3. Introduction
3.2 African Culture and Nepotism
3.2.2 Importance of Extended Family Systems in Africa
In traditional African society, the nuclear family of the husband, wife and children is not considered complete without the extended family. Likewise, it is the extended family that forms the community. Consequently, the centrality of the extended family system in African social concept carries a lot of implications. One of such implications in the view of Augustine Shutte is the role the extended family plays in the life of the individual. According to Shutte “the best model for human community as understood in African thought is the family. The family has no function outside itself” (Shutte, 1996: 28). Shutte‟s observation accentuates the central role of the family in identifying the individual. In his understanding, outside
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the extended family, the individual is not fully identified because the extended family is where he belongs; where he finds his meaning and bearing in life. This is the reason why one cannot under normal circumstances detach oneself from the extended family. To do so would amount to depriving oneself of one‟s identity.
One can therefore begin to understand why even to present the present time, an average African is so scared of being separated from family members and who do all he/she can to retain the love of his/her family. This attachment to family bond in my opinion is the main motivation why many civil servants get themselves involved in unethical practices while in public office.
Consider a situation where a civil servant is the chairman of a scholarship board in their province and one of the family members is qualified but perhaps not among the ten most qualified candidates for the scholarship. The civil servant, because of the love and personal responsibility he feels for the family in general and the family member in particular, may be tempted to include the name of this family member since he is qualified though not among the best qualified. Nevertheless, this is nepotism which implies corruption on the part of the civil servant. The link of this particular corrupt behaviour and traditional African extended family value is obvious. The link is this: in traditional African society, one whether publicly or privately employed has obligations first and foremost to his family members. It is an unwritten law therefore that his family members should benefit from him before any other person.
Additionally, the extended family system is very important in Africa because it is used in encouraging morality in the community. On this Onuaguruchi observes that besides the invaluable roles that the extend family members play in childhood upbringing, each family in any Africa community has a moral identity which every member of the family tries to uphold. This moral identity is the trademark which sales the family in matters of integrity to the entire community. Consequently, whenever an issue of community trust or good behaviour arises, public appointment or marriage transaction, the first question usually is what family is he or she coming
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from. (Onuaguruchi, 2006: 47), This goes back to explain our earlier submission that one is judged and acquires his identity in traditional African society from the extended family. The reference is also to the family not to the individual. One of the consequences of this shared identity is that it could result in collective punishment and condemnation. This it is possible sometimes for the innocent to suffer along with the wicked for a sin they know nothing about. This without doubt is injustice and constitutes corruption.
Apart from the benefit of encouraging morality in the community, another important role of the extended family system is burden sharing and care for family members. Explaining this Horowitz says that “extended families are able to help to help their members in more transactions than the nuclear family can. Reciprocally the need and expectation of help strengthens the bond of the extended family”
(Horowitz,, 1985: 63). Confirming this, Amadi (1992: 58) obsserves that the extended family system is cherished so much in Africa because in times of problems, the family members are there to share. Sharing here for Amadi does not mean lip service. It is a genuine interest and effort to help a family member in need as everybody expects to be so helped in his own time of need.
The burden sharing Amadi highlighted above as one of the importance of extended family system is not without its orientation toward corruption. One of such orientations is that it creates strong family bond which has to be constantly lubricated to keep it alive and sometimes the lubrication would involve going out of one‟s way, including involving oneself in corrupt practices. This explains why a civil servant who abuses his office to help a relative would not usually feel the gravity of his action; after all it is this same relative who will come to his aid in his own time of need. Francis Fukuyama was therefore right when he argues that “if obligation to kin inevitably trumps obligation to strangers despite legal or contractual ties, then certain type of administrative dysfunctions will be inevitable regardless of the formal institutional controls put in place to control corruption”
(Fukuyama, 2004: 82)
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Fukuyama makes this as a general statement, however appropriating it to our context here is not out of place because the extended family system is strongest in Africa. In Africa then what binds people to their family is stronger than what binds them to the government. To bring this issue home, consider a situation where a civil servant who understands that he has only few years to serve in the government before retirement, but will continue to be with his family for the remaining part of his life. Understandably, the general sentiment for this official would be that his public office is secondary such that his primary commitment is to the family. He will definitely reason that if he uses his office to the benefit of his family members, they will surely accept him even if his effort results in his losing his job. He has to help his people; otherwise it will seem as if he is disobeying the elders of the family who in Africa are always making demands on well to do members of their family.
The official will always choose to be obedient to the family rather than the government.
It is therefore the case that African extended family system is like a double edged sword in its relationship to the state. While its existence creates the spirit of brotherhood and harmonious existence in the state, it is also inimical to the development and growth of the state because of its inclination towards corruption.
According to since members of the extended family usually benefit from their relatives who may be involved in unethical practices in the public service, they may see nothing wrong with that (Ekeh, 1975: 105). On the contrary however this practice from such official affects the general public negatively and is therefore unethical and corrupt.