COST OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOURS AT NATIONAL LEVEL: A CASE STUDY OF

GAMBIA, GHANA, NIGERIA AND SIERRALEONE

Over the last decade, unethical practices ranging from theft & fraud by public officials, improper
use of government property, bribery & influence peddling, conflict of interest & self-dealing and
divulging confidential information, have bedeviled our continent Africa. The word ethics
originates from the Greek ethos, meaning morals. The Civil Service Commission of Philippines
defined an unethical behavior as any behavior prohibited by law. Ethics can be defined as the
systematic reflection on what moral is. In this definition, morality can be defined the whole of
opinions, decisions and actions with which people often express what they think is good or right.
The discussion on ethics is very important in Africa, most especially in West Africa than many
other continents because of instances of unethical practices. It is widely discussed in the media
that there is corruption in most sectors of the West African countrys economy. In some Institution
for a file clerk to properly treat a persons file, he or she must be bribed. Doctors and Nurses in
some public hospitals take bribe from patients before they are given treatment. In countries like
Nigeria and Liberia, an unborn baby can possess a driver's license provided the parents are ready
to bribe the relevant government agency. In government, the illegal demand for 10% kick back of
the contract sum has become a norm. Businessmen are not left out in the corrupt practices.
Executives and the elites are known to have made some decisions in order to benefit them rather
than to optimise government or public interest
In addressing the cost of unethical behavior, the issues will be considered holistically from five
perspectives, they are:
FINANCIAL IMPLICATION
LEGAL IMPLICATION
ECONOMIC IMPLICATION
SOCIAL IMPLICATION
HEALTH CARE & EDUCATION IMPLICATION
FINANCIAL IMPLICATION: Unethical behavior leading to financial implication can
completely mar a country by leading the nation to debt and eventually going bankrupt. A vivid
and worrisome case that further illustrates the financial implication of unethical behavior at the
National echelon of powers example is the Nigerias case of mismanagement and embezzlement
of the oils subsidy funds amounting to over 6.8 billions dollars between 2009 and 2011.
Since greed has no control and the government of the former President, Goodluck Jonathan did
nothing to control it, the embezzlement and mismanagement continued and in April and May
2015, another subsidy scam of about 800 million dollars resurfaced and later resulted to acute
fuel shortage which forced many Nigerian and International firm based in the country to shut
down operations for few weeks. This no doubt led to a vicious cycle, which has brought about
tough cash flow for Nigeria.
LEGAL IMPLICATION: There are bound to be legal consequences when ethical behaviors are
trampled upon in a country or society. The rule of law is supposed to be up held irrespective of
the person involved or the class of people. A look at the Gambia where President Yahya Jammeh
is the Lord of the Manor and rules in an autocratic style, by mid 2015 President Jammeh had
sacked two Supreme Court judges Raymond Sock and Gibou Janneh as well as the forceful
removal of the Gambias Chief Justice Eli Nawaz Chowhan barely one year after his
appointment, they were all sacked without any explanation from the government.

The current situation facing the Gambia has brought about loss of respect for the Judiciary in the
country because citizens now believe that the judicial system is corrupt, impartial and not
independent. Corruption corrodes trust in the institutions of government, which in turn weakens
the governments capacity to fight corruption.
ECONOMIC IMPLICATION: When unethical behavior are constantly practiced, they have
the potential of slowing down the pace of economic development and tarnish the image of the
country, with gross reduction in public confidence, which invariably deter worthy investors.
Therefore, the economic costs of such unethical behavior in the countrys institution cannot easily
be estimated, but it is likely that millions of dollars is lost annually. In 2013 about 20.0 % of the
economically active population of Ghana was between the ages of 15-24 years of age,
unfortunately for the youth about 60.0 percent of the unemployed in Ghana are found between
15-24. Sadly majority of the unemployed youth are females. This led the government of Ghana to
initiate the Ghana Youth Employment And Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) programme in
2006. Nine years down the line the GYEEDA programme seems not to be the panacea of the
youth employment as had been perceived. It is grappling with its own bottlenecks from the
national to the local level. GYEEDAs management has been sabotaged with complicity in ghost
names creation and alleged fraudulent withdrawal. The unethical practice of misappropriating
GYEEDA funds has contributed to the high unemployment in Ghana, which in return weakens
the work force and lowers the gross domestic product (GDP)
SOCIAL IMPLICATION: The social implication of unethical practices in a country is that it
gives room for promoting and breeding of unethical behavior. It gives the public a negative
impression, which over a period of time becomes a culture to them. In Nigeria, the Administration
of former President, Goodluck Jonathan was said to have accommodated disdain of truth,
elevation of corruption and incompetence, reinforcement of failure, condoning of heinous crimes
and celebration of mediocrity, tribal bigotry, fomenting violence and anti-democratic practices in
the states and National Assembly. It even encouraged a Mr. Buruji Kashamu, a drug baron wanted
in the United States, to run for Senate and won. Most Nigerians are now of the impression that
access to the National treasury for personal gain is a benefit that comes with occupying the Public
office
HEALTH CARE & EDUCATION IMPLICATION: A working paper of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) published in 2010 shows that corruption has an adverse impact on the
quality of education and healthcare that are provided in countries with emerging economies.
Corruption increases the cost of healthcare and education services through illegal and unofficial
payments that are made in countries where bribery and connections play an important role in the
recruitment and promotion of teachers. As a result, the quality of education decreases. Also,
corruption in the designation of healthcare providers and recruitment of personnel, as well as the
procurement of medical supplies and equipment, in emerging economies results in inadequate
healthcare treatment and a substandard, or restricted, medical supply, and thus lowers the overall
quality of healthcare in these countries.

Solomon has three years experience in the nonprofit sector and over
two years experience working with the Lagos State government. He
currently serves as a project manager at the Lagos State Signage &
Advertisement Agency (LASAA). Solomon is a passionate Child right
Activist and the founder of Positive Growth Foundation (PGF) a
nonprofit organisation, one of the flagship project of the foundation is
the Train & Empower a Child (TEACH) Project that supports Nigerian
children by affording the socioeconomically underprivileged formal and
informal (Vocational learning) education. He fulfills his passionate
hobby, shooting street images and producing documentary at his
media company he co-founded, Petite Grande media.