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Corruption In Nigeria Essays

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Corruption in Nigeria: How to Solve the Issue Research Paper

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Introduction

Disparity can be compared to the essence of corruption where in a system does not function according to what is originally intended and balances the natural forms. It can be termed as an improper way of acting the original purpose of a certain thing. It is very blatant in most governments to have a corrupted form of administration due to the political powers of its leaders.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is seen as one of the countries that prevail to have a politically corrupt system of government. Nigeria consists of 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory. Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and appears to be the eight among the countries all over the world. The economy of the Republic is described as an up-and-coming market that quickly comes within reach of the middle income status of the people. This is depicted through the copious supply of resources, legal, communications, transport sectors and the Nigerian Stock Exchange and a well-developed financial system which is said to be the second largest in Africa. As of 2007, Nigeria is placed 37 th all over the world when it comes to the Gross Domestic Product rate. Nigeria supplies fifth of United State’s oil and appears to be their primary trading partner. Thus, United States is Nigeria’s largest investor for their products and services which make them emerge in the international market (Tignor, 1993).

The economic development of the country had been under the military rule, corruption and discrepancies. The restoration of democracy is also impacted as well as the consequent economic changes have made Nigeria to slowdown in its development to be the Africa’s most progressive economy. The oil boom of the country in 1970s has made vital foreign debt in order to finance the main infrastructural investments of the country. Considering the decline of the oil prices in the following year, the country struggled for the debts they acquired from loans and apparently defaulted on its major repayments for debt. Penalty is also acquired by Nigeria for the unpaid major debts which made it grow bigger. But after the negotiations of the authorities in Nigeria recently, it repurchased its debt with a discount of about sixty percent. The country used a part of its oil profits in order to pay the outstanding forty percent and became the very first African country to fully pay off all its debt in 2006 with the help of Paris club (Tignor, 1993).

The law in the federal Republic of Nigeria comes in four different systems. The first one is the English law which is influenced by its colonial retrospect with Britain. Another is the common law that serves as the development of its independence, customary law which is from the indigenous old framework and practice that includes the argument declaration meetings of the pre-colonial hidden organizations. The last law is the Sharia law which is only practiced in the north Muslim part of the country.

This paper aims at describing the corruption in Nigeria and presenting the related details which will be apparent for its resolution. This paper will discuss the causes of corruption and the reasons why a strong corruption is viewed in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Corruption is an extensive dilemma as it is known for many countries throughout the world. It slows down the country’s economic growth and development. The practice of corruption like favors, bribery, nepotism and other are affects the system and lessens the chances for the corrupt states to get important amounts of foreign capital (La Franiere, 2005). This may result to rigorous consequences for the production and employment of the affected society. Thus, having a corrupt government makes the biggest hindrance for the development of the economy. It lessens the efficiency of foreign aid which fosters growth for the developing countries (Abed and Gupta, 2002). It appears to be a unusual that the economic assistance of allocating the bilateral foreign aid is not limited to the developing countries which are seen to be corrupt. Considering the fact that all involved countries are exposed to the criterion of being a corrupt country, still the reputation is dismissed as the countries show improper use of resources (Warren, 2004).

Forms of Corruption

Generally, corruption comes in different senses as it is characterized by the economists. Political corruption, bureaucratic corruption and electoral corruption are three various divisions of corruption that economists regard as. Political corruption falls into the political authorities. It exists through the politicians and rulers who have the power and authority to establish and implement laws in the name of the people. It basically distinguishes a corruption when a politician creates a law which is for his benefit (Mbaku, 2000). It is more often regarded as greed as to the decision making policy of the politicians prevails to benefit a small number of people related to him or her.

A bureaucratic corruption is a form of corruption which is primarily seen in the public administration. It is more often encountered by the people in public offices where in it is termed as a bureaucratic pretty corruption in comparison with the corruption of need. This is where a business can be obtained though a wrong action (Mbaku, 2000).

On the other hand, electoral corruption is the vote-buying of the officials in order to reserve a position in the government. Special favors, buying of votes, crimes are committed just to win in the election process. The corruption in offices includes the governmental appointment and other. Bribery is often considered as a form of corruption where in payment is accepted in exchange of a favor (Mbaku, 2000).

Other forms of corruption include fraud, embezzlement, extortion, favoritism, and nepotism. Fraud is described as a kind of swindle and deceit which corrupts a person. Stealing from the public institutions where in a person is employed is embezzlement depicts. The extortion form of corruption is money which is from a crime committed by the corruptor. Being biased for a certain side is the corruption described as the favoritism (Abed and Gupta, 2002). Favoring for friends or other colleagues may result to disparity and apparently relates to the distribution of wealth among family members as to the interest of the official. On the other hand, nepotism is a different kind of favoritism that favors for a family member such as being excluded in a law and the like.

Political Corruption in Nigeria

The political corruption in Nigeria depicts the excess use of official power and the resources of the government for the benefit of the person in position and authority. The corruption in politics is indeed regarded as a natural act that saturates the republic of Nigeria. This is seen since the formation of the contemporary public administration in Nigeria. A lot of cases for the improper use of the country’s resources have been tagged for the officials of Nigeria and this is consequent to the private gain of the officials. The discovery of oil and the development of public administration are seen to be two of the most significant events that have encouraged the dirty corrupt practices in Nigeria. For many years, it is viewed that that the living conditions of man in Nigeria are not raised though the country has been depicted to be wealthy enough to support its people. As such, Awolowo, a political leader opened up a vital issue upon saying that people in authority are the only ones who benefit from the possessions of the government. It falls under the scenario of benefiting from the effort of other people (Erero and Oladoyin, 2000).

However, colonialism is blamed for the consequent corruption in African governments and for the failures that it gets from the misuse of resources. With that in mind, the colonial history of Nigeria may limit any influence through the ethical revolution. The colonial period of Nigeria is almost in full poverty. Thus, it impacted the views of people where in the colonists are imitated as they prevail to be wealthy during the time of colonialism and apparently applied by the people in the modern era. Though corruption is not blatantly exercised, it affects the whole government in a large sense. The integration of colonial agenda also depicts the idealism of the area which it had colonized for its development.

Why corruption exists?

There are various reasons why corruption exists in every government in the world. Corruption does not only pertain to one country but also to all the systems of government in the world. It is seen that greed and luxurious lifestyle are the probable cause of corruption. Political leaders or those who are in authority are easily attracted by the whims that are present. Societies who are exposed to the luxurious lifestyle are into the dirty works and lacks etiquette. Also, the behavior of the society is seen to be an important factor for the corruption to exist. Ethnicity and peer pressure are also considered as the reasons why corruption exists (Ali and Isse, 2003). More often than not, political leaders are pressured by their camaraderie to do such things in order to go with the flow of their lifestyles. It is more usual that the politicians are abused by their friends through the use of the resources which should only be intended for the government and hence used by personal interests of the politicians. But, in reality, the start of the contemporary rules on the political relationships is a modern colonial and western proposal. Normally, decisions are viewed in a suspicious manner where in familiar scenarios are apparent for a corruption. A perspective for modern leadership in politics and its links has been an issue in the whole system of political process.

The causes of corruption in a wealthy country such as Nigeria is generally recognized to be associated by the people’s obsession with material things, pressure for a shortcut to material comfort, power and consent for the ill-gotten wealth. These are the primary reasons why corruption persists in Nigeria (Erero and Oladoyin, 2000). It has been put on a highlight that one of the known, but less fortunate key of good life in Nigeria is ostentatious wealth and prominent expenditure. Through this, people are involved into doubtful activities which comprise of engaging into ritual murder just for making money. The cases in Nigeria regarding the ritual murder are explicit in the country but few instances will be adequate. This may appear to be exaggerated but this fact corrupts the mind of people just to make money for their own sake. Not only in the political system but also in every single small society of a country corruption exists (Wraith and Simpkins, 1983).

Having insufficient ethical standards though the government agencies and organizations in Nigeria is viewed to be a sever dilemma. Ethics in the public sector includes a wide set of actions such as simple obedience to authority and looking into the perspective of moral judgments. However, a lot of officeholders in Nigeria do not posses a clear image and lacks ethical standards with the consideration of their position in the government (Lambsdorff, 2002).

In addition to, the Nigerian’s reward system which is considered as the poorest worldwide can be a factor for corruption. Unfortunately, the national priorities in Nigeria are quite different from what the good ethics posses. A hard work is not recognized and rewarded, but the rascals are often overvalued in the country. Hence, disparity knocks this particular instance.

Thus, the main reasons for the occurrence of corruption in a society is driven by the behavior of its people and how each leaders are manipulated by the influence of greed and luxurious lifestyle. The causes of corruption encompass the impulse of the person in authority as to how the next actions will be done.

Effects of Corruption

Certainly, the effects of corruption in Nigeria are visible in the slow down of the country’s economic growth. Corruption leaves a negative effect on the economic growth of the country and lessens the budget for important sectors of the government such as education, health and employment opportunities. Corruption literary corrupts education from the citizens of Nigeria and hence reduces the chances of attaining ample ethical standards for the next generations. Corrupt government officials use the tactics of shifting government expenses to the areas where in they can gather bribes and thus gain and use the resources for their own sake leaving the needs of the people behind. It is said that the impairment in incomes and poverty are relatively associated with the effects of corruption. In addition to, development projects are usually turned down into poor quality works because the budget is cut short by the officials in order to have kickbacks on the resources (Olowu, 1993).

Many cases have been affected by the negative effects of corruption which sums up into the sense of poverty and details out the associated crimes, disparities and impairment in corruption for various aspects. However, some scholars regard corruption as a good one with regard to the modernization of political life. It depicts the growth or progress in politics in order to maintain the legitimacy specifically in the span of social change. It is viewed that modernization may help officials to distinguish the gap between the illiterate and literate levels in the society and thus be inform people whom to choose in administering the government.

Solving the Corruption in Nigeria

Controlling the corruption in Nigeria is a very difficult task to accomplish since the leaders are the ones involved. The society then should develop a culture of associated openness which is different from bureaucracy. Considering the fact that Nigeria is a wealthy country, people should be wise enough to vote the officials whom they think will bring profit for the welfare of the country and not just gain privately. The government officials should initiate the changes and this can be done through creating a strong law for anti-graft and corruption and be implemented with integrity. No one should be excluded no matter how significant the position of the official is, as long as the official commits disobedience. To attain ethical standards, a law should also be passed encompassing the ethical standards of an official and firm consequence for any wrong doings.

Nigeria should then be able to reinforce the fairness of power and authority of the highest political leader to instigate the anti-corruption laws. Financial transactions should be secured enough to avoid theft and fraud from office persons which primarily cause poverty (Olowu, 1993). This can be accomplished through the provision of necessary papers and dedicated leaders for the fiscal aspect of the country. Media should also be encouraged to actively participate in broadcasting the corrupt practices of the officials in the society. Regulate the government specifically the aspects that includes the issuance of licenses and other legal terms in order to dismiss corruption. It should be noted that implementation of policies that accord to the anti-graft and corruption should include all areas of the government and small agencies should then be added in order to fully accomplish the goal of cleaning up corruption in the country.

People should also participate in the resolution of corruption because the impact largely goes to them and thus, poverty arises. Each should participate in restricting the power of the officials and strive hard to avoid disparities. Political leaders should be responsible enough to carry ethical standards all the time and do not abuse the authority given by the position.

Corruption indeed takes the right of the people to live accordingly because it steals the welfare of people in general. Nigeria is known to be politically corrupt and its economy is largely affected. Police offices and other sectors of the government are corrupt as well. Unfortunately corruption results to poverty which impacts the people negatively. There are various forms of corruption listed and it prevails to be negative for the economy. Though positive effects are also seen from the practice of corruption, still the negative effects dominate and reflect the economic development of the country. The main reasons why corruption exists are due to the lifestyle that officials aim for and thus it results to different kinds of corruption just to get the things that will benefit such persons. It is recommended then to exert more effort for the higher political powers to develop laws that will impose an anti-graft and corruption which will exclude no one. Corruption should be solved in order to continuously develop the economy of Nigeria and benefit all people not only those who are in power.

• Abed, G. and Gupta, S. (2002) “The Economics of Corruption: An Overview”, in G. Abed and S. Gupta (eds) Governance, Corruption and Economic Performance. New York: International Monetary Fund.
• Ali, A.M. and H.S. Isse (2003) “Determinants of Economic Corruption: A Cross-Country Comparison”, Cato Journal 22(3): 449-66.
• Erero, J. and T. Oladoyin (2000) “Tackling the Corruption Epidemic in Nigeria”’, in K.R. Hope, Sr and B.C. Chikulo (eds) Corruption and Development in Africa: Lessons from Country Case-Studies, pp. 280-7. London: Macmillan.
• La Franiere, S. (2005). “Africa tackles graft, with billions in aid in play”. New York Times.
• Lambsdorff, J. G. (2002). “Making corrupt deals: Contracting in the shadow of the law.” Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, 48:221-41.
• Mbaku, J.M. (2000) Bureaucratic and Political Corruption in Africa: The Public Choice Perspective. Malabar, FL: Krieger.
• Olowu, D. (1993) Ethical Violations in Nigeria’s Public Services: Patterns, Explanations, and Remedies’, in S. Rasheed and D. Olowu (eds) Ethics and Accountability in African Public Services. Nairobi: ICIPE Science Press.
• Tignor, RL. (1993). “Political Corruption in Nigeria before Independence,” The Journal of Modern African Studies > Vol. 31, No. 2.
• Warren, M. E. (2004). “What does corruption mean in a democracy?” American Journal of Political Science 48 (2): 328-43.
• Wraith, R, and E Simpkins, (1983). “Corruption in Developing Countries.” The Journal of Modern African Affairs.
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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Corruption in Nigeria: How to Solve the Issue." October 27, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/corruption-in-nigeria-how-to-solve-the-issue/.

Electoral Corruption in Nigeria: A Study of the 2019 General Elections

This Report is the outcome of research undertaken to understand the drivers and the implications of two forms of electoral corruption, vote-buying and the abuse of the power of incumbency, in Nigeria, and to offer recommendations to diminish their salience as contributory factors in the distortion of competitive party and electoral politics in the country. The broader objective is that the data-based analysis, findings, and recommendations for political and electoral reform in the Report will help to generate policy advocacy, action and reform to diminish the unwholesome impact of the two forms of electoral corruption on the conduct of general elections in Nigeria. Hopefully, it will strengthen electoral integrity and the protection of the mandate of the electorate more firmly and sustainably and brighten the conditions and prospects for good governance in the country substantially. Unless the toxic economic, political and socio-economic environment that inhibits good governance in the country is sanitized, democratic elections cannot serve the positive function of democratic consolidation in the country. With this in view, the main objective of the study was to find out and analyze the experience and perceptions of the two forms of electoral corruption during the 2019 presidential and governorship, by a randomly stratified sampled population of voters in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, and in two states in each of the six geopolitical zones of the Nigerian Federation.

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Nigeria’s All Too Familiar Corruption Ranking Begs Broader Questions Around Normative Collapse

Nigeria's endemic corruption is the country's greatest challenge to its stability despite antigraft efforts from the government, which raises questions about the Nigerian institutions' ability to tackle corruption. 

Article by Ebenezer Obadare

February 24, 2022 2:09 pm (EST)

Neither the latest Transparency International (TI) corruption perception index which ranked Nigeria 154 out of 180 countries, nor the government’s reaction to the ranking could have come as a surprise to any long-term observer of Nigerian affairs.

Released last month, the 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) confirmed what many Nigerians know intuitively—that a steady stream of official antigraft rhetoric has hardly made a dent on what many agree is the most formidable perennial challenge to the country’s long-term stability. President Buhari’s sentiment to the effect that “if Nigeria does not kill corruption, then corruption will kill Nigeria,” is widely shared.

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Not only is Nigeria down five places from its 2020 ranking, its total score of twenty-four out of a maximum one hundred points represents a drop for the third successive year, making it West Africa’s second most corrupt country. Guinea-Bissau, still reeling from a failed military takeover in early February, holds the dubious honor of being the most corrupt.  

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For Nigerians, the global antigraft body’s observation that most countries are in fact struggling, and specifically that “131 countries have made no significant progress against corruption over the last decade” offers only cold comfort.

Official reaction to the ranking was predictable. Presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu described the report as “sensational and baseless.” Speaking on primetime television, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, was more helpful, arguing that the report “does not support the empirical evidence,” and that evaluating the success of the administration’s anti-corruption measures “should not be an exclusive position of the TI.” Malami also pointed to a 2019 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Survey on Corruption in Nigeria which notes some progress in the antigraft war, and the African Union’s (AU) recognition of Buhari as “the champion of anti-corruption in Africa.”

Malami has a point. The said UNODC report, an assessment of “the likelihood of citizens being approached for the payment of bribes as well as the frequency of such requests and actual payments” did indeed show that “although still relatively high, the prevalence of bribery in Nigeria has undergone a statistically significant decrease since 2016, when it stood at 32.3 percent.”

For a country mired in everyday corruption, this is not insignificant, and the attorney general is right to point to it.

It is also true that in 2018, the AU named Buhari as its first ever anti-corruption champion, while, during an official visit to Nigeria in October of the same year, AU chairperson Moussa Faki lauded the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption efforts and praised Buhari for his “dedication” and “style of leadership.”

In 2003, the AU adopted the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) and went on to designate 11 July of every year as African Anti-Corruption Day. From this standpoint, the continental body’s commendation of Nigeria’s efforts is noteworthy indeed.

Finally, Malami invoked the fact that by the end of last year, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the leading governmental agency for the investigation of fraud and corruption allegations, had “recorded over 2,000 convictions,” compared with “about 103 prosecutions and convictions” when the administration took office in 2015. 

Yet, none of this suffices to invalidate Transparency International’s ranking of Nigeria. Some might argue, and not without merit, that the increase in number of convictions is an indication that the problem persists. The AU accolade, while important, was not meant as a definitive stamp of acquittal, and could be said to be a low bar given the overall climate in the region. Lastly, for all the ostensible good news from the UNODC survey—for instance, “the prevalence of bribery in relation to several types of public officials has decreased significantly since 2016” —it still estimates that “some 117 million bribes are paid in Nigeria on a yearly basis.”

More significantly, bribes—while a crucial indicator of corruption—do not begin to capture the depth and scope of everyday corruption in Nigeria, which boils down to the widely acknowledged reality that rarely does anything get done without money exchanging hands. The greater the value of the service being sought, the higher the fee. Police conversion of checkpoints into spaces of unofficial toll collection is widely, if justly, declaimed; but Nigerians understand that police misconduct is by no means an outlier. Studies by Wale Adebanwi , Steven Pierce , and Daniel Jordan Smith respectively render various dimensions of the problem in vivid detail.            

Ordinary people being shaken down by law enforcement is just a tip of the proverbial iceberg. The most brazen larceny often involves highly placed members of the political class who, if convicted, get nothing more than what is effectively a legal slap on the wrist, or, failing that, an official pardon. A retinue of high-profile corruption cases, the most recent involving Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari and former EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu has called into question the Buhari administration’s commitment to fighting corruption and confirmed popular skepticism that its antigraft rhetoric is just that.

Understandably fatigued, most Nigerians were not surprised to see the names of leading politicians and other members of the political and financial elite on the list when a local newspaper leaked information last year about high placed Nigerians with secret assets in tax havens. A report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) calculates that the country hemorrhages between $15 billion and $18 billion annually to illicit financial outflows. The figure for the continent is $50 billion. According to a 2020 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report, Dubai’s property market attracts “tainted money” from “corrupt and criminal actors from around the world,” including Nigeria.

The existence of institutions like EFCC and the less heralded Independent Corruption Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) demonstrates government acknowledgment of the seriousness of the situation. These institutions are vital and can do with financial and logistical assistance from Western countries and anticorruption bodies.

What is less clear is whether a problem as endemic as corruption in Nigeria can be tackled by establishing institutions, even the most well-resourced. What can institutions do when the normative order is scrambled?

For now, the moral compact of Nigerian corruption subsists as follows: government pretends to fight corruption; Nigerians pretend to take government seriously.

This publication is part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy.

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Impact of Corruption on Nigeria’s Economic Development

International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology, 2020 Vol. 5, Issue 3, ISSN No. 2455-2143, Pages 39-44 Published Online July 2020 in IJEAST (http://www.ijeast.com) Available here: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3635544

6 Pages Posted: 17 Jul 2020 Last revised: 13 Aug 2020

Nwabueze Prince Okenna

Independent Researcher; affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: June 25, 2020

The main aim of this study is to analyze how corruption impedes the development of most African countries with Nigeria as a case study. In Nigeria, corruption is among the many unsolved challenges which have critically affected the country’s economic development. It has also been identified as one the roadblocks to the economic transformation of her (Nigerian) economy. In few words, corruption refers to a socioeconomic situation where public funds and resources meant for development are diverted and used for private gains, and it is showcased in various means which ranges from misuse of public positions, lack of accountability and misappropriation of public funds, increase in prices of contracts, high-level bribery, forgery of documents and contracts agreements, tax dodging and evasions, and other locally know common deceptions called as “419”, among others. During the research, various kinds/types of corruption were highlighted, its adverse effects, with policy recommendations proffered to eradicate this unnecessary evil.

Keywords: Corruption, Economic Growth, Development, Poverty, Nigeria

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Nwabueze Prince Okenna (Contact Author)

Affiliation not provided to ssrn, independent researcher ( email ).

Abuja Nigeria Nigeria, 900801 Nigeria 900801 (Fax)

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