Corruption is the use or abuse of public or collective responsibility for private purposes (Macrae, 1982, p.678). With no fear yet filled with deceit, fraud and crime, one word said,”Public power abuse for private gain” (Tanzi, 1998). Different factors cause corruption; greed, poverty, fame, and unemployment. Poverty is another issue because most people are unable to afford to feed themselves or their families so they engage in illegal activities and eventually increase the country’s corruption rate. In the activities of people living in society, corruption occurs one way or the other.
There are different groups of corruption namely; systemic corruption, sporadic corruption, political corruption, large-scale corruption, small-scale corruption, and legal and moral corruption. There is systemic corruption when corruption is an essential part of the economic, political, and social system. In a wide-ranging situation in this area, corruption is fixed that supports it.
Unlike the other times, systemic corruption is a situation in which corrupt individuals and groups dominate and use major state organizations and activities by allocating corrupt officials for the sake of their country. Examples are Nigeria, Kenya, and so on. Sporadic corruption doesn’t involve the people of the country. In this type of corruption, the economy is sapped and it does not happen as frequently as systemic corruption.
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Political corruption is when the “leaders” of the country do not obey the laws of the country. When a state governor is found guilty of an offense, he or she is likely to use cunny or misleading ways to avoid punishment. Great corruption occurs when laws or policies are established and they are not followed by the people who have established the rules. Petty corruption is the one that is encountered by the government; police, hospital, licensing and taxing authorities.
As of 1 November 2018, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with a population of about 197 million. Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960. Exports of hides and skin, timber, cocoa, groundnut, palm oil, cotton and mostly oil are known to her. Nigeria has been known as the country of great gas and natural resource endowment that has been used as a mode of financing for the country’s citizens ‘ needs.
Nigeria was off the press not for its goodness but for its notorious acts after its acknowledgement of oil. Nigeria has since been described as one of Africa’s most corrupt countries. The series of economic mismanagement, human rights disregard, political instability, and dictatorial regimes have all given Nigeria a bad name worldwide. These factors also led to a decline in economic growth and development potential in Nigeria.
Nigeria with a per capita income of $340 is now regarded as an underdeveloped country according to tables of the World Bank leagues. Nigeria’s education has been considered to be one of the best now it’s very terrible, low-rate employment, lack of health facilities and social amenities to sustain its citizens, the crime rate is rapidly rising, and lack of peace and security. Corruption involves even the lowest payers.
According to World Bank 2004, Nigeria is on the list of the world’s twenty poorest countries. Poverty occurs throughout the country, though in rural areas the rate of poverty is higher than in urban areas. The poor are said to be those who don’t own a property, have low or no source of income, lack education, and don’t have a health service mode. The poor are often uneducated, in poor health and do not live long (Amaghionyeodiwe and Osinubi, 2004). The educational rate in Nigeria is poor. As of 2002, about 0.9% of GNP of public money was spent on education(The World Bank, 2004).
Studies have shown that, because of greed and the little things they gain from it, people tend to deceive themselves and cheat themselves. This happens mainly within the poor people who are unable to afford for themselves because they end up muddling or cheating their fellow peers in order to be able to fend for themselves. Because of their greed, corruption has raised the demands of people for public demands and this increases the rate of corruption (Hunt, 2007).
People do not define corruption as wrong or when they realize that their peers are committing such acts (Tavits,2010). However, corruption has a ruthless effect on people because corruption reduces the rate at which people are satisfied because, while committing fraudulent acts, people do not feel safe and therefore they are scared at the sound of the siren(Whu,2016) Corruption affects the rate of adequate provision of public amenities; such as water, health care and proper sanitation because people are scared. These public amenities’ absence has increased mortality rates (Hanf, Van-Melle, Fraisse, Roger, Carme, 2011).
A question arises in the knowledge that people are also an active part of corruption. What caused corruption among people? First, when workers are paid low wages, corruption among people occurs, so they start collecting bribes to feed their families. Employers should make sure that they pay their workers’ wages more frequently and sometimes give a raise or promotion (Mauro, 1998). Because insufficient funds are available, people tend to create fake contracts to provide for themselves because they find people gullible to fall for their pranks (Davies,2018).
Corruption among business partners is higher, and this has resulted in many deaths due to greed. Corrupt ways are used as a way of showing authority and fame to the person in charge’s satisfaction. They use the public power that is given to them for their own private advantages, thus inconveniencing others. In addressing this problem, academics have lagged behind industries because there is no validated measure of international corruption available (Paul, 2002).
If government laws ban an official’s act, it’s corrupt ; if it’s not banned, it’s not corrupt, even if it’s offensive or disreputable. (Gardiner,1993). Corruption is not only that, corruption also applies to countries that use taxes on citizens to buy themselves expensive cars and change their wardrobe. We also have politicians, governors, presidents and senators who are through corruption in their respective positons. They bribe citizens to vote for them and make endless promises that cannot be fulfilled. In the activities of people living in society, corruption occurs one way or the other. For some individuals, political parties are abused as a source of finance. (Hopkin,1997).
Nigeria was described as an unfinished state and a truculent tragedy in Africa (Joseph, 1996 et al Ayittey, 2006). Winner-take-all factional struggles, political cynicism and violence dominated political life while declining economic and social institutions (Osaba, 1996). Nigeria’s government is still far from serving the interest of its people (Fagbadebo, 2007).
In addition, when we discuss corruption in Nigeria, we usually focus on the figures of the headline, the billions embezzled by politicians. It’s tempting to focus solely on the elite’s sins, especially in a place like Nigeria where a small minority lives like royal (often stolen money) while most struggle to meet basic needs. (The Guardian,2011).
Poor governance and corruption have destroyed the income of the government, causing wasteful spending of country funds (Gupta et al Abed, 2002). The disintegration of the old regime resulted in a few changes in issues that resulted in the absence of rule of law and corruption. Poor leadership has resulted in the stagnation and alienation of the citizenry, which has had an impact on the system’s low-level sense of belonging and identification with the political system (Mayer et al., 1996).
This is because Nigeria has 25 political parties, corruption is more widespread. Because of their economic growth, countries with less economic resources have a higher rate of corruption. Corruption is expanding the country’s output as more bribes are being collected to move the country forward.
The cause of political stability is the inability of the political class to adhere to the principles of democracy and constitutionalism (Kew, 2006). In the Global Peace Index, Nigeria has consistently ranked low, indicating a deteriorating insecurity state in the country (GPI, 2012). In 2002, public money spent on education was 0.9% of GNP. Nigeria is on the list of the twenty poorest countries (World Bank, 2004). Nigeria remains an underdeveloped country.
The keys to managing corruption is to be an honest person, a person of integrity, to be able to display effective leadership and governance and most importantly, to be a transparent and an accountable person. By simply setting up probe panels, Nigeria cannot effectively control corruption. This means that Nigeria cannot end corruption by simply questioning suspects, should they be punished if corrupt officials are caught. To eradicate corruption, In the year 2003, Obasanjo put into place an anti-corruption system and they had a slogan called ‘no sacred cows’.
This policy should be implemented on to reduce the rate of corruption. Nigeria needs to hold politicians accountable for their actions to alleviate the corruption scourge and have effective laws and rules to monitor the overseas and indigenous accounts. In order to combat corruption effectively, Nigeria should derive ideas from the US and other progressive countries. Society should avoid giving too much power and authority to the officers which consists of customs and immigration officers.(Dike,2003).
There is an abysmal level of guidelines which create the pillar of globalization. These rules are frequently suggested by international institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. These institutions promote corruption as well. What is or is the government part of corruption? Corruption has brought about the increase in the rate of poverty around the world. It takes place from native and general governments, political world, legal functions, huge and minor productions, armed and other services, etc., at all levels of society (Global Issues, 2011).
Corruption affects people in rich or poor countries, but every component of society is influenced here and there as defilement undermines political advancement, majority rule governance, financial improvement, nature, individual well-being, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Nigerians are lacking decent hospitals, roads and schools because they have been stolen money budgeted to build them (The Guardian,2016). In conclusion, it is necessary to put in place anti-corruption systems. It is necessary to vote in the right leaders; people’s voice should be heard. Equipment should be provided for people’s needs. In order to avoid a breach, business partners should ensure that contracts are read through. Implementing these would reduce Nigeria’s corruption rate.
