ABSTRACT
This study was embarked
on to evaluate corruption and sustainable development in Nigeria. In the
process of this study three specific objectives were formulated and three
research questions were poses to guide the research. The major limitation was
the inability of the researcher to retrieve some relevant materials for the
study from internet sources and the management of time to produce the needed
result. The literature review was organized in themes which directly look into
the concepts under investigation. The study adopted structural functionalism as
a theoretical frame work and expos facto design. The study used secondary
source as method of data collection and content analysis as the method of data
analysis. Afterword’s, The study found out that corruption has contributed to
lack of sustainable Economic development in Nigeria and the study recommends
that EFCC and other security apparatus should strategies ways to reduce
corruption in Nigeria in order to bring about sustainable economic development
in Nigeria.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the Study:
Political corruption in
its various forms is generally believed to be the bane of Nigeria development
and it has been devastating the country and destroys its image among the comity
of nations. It is now fast becoming a way of life in the country as integrity
is now being eroded. Little wonder why in recent times, both the past and present
government in the country made the fight against corruption a top priority. But
none seems to have made a considerable headway.
The reflections of
their efforts were made manifest in the establishment of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and
other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Corruption is found and practiced in
every sectors of the public office in Nigeria and it is entrenched in nearly
all sections of the society with many people deeply involved in it. Although,
it is a global phenomenon but it is more prevalent in one environment than the
other and Nigeria is a typical example of such. Iyanda (2012) argued that it is
a plague that has eaten so deep into the entire fabric of the Nigerian society;
it confers undue benefits on few people contrary to legal and moral norms of
the society. It undermines authorities’ effort to provide suitable welfare for
all citizens as the resources to do this are in the hands or at the reach of
few of the populace, prior to its contagious and incurable infection.
In the words of Chinua
Achebe as cited in Keeper (2012) that anyone who can say that corruption in
Nigeria has not yet been alarming is either a fool; a crook or else does not
live in this country. The situation has become bad to the extent that as far
back as 1993, keeping an average Nigeria from being corrupt is like keeping a goat from eating yam (Achebe, 1988).This
brilliantly explains the state of corruption among Nigerians and why all
efforts to establish a just and egalitarian society in the country failed ever
since. Corruption made development to be stunted in Nigeria. There is no effective
and efficient administration in Nigeria that has not been frustrated by this
evil. People bribe to get almost everything done in the country. For instance,
Tokunbo (1992) alludes to the fact that you bribe to get your child into a
school, you pay to secure a job and you also continue to pay in some cases to
retain it. You pay 10 percent of every contract obtained, you dash the tax
officer to avoid paying taxes, you pay the hospital doctor and nurse to get
proper attention, and you pay the policemen to evade arrest, this catalogue of
shame can continue without end. Corruption is the single greatest obstacle to
economic and social development. It undermines development by distorting the
role of law and weakening the institutional foundation on which economic growth
depends (World Bank). It is one of the greatest challenges of the contemporary
world. It undermines good government, fundamentally distorts public policy,
leads to the misallocation of resources, harms the private sector and private
sector development and particularly hurts the poor (Transparency
International).
1.2
Statement of the Problem:
Corruption remains a
universal phenomenon, which has been in existence for a very long time and
always have adverse effects on the society ever since. Several people involved
in it in the pursuit of the specific purpose or interests. It has overtime
ruined the hopes for greater tomorrow and destroyed the value system in the
country so much so that the world begins to see us as men and women without honour
and dignity.
It has led to slow
movement of files in offices, police extortion and slow traffic on the
highways, port congestion, and queues at gas stations, ghost workers syndrome,
and election irregularities among others. According to Chuta (2004) that the
image of the country in the international arena has become so battered that
every Nigerian psychologically feel a scorching hurt inflicted on his
individual psyche. The dent has gone so far that everywhere in the world,
Nigerians are said to be generally dreaded like mad dogs and criminals,
cautiously approached like dangerous snakes, and avoided .Corruption is
politically destabilizing, that is it has the capacity of engendering political
instability, breakdown of law and order, brain drain, inefficient of the public
service among others (Lawal, 2006).
The menace of
corruption by Nigerian leaders has certainly emerged as one of the main
impediments to national development. Corruption by Nigerian leaders has caused
the country severe losses economically, politically and socially, and these
facts are responsible for decayed infrastructure, downturn of indicators of
national development. Agreeing with this, Human Rights Watch (2007:40) stated
that Nigeria has some of the worst socio-economic indicators in the world and
the overall picture has not improved since the end of the military rule.
Research has shown that the prevalence of corrupt leaders in Nigeria has a
tremendous adverse effect on the quality of life, living standard and national
psyche. The study tends to proffer answers to the questions of whether there
are relationships between corruption and sustainable development in Nigeria.
And also, to what extent has corruption undermined sustainable development in
the country?
1.3
Objective of the Study
The main focus of the
study is to assess the nexus between corruption and sustainable development in
Nigeria. The following are the specific objectives of the study:
- To examine if embezzlement
of public treasury affect the provision of sustainable welfare for all citizens
in Nigeria;
- To examine if mismanagement
of public fund is responsible for the decay of infrastructural development in
Nigeria;
-To determine if
corruption in the public offices has reduced poverty in Nigeria.
1.4
Research Questions:
1. Has embezzlement of
public treasury hinder effort to provide suitable welfare for all citizens in
Nigeria?
2. Could mismanagement
of public fund been responsible for decayed infrastructure in Nigeria?
3. Is there a link
between corruption in the public offices reduced and in Nigeria?
1.5
Significance of the Study:
The
significance of this work upon completion will provide administrative
strategies on how to manage the menace of corruption and provide a strong
institutional solution toward the daring fight against corruption which will in
turn engender economic development. Thus, this work will be significant to
EFCC, legislative body, public offices, academic body and the students’ of
political science and public administration in Nigerian University.
1.6
Limitation of the Study:
During
this research work, the researcher encountered some challenges, one of which is
time factor, I was hooked up with so many activities in school such as
assignments, presentations etc, that I gave little time into carrying out a
detailed research work which has always been my desire to do and coupled with
the limited time given to submit the work, I had no choice than to maximize the
little time I had, I was able to complete the work within the time frame
stipulated for it.
Due to
the nature of our country where there is limited internet access, I encountered
the problem of gathering enough fact through online journals, books and
articles. To get an accurate information needed for the research, I had to buy
internet bundle for the research work which requires money and getting this
finance to facilitate the free flow of the this research work was the major
impediment that I encountered during the course of this study.
However, I was able to combat
these impediments with the help of my parents who worked assiduously in
providing me with financial support to ensure the success of the work.
1.7 Research Hypotheses:
To
further guide the study, the following hypotheses were put forward for
investigation:
1. Embezzlement of
public treasury has hindered effort to provide suitable welfare for all
citizens in Nigeria.
2.
Mismanagement of public fund been responsible for the decayed
infrastructure in Nigeria?
3. There is a link between corruption in
the public offices and poverty in Nigeria.
1.8
Operational Definitions:
Political
Corruption: political corruption is a form of dishonest or
unethical conduct by a person entrusted with a position of authority, often to
acquire personal benefit. Political
corruption may include many activities but in this study it emphasizes
embezzlement of public treasury, mismanagement of public fund and bribery and
corruption, although it may also involve practices that are legal in many
countries. Government,
or 'political', corruption occurs when an office-holder or
other governmental employee acts in an official capacity for personal gain.
Public sector corruption includes corruption of the political process and of
government agencies such as the police as well as corruption in processes of
allocating public funds for contracts, grants, and hiring. Recent research by
the World Bank suggests that who makes policy decisions (elected officials or
bureaucrats) can be critical in determining the level of corruption because of
the incentives different policy-makers face.
Economic development: is the process by which a nation improves the
economic, political, and social well-being of its people. The term has been
used frequently by economists, politicians, and others in the 20th and 21st
centuries. The concept, however, has been in existence in the West for
centuries. Whereas economic development is a policy intervention endeavor with
aims of economic and social well-being
of people, economic
growth is a phenomenon of market productivity and
rise in GDP. However, in
this study the empirical indicator to address sustainable economic development
are the welfare of the citizens, infrastructural development, and poverty and
unemployment.
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