Postcolonial Africa, Black leaders have ranged from noble souls trying their best to bring about positive changes to shameless charlatans with no regard for the average person’s rights and the laws of the land. Africa’s leadership is has turned into a collection of mediocre, badly behaved, shameless politicians and grifters. That said, the public who elect these charlatans to positions of authority cannot act blameless.

It is hard to comprehend the horror of the shameless haste with which African governments appear to be leading the continent’s race to the bottom. By excluding masses from governance activities, corruption performs a vital role in that shameful race.

Governments are failing to meet basic public expectations, not always due to financial restraints but because of misplaced priorities and the raging corruption. Poor infrastructure defines the continent’s operational space. Notably, the job market has shrunk and unemployment risen to levels no one thought possible – here we are talking some 60 percent of youths (aged 15 – 35 years) unemployed, not in education, employment or training; poverty levels worsening with no structured programmes to protect the poor from the effects of poverty, corruption levels spiralling out of control, and governments struggling to contain insecurity triggered by disillusioned armed groups in many regions across the continent.

Strange enough, post-independence, the miseries suffered by the average African comes from the shameless exploitation of the people by Black mafia-like political figures and their allies – the wealthy elites, local and foreign. Kleptocracy has weakened governance structures and corruption continues to be extensively weaved into our systems so much that many among the low information constituency can no longer take it apart from normal socioeconomic and political practice.

Deliberate and systemic removal of shame through various state incentive schemes to loyalists and those assigned roles of law enforcement and community leaders willing to push the boundaries of decency makes it increasingly unlikely for the public to question corruption when it stares at them.

Weak institutions are vital in desensitising malpractice and encouraging more corruption from those meant to confront it. We cannot fight corruption by being neutral and hoping leaders will one day quiz their consciences, feel guilty, and stop their corrupt practices, neither can we ignore corruption because of incidental benefits extended to us at times nor wait for the international community to help us fight.

Corruption is wrong, no matter who does it or who the beneficiaries are. For all we know, beneficiaries of corrupt manoeuvres, are also victims of it, it may not be today, but their turn will surely arrive. It is important that strong institutions are established to understand it, search for it, fight it, and remove it the very instant it is uncovered.

The public must be relentless in its fight because the more leaders traduce the old established lines of decency, the more they affirm their supporters’ most shameless ideological instincts. No wonder the increasing normalisation of corruption across the continent.

What is apparent is that leaders are shameless in marketing their corruption to the public, but the public is often reserved in fighting it. To reclaim moral clarity, people must develop greater knowledge of corruption and then confront it strategically to add value to the national discourse.

Morals are not partisan; corruption must be seen and judged without prejudice. Whenever established lines of morality are bypassed, regardless of who does it, the whole society must see the shame, be outraged, and vigorously fight back together to restore a high threshold of moral decency.

Corrupt leadership in Africa has taught us that if those in government are shameless, the average citizen cannot afford to be spineless. The public must make it its legacy to close all loopholes that enable and maintain corruption across governance institutions.

The African citizen has the power to rein in the leadership and bring it back to established lines of morality, that is the most consequential public chore not to be left to the ruling elites and allies. Citizens must initiate grassroots monitoring mechanisms including use of technological tools, and social accountability to foster transparency, improve governance, and hold public officials accountable. Public-led auditing, whistleblower protection, confidential reporting platforms, and community-led monitoring of public service delivery are key.

Use of media platforms to locate, name and shame individuals, organisations (public and private), and institutions rife with bribes.

How successful the fight against corruption is subject to how effective citizens are at making their politicians accountable for their actions. Citizens must call attention to corruption, educate and sensitize the population to the problem and its impact in society. The public must act as effective watchdogs of the ruling elite, provide a mechanism for permanent oversight on accountability and responsiveness of government. The average African must desist from participating in corruption, re-establish moral clarity, emphasise anti-corruption behaviour and ethical behaviour among the ruling elite.