Corruption And Nigeria’s Economy

The word corruption is
being chorused in Nigeria by everybody in all spheres of human endeavour. Corruption has its hydra-headed effect in anywhere there is the likelihood of societal activities. It is ironically found in places where it ought not be. It is there in the Kitchens of our homes where some house wives tend to out play their husbands. It is found in the churches where the Holy Spirit and righteousness should dominate actions of the congregations and members of the clergy and. In the market places where it appears that corruption is an instrument of measurement of demand and supply. In Government establishments, doors of offices are wide open for perpetration of corruption.
What then is Corruption? The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defined corruption as a dishonest or wicked behaviour. The World Bank described it as the abuse of public office for private gain. I see corruption as an inherent evil that can be reduced only if we sanitize ourselves to be able to carry the flag and the weapons of anti-corruption. The endemic nature of corruption in Nigeria was confirmed by Dr. Chuba Okadigbo of blessed memory in 1987 when he said: “The corrupt man is everywhere, the man on the street, the man next door, the man in the market or in departmental store, the policeman on beat patrol, the soldier at the check point”.
According to the Plos one group, corruption is a complex problem which threatens the impact of public investments, health care access and services, equity and outcomes. At the level of individuals and households, there is mounting evidence of the negative effects of corruption in the health and welfare of citizens. The 2006 report of Transparency International asserts that the corruption level undermines the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal MDGs and that corruption is one of the primary causes of the fact that the global community is already off target to meet the MDGs.
Man is therefore by nature the instrument of the causes and consequences of corruption.
The causes of corruption in Nigeria among other things include natural factors such as poverty, institutional factors such as democracy, social factors such as collapse of moral values and legal factors such as unfair legal system.
Economically, the Niqerian populace has been engrossed by abject poverty where more than 30% live below the minimum biological food requirements.
The levels of poverty and unemployment in the Nigerian economy are very high, at approximately 61 % and 23% respectively in a statistical data given in 2010. As a result of these ugly trends the level of corruption risks become so high that the people stick themselves to corrupt practices. This is why late Prof. Chinua Achebe in his No Longer at Ease” written in the early nineteen sixties exclaimed that Nigeria is corrupt through and through, which also agrees with the saying of late Okadigbo that corruption is.” everywhere in Nigeria.
Gray and Kauffman have argued that, in an underdeveloped capitalist economy which Nigeria is one, corruption is widespread for two main reasons. First, the motivation for corruption is strong; second, opportunities to engage in corruption are numerous.
To migrate from poverty to a seemingly middle manpower level people indulge themselves in risk propelling ventures that will ultimately result to corruption. This trend is more prevalent in Nigeria because of sole dependance on the black gold (the oil) for livelihood. Nigeria is therefore characterized by abundant revenue from petroleum. This resulted to financial autonomy of political leaders and governments.
The tax payers seem not to have any influence on governance because there is enough money for politics and government to strive. This financial freedom reduces the moral basis for the citizens to demand public accountability from governement.
In Nigeria, the political arrangement provided great power to the Chief Executive, the President to seemingly act as an autocrat which reduces -the impact or practice of democracy in the polity. As a result of this, the separation of power-between the executive, legislature and judiciary is a mere nominal practice creating loopholes for corruption to flourish. In Nigeria all sorts of corrupt practices take place mainly around the political process.         When public funds are corruptly obtained and used for elections, more corrupt practices will be perpetrated by the victorious politicians to recover their pre-election and electoral expenses. Sad enough the porous security level in the countrywas introduced by political competitors who saw politics as a life and death struggle by arming .the youths with guns and ammunition to win election. Today, these youths are grand patrons of corruption. They go to the creeks and elsewhere to vandalize oil pipelines to make money to remain afloat. They go to offices to abduct their mentors and governments pay outrageous ransom to them.
Corruption, like laziness which begins in a cobweb and ends in an iron chain has gripped the Nigerian state that amnesty was seen as a viable option which I think is counterproductive because each zone of the federation seem to participate in this doctrine of making peace in the falsehood of spending our hard earned resources outrageously. This action makes those involve to be silent or inactive in a while, like the bed bug, and become more offensive when the toxic effect goes away. There is the likelihood that Nigerian youths who are not benefiting from this will form themselves to something that will not help to bring peace but insecurity. In the Northern part of the country, political disadvantaged individuals have introduced the Boko Haram which is hopelessly bringing down,” the economic strength of the affected states. At the political level, corruption has been circularly dominant that it will take huge amount of time, intellect and fund to reduce.
The growth of corruption in Nigeria is very rapid and has hydra-headed adverse effect. This is because Nigerian social structure constitutes fertile ground for the growth.
Nigeria is a society of “two publics” the national and the communal public. Primary loyalty appears to favour the community at the expense of the nation. It has been a welcome practice to divert and misappropriate public funds at the national level and use it for personal, family and community projects.
The act of nepotism where undue favouritism is meted upon ones relation is also a welcome practice in Nigeria. Putting square pegs in round holes is not.also frowned at so long as it is done by somebody in authority in the national public to favour himself or his community. Sanctions are seemingly being metted out to public officers in the national estalishments who to not engage in corupt practice from their community members who expect them to bring home ill acquired fortunes for them. Those who do not have such opportunity to divert fund or any benefit from the Federal Government to their states or community go to any length of corrupt practices to be recognized in their communities. Some who succeed are given chieftaincy tittles or given preferential treatments during social gatherings. To achieve this, some go into killing, armed robbery, kidnapping etc.
Legally speaking, since 1960, Nigeria has enacted excess of anti-corruption laws and raised many anti-corruption agencles and Institutions which have resulted to unfair legal system because of the duplications in handling corruption matters.
To be continued
Dr. Ikoro, a certified corruption risk assessor is based in Port Harcourt.

Ikoro Watson Matthew