher the risk the lower the incentive to engage in corruption. The lower the risk the higher the incentive to corruption. Thus, where justice can easily be bought by ‘little’ money or by influence, the incentive to corrupt, to be and to corrupt “bigly” is a rational decision that serves as an insurance against prosecution.  More just societies are less corrupt. Less just societies are more corrupt. The degree to which a society is lawless mirrors the degree to which the society is corrupt.

Fifth Law
There shall be concentration of power or authority within one or a few united persons.

NOTE: Where power is concentrated in one person or in more persons but who are so united in their goals as to act practically as one, the necessary checks and balances to excesses and to illegalities, disappear. The temptation to loot from state accounts when no one else is looking especially in a world of great personal insecurities. With a few exceptions therefore, the higher the concentration of power within a few hands, the more likely they are to do what they want and to get away with it. For they are the auditor, the judge, the chief and the empire. The result is that such persons become more corruptible and unrepentant over time.

Sixth Law
There shall be the power to control, to hide and use proceeds or benefits of corruption easily and without hassle without fear or shame.

NOTE: Many people avoid extreme efforts. If systems were in place to ensure that even after successfully corrupting the system, the loot would be difficult to enjoy or use; or that the corrupt person could not access or use his ill-gotten gains without extreme personal, business and reputational risk, that would deter many people from engaging in corruption for they would see the exercise as being akin to chasing winds. On the other hand, where in any given society successful corruption necessarily results in wealth, status and power without any worry, corruption becomes inviting: rewarding.

Seventh Law
There shall be an ability to hide corrupt practices and their benefits through appearances and seemingly non-corrupt presentations and activities.

NOTE: Corruption or the enjoyment of corruption works through deception. Corrupt persons must pretend to be faithful trustees. Yet, they are like thieves coming at night; they succeed only as long as darkness remains. Dawn or the shining of bright lights on their faces sends them packing. Thus, the deployment of adaptable, evolving and effective systems that expose decision-making and outcomes in all of its coordinates, must be a priority in order to anticipate and to control the actual and probable moves of the would-be-corrupt person and his co-conspirators. The ability to remove the dark and criminal moments in decision-making is key to preventing illusions that assist co-conspirators to dupe the nation. Systems that make intentions irrelevant are best cures to the incessant planning and evasive actions of the corrupt person. Those people with cameras or microphones constantly on them, find it difficult to talk or do crimes. Those people whose bank accounts, investments, properties and lifestyles are regularly audited and subject to just surveillance and audit by independent, fair, professional, competent and well-incentivized third parties with the power of swift and impartial action for the national interest, think thrice before they do corruption.

CONCLUSION
The seven laws on corruption need to be studied in depth and applied to each: nation, region, state, ministry, department, municipality, district, office and institution, context by context in order to unravel the complicated webs that create, nurture and grow corruption within our midst. Whilst ethical education is key to the transformation of man, the ability to remove the enablers of corruption is more important to the fight against corruption. The approach should be towards systematic prevention rather than prosecution of the few who get caught. Prevention is wise. Removing the ability of people to act corruptly regardless of their intentions or weaknesses is the best guarantee against corruption. In this respect, let me leave you with a formula that summarizes the seven laws of corruption. It is this. Corruption is inversely proportional to the degree of randomization and depersonalization in decision-making. The more random and the less personalized decision-making is, the less corruptible it is. Use technologies, laws and institutions to randomize and depersonalize important decision-making and the corrupt shall flee.  The wise have spoken. Peace!!!

Sincerely,

Nana Oppong
President of the Distinguished Scholars of Africa