People everywhere see corruption as a major problem. While there are differences between countries in the extent to which people experience corruption in their everyday lives, there is a widespread perception that the authority vested in institutions that ought to represent the public interest is, in fact, being abused for private gain.

In Ghana, corruption is when you have to pay for what is legally yours, when such a thing should be free. As an indigene of the land, you have certain rights which are inalienable but in this era of our development as a country, it is quiet disheartening to see that, what you are entitled to could only be procured by ‘tipping’ certain ‘professionals’ in our institutions especially the state owned ones.

The canker has become very pervasive that it is now seen as a norm instead of a deviant behavior. We are quick to point accusing fingers at politicians and government officials but seriously these people contribute less than 1% of our population. Indeed I believe certain politicians are very corrupt; these politicians’ drain state funds through dubious means.

Corruption to some individuals is a right which is yet to be enshrined into our constitution.

In every facet of our economy, there are certain individuals who thrive when systems are not working because it is their opportunity to milk the nation. From the education, health, utilities, sports, security and even at the time of being buried, you can visibly identify the footprintsof corruption in these areas.

In the educational sector, gaining access to Senior High School (SHS) is now based on your financial standing and how wealthy your parents are instead of academic excellence. Needy but brilliant students from deprived areas who outshine their counterparts from the ‘city’ schools are denied placement in our first class schools. Parents who hitherto were to pay fees for their wards, have nowbecome contractors building washrooms and painting schools blocks in order for their wards to gain admission.

Renewing National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards has now come at a cost to the beneficiaries of the scheme; who must oftentimes be ready to part with some few Ghana cedis, in order to get their cards renewed in order to access health facilities in the country. It is even worrying when drug dispensers at pharmacies at the public hospitals have to be induced to provide you with prescribed drugs that are registered on the NHIS, else you will be turned away to buy it from a private pharmacy at a huge cost. To make matters worse, you must be prepared to pay the ambulance service to transport your sick family member or friend to the hospital; that is evenwhen you are lucky for them to come around on time. .

Furthermore, I knew football was an inherent talent that is sharpened during constant and consistent training but in recent times, it has been dogged by issues of bribery and corrupt practices. Nowadays, you see certain players in our national teams and you begin to wonder if they have kicked a ball before. It is now a cliché at training grounds: if you don’t pay you don’t play even if you have double portions of the talents of Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo combined. I recently chanced upon a fantastic left full back footballer who told me he was dropped from our U-17 team because he failed to pay GHC800 to the coach of the national team. This boy is now an apprentice carpenter in Tema. I urged him not to despair but should be hopeful.

As for our security services, the least said the better especially our gallant men in the blue-black attire. I believe you know which people I am talking about by now. . If you have not been able to figure it out yet, I am just referring to the Police Service. Let me hasten to add that, not all members of the police service are involved but some unscrupulous elements. In fact these men and women are the runaway league leaders in the corruption barometer released frequently by a certain Civil Society Organization in Ghana. I am tempted to believe that corruption was a course they studied during their training and none failed. The finesse, dexterity and alacrity with which they take these bribes from road users could be a full research work at Harvard Business School.

In our MMDAs, it is nothing new. In fact you should inform your family members to buy your coffin if you decide to do the right thing, you will be antagonized because you will eventually deprive your colleagues whose stock in trade is to dupe customers. The media which was to be a watchdog over the society is not better than those mentioned above. They are the most corrupt per their regulations. Journalists have to be bribed to publish stories. For them, they have coined the word ‘soli’ to make their corruption subtle.

I am not pontificating tobe aperfect human being but I know I am corruption free because money has never been my motivation to work or live. I urge all young men and women to cultivate the spirit of patriotism to help grow Ghana and purge our system and make them corruption free. I envisage an era in which corruption will not be attractive to anyone.

The writer is a young dynamic individual who aspires to be a lawyer in the next decade.