Dickson C. Igwe. Photo: VINO/File

Simple observation will reveal that societies that are patient, polite, civil, compassionate, and honest, are better places to live, work, and play.

Societies zealous for the highest ethical standards thrive. The preceding is not hyperbole but fact.

Societies that pursue high standards of social behavior further possess great governance, have workers that are productive, are safer, with better social and physical infrastructure, than those places where corruption and mismanagement rule.

A traveler visits a country where there is a high chance of robbery on the way to the hotel from a squalid and unsafe airport. The roads are veritable death traps.  There is no water supply, and very limited electricity is generated.

The reason for this medieval infrastructure is often rooted in national social behavior that is toxic, shortsighted, and dishonest, in addition to being driven by ignorant and corrupt leadership.

Toxic cultures are learned. They evolve over a period.  These societies continue on a perverse road until one day they wake up and understand they are on the edge of the abyss. Their economies tank, their infrastructure is Stone Age and there is widespread insecurity, the country is on travel warnings, and residents would migrate to ‘’sunnier shores’’ at the slightest opportunity. 

Rule of Law, Honest Governance, and Safe Communities are ideals that remain unattainable Utopias when the hearts and mindsets of the population possess a toxic and dishonest modus vivendi.

The traveler to the country where corruption and dishonesty rule returns to his own safer shores after a "risky" trip. His home airport is cutting-edge. He or she takes a well-planned and functional public transport network home.

His home sits in a safe place well lit with continuous water and electricity that only cut out at times of crisis. His healthcare is first class and his kids attend public schools that are the envy of the world.

He knows the great standard of living he enjoys is not anything out of the ordinary. The reason he lives so well? He just has to look in the mirror.