CORRUPTION, CONFLICT AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

DELE ISHAKA

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,

UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA

d120064real@yahoo.com

08060507986

&

OGBANJE IKE JOSEPH

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,

UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA

joeogbans@gmail.com

Tel: 08036431429
 ABSTRACT
The paper takes a critical look at the nexus between corruption, conflict and national
development. The impact of corruption on the socio-political and economic development in
Nigeria has caused a monumental damage to national development of the country. Indeed,
the effect of corruption is felt in the economic, political and social spheres either directly or
indirectly. Although the direct costs of corruption may be high in terms of lost revenue or
funds diverted from their intended use, which has a bearing with most conflicts experienced
in the nation, the indirect costs in terms of the economic distortions; inefficiencies and waste
resulting from corrupt practices are more problematic over a long-term and thus making it
more difficult to address. The paper is located within the framework of elite theory and the
work was carried out using qualitative research particularly through content analysis
method. The finding is that Nigeria has lost an estimated fifty percent (50%) of what it has
generated since independence to public office looters. The most frustrating reality is that
these looted funds are not invested in Nigeria to develop the youths that are readily available
for use during crisis but are dumped in foreign accounts for the betterment of the economies
of those states. The paper recommended that peace scholars, individuals, organizations and
the government should be proactive in addressing the monster of corruption and establish
good governance in order to prevent conflict and strengthen national security which is a
precondition for national development.
Key Words: Corruption, Looted Funds, Conflict, National Development.
INTRODUCTION

The genesis of corruption in Nigeria might not really be associated with a particular period.

Nonetheless, Aije and Wokeroro (2012) asserted that corruption can be traced back to the

colonial era when Nigerians were bribed with different foreign goods in exchange for local

products. Aside this, various regimes have also been associated with certain corrupt practices.

The illegitimate taking over of government by the various military regimes via coup d’état

were often justified by pervasive corruption. This tends to use corruptly armed measures to

check and making the economy worse off; abolition of the constitution by replacing it with

decrees, abuse of fundamental human rights among others. Shuaib (2016) argued that the

history of corruption in Nigeria is strongly rooted in the over 29 years of the military rule, out

of 57 years of her statehood since 1960.

Corruption has gone so bad and it is worrisome as several but unsuccessful measures have

been put in place to halt the menace. The menace of corruption in Nigeria is endemic and on

the increase despite several attempts even by successive governments to quail it. The issue is

global and it is without a uniform definition. In Nigeria, corruption has become the order of

the day happening among the young and the old, the politician and the non-politician as well

as military and the non-military. Corruption has been identified as one of the factors

responsible for poverty which has pushed many youths into all kind of criminal activities.

The devastated effect of corrupt practices in Nigeria can be linked to the various conflicts

associated with the Nigerian state. As such, it is safe to assert unequivocally that corruption is

inextricably intertwined with conflict. According to a World Bank Report, more than ten (10)

million children of school age are not in school particularly in the Northern part of Nigeria.

The implication of this is that in the next ten to twenty years, these children will grow up into

adults who inadvertently will become societal misfits. This category of restive people will go
into all kind of criminal activities which will ultimately culminate into all kind of conflicts

and violence.

The various conflicts in Kaduna, Jos and Kano including the Boko Haram terrorism that is

currently plaguing the nation are fuelled by these restive youths. These people are from local

governments, state governments, and they are all represented at the federal level of

government. The neglect of these set of people is largely due to corruption and embezzlement

of funds meant to provide the enabling environment for them to thrive and be productive. The

southern part of Nigeria which is divided into east and west is also not exempted from the

negative impact corruption has on the society. This is evident in the increasing rate of

kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, militancy, separatist agitation and so on.

The question to ask is that why is corruption still ripe in the country despite scholastic

solutions, government policies to stem the tide and the massive awareness? Could it be that

not enough has been written about it or enough reasons have not been adduced for its

continuation? Or is it that enough strategies have not been suggested for its reduction or

elimination? This paper would therefore be an additional resource to the issue of corruption,

as it seeks to give some analytical expositions as to the nexus between corruption, conflict

and national development in Nigeria and recommendations for its elimination or mitigation.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Arguably, corruption in Nigeria is a pandemic that the major perpetrators are the elites. To

examine the role of the elites in corruption, the elite theory is used as a tool of analysis. The

elite theory according to Vilfred Pareto (1858-1923), Gaetano Mosca (1858-1941), Michels

(1876-1941), and Wright Mills as quoted by Henry (2001), is based on the conception that

the society is divided in to two classes. According to the two the Italian sociologists that the

theory has its origin in their works, Vilfred Pareto (1858-1923) and Gaetano Mosca (1858-

1941) their frame of analysis is to explain the nature of power relations in the society. They
both agreed that every society is divided into two classes, the class that hold power and the

class that do not.

Nigeria presents a typical example of an elite controlled society. In Nigeria, the elites belong

to an organized minority group and are found in virtually all sectors of the society. There are

political, economic, social, individual, financial, religious, military, academic and traditional

elites. The attention here majorly is on the political elites because they are the ones who have

unfettered access to public funds. They are saddled with the responsibility of using public

funds to better the lots of the Nigerian people but what has happened over the years is that

instead of using these funds to implement policies that will positively transform the lives of

the people and move them out of economic underdevelopment, they have looted these funds

and stashed them in foreign accounts.

This no doubt is one of the major factors that have precipitated abject poverty in Nigeria that

has bred several belligerent groups like the Boko Haram Sect, Niger Delta militants,

Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), cattle rustlers, marauding herdsmen, armed robbers,

kidnappers and so on. These monies that have been looted and saved in foreign banks would

have helped the economy a great deal if it is within but the reverse is the case and the effect is

obvious.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Corruption

The word corruption is derived from the Latin word corruptus, meaning “to spoil, pollute,

abuse, or destroy”. Corruption refers to what is morally reprehensible and an act of impurity.

It always involves a failure to conform to some social standards. The concept of corruption

has changed over the centuries and varies somewhat across cultures. It has been used in broad
terms to describe any deviation from the norm that is considered improper, most especially

improper behaviour linked to one’s official position (Salisu, 2000).

The World Bank (1996) defined corruption as “the abuse of public power for private benefit”.

The Transparency International (2005) defined it as “the abuse of entrusted power for private

gain”. However, corruption is not just about those in public office or those in power but it

also involves all in the society. Corruption includes bribery, smuggling, fraud, illegal

payments, money laundering, drug trafficking, falsification of documents and records,

window dressing, false declaration, evasion, underpayment, deceit, forgery, concealment,

aiding and abetting of any kind to the detriment of another person, community, society or

nation.

Khan (1996) elucidates that corruption is an act which deviates from the formal rules of

conduct governing the actions of someone in a position of public authority because of private

- regarding - motive such as wealth, power or status. Otite (2000) contends that corruption is

perversion of integrity or state of affairs through bribery, favour or moral depravity. It takes

place when at least two parties have interacted to change the structure or processes of society

or the behaviour of functionaries in order to produce dishonest, unfaithful or defiled

situations. In other words - corruption is a systematic vice in an individual, society or a nation

which reflects favoritism, nepotism, tribalism, sectionalism, undue enrichment, amassing of

wealth, abuse of office, power, position and derivation of undue gains and benefits. Windsor

and Getz (2000) disagreed slightly with Khan and Otite because he argued that corruption is

socially impermissible deviance from some public duty or more generally some ideal

standard of conduct.

Corruption in Nigeria also could be youth based among which includes cybercrime

(yahooyahoo), thuggery, permutation, pilfering, drug peddling, paid assassins, kidnapping,

prostitution, militancy, Boko Haram and 419 syndromes, plagiarisms among others.
Conflict

Etymologically, the word conflict was derived from a Latin word called confligere, which

means to clash or to engage in a fight or a battle over certain things, goals, or values. It is a

battle between or among individuals and groups of individuals, due to perceived incompatible

goals (Best, 2004). Conflict is a disagreement, quarrel, fight, violence, terrorism and any act

targeted at causing pain, hardship and unpleasantness in the society.

According to Coser (1956), conflict is the struggle over values or claims to status, power, and

scarce resources, in which the aim of the groups or individuals involved are not only to obtain

the desired values but to neutralize, injure or eliminate rivals. Conflict emerges when parties

compete over perceived or actual goals, values, or interests. Thus, it occurs when the

contenders confront one another with opposing actions and counter-actions. Sometimes,

conflict serves as an indicator of change or the need for change. It is an interaction that aims

at beating or defeating opponents.

Weeks (1994) enthused that conflict is an outgrowth of the diversity that characterizes our

thoughts, our attitudes, our beliefs, our perception, and our social systems and structures. It is

as much a part of our existence as its evolution. In the same vein, Maoz (1982) asserts that

conflict is a stage of incompatibility among values, where the achievement of one value can

be realised only at the expense of some other values. Specifically, conflict has been

ignorantly seen as a negative factor or an issue that needs to be avoided or ignored, which is a

typically wrong perception. Rather, the context in which it occurs needs to be considered

because conflict can also bring progress, development and mutual understanding, if it is

managed constructively or positively.

Interestingly, Dokun (2005) argued that in the Chinese language conflict means, an

opportunity or chance for change as well as “risk of danger”. In essence, to the Chinese,

conflict is neither positive nor negative, it is the response to the conflict that determines its
outcome. The background or context, attitudes, perceptions and environment among other

things influence the response to conflict situations. The people with negative connotations of

conflict tend to handle conflict in a destructive way. Otherwise, having a positive attitude to

conflict situation helps in managing it constructively and in such a way that it yields positive

results like development, change, friendship, improvement, communication, progress, peace

and love.

More importantly, the costliest peace is cheaper than the cheapest wars; the differences in

man’s nature otherwise make conflict an inevitable phenomenon and a recurrent fact of life.

Conflict although good, can be bad. In Nigeria, conflict is seen as a negative phenomenon

and as such it is treated with regimented mentality of crushing and destruction. The Niger-

Delta militancy that was transformed from conflict to dialogue would have resulted in the

grounding of the economy of the nation if it was allowed to fester.

Development

Development as a concept has myriad of definitions. For Rodney (1969), it is a many-sided

process. At the level of individual it implies increased skills and capacity, greater freedom,

creativity, self-discipline, responsibility and material wellbeing. One thing which could be

deduced from this definition is that development goes beyond economic growth and man is at

the center of development. In order words, development is about the improvement of

people’s lives and not solely about increment in things.

Todaro (1985) asserts development is a multi-dimensional process involving the

reorganization and reorientation of the entire economic and social system. This involves in

addition to improvement of income and output radical changes in institutional, social and

administrative structures as well as in popular attitude, customs and beliefs. The main

argument of Todaro is that development is both a physical process and or state of the mind.

The transformation of institutions is one aspect. The other aspect is that the thinking of the
people must change. Again, according to Todaro (2003), the concept of development implies

improvement in productivity, income, attitudes, customs and belief and putting in place better

institutional structures. This improvement is necessary condition for improving mass living

standard. So, development is about improvement in every aspect of man in relation to his

environment.

In his contributions to the debate on the meaning of development, Dudley Seers (1969)

observed that the questions to ask about a country’s development are therefore: What has

been happening to poverty? What has been happening to unemployment? What has been

happening to inequality? If all three of these have declined from high levels, then beyond

doubt, there has been period of development for the country concerned. If one or two of these

problems have been growing worse, especially if all three have, it would be strange to call the

result development, even if per capital income doubled. Seers’ definition is important for the

understanding of development because it is concerned with the improvement in the living

condition of the people. The implication of his argument is that the economy could grow

without development.

The Conceptualization of Terms: National Insecurity, Youth Unemployment and

National Development
The Concept of National Development

Development does not refer to the economic aspect of a nation only, but it means a gain in

the quality of life of the industrial in the society, community, state and nation. According to

Abasiekong (1982:18), this involves the number of able bodied people to work, the state of

their health, the level of birth rate and death rate. He maintains that development is also an

ideology in so far as African leaders tend to visualize progress towards a better society in

terms of development, see their historical evolution in terms of the possibility of achieving

development, and base the possibility of the good life on the primary necessity of overcoming

underdevelopments.

National Development, like the related concept of National interest is often difficult to define.

Among the social scientist in particular, it is difficult to obtain concensus in terms of meaning

and the context in which it can be used. However, National Development must be understood

from the point of view the fundamental objectives and Directive principles of state policy

(Bankole 2008:8).

According to him, these objectives set goals which every government in Nigeria must strive

to achieve at all times. In other words, National Development represents the set of economic,

political and social objectives which a country relies upon as a reference point for judging

government actions and programmes.

An insight into the meaning of National Development can be obtained from the contents of

Nigeria’s Second National Development Plan (1970-1974). In the document, National

Development is conceived as the establishments of a strong and buoyant economy, the

creation of a just and egalitarian society where no man or woman is oppressed on the basis of

ethnicity, sex and religion.

Bankole (2008:8) avers that:

Development is a sustained pattern of economic growth in which there is commitment to the

implementation of programmes that guarantee social justice or addresses the multifarious

challenges of development.

They include among others: poverty, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, Pandemic, malaria and

other disease, gender inequality, security of lives and property, sustainable peace and

infrastructural development.

Ake (1981:141) in his work on the desire for development opine that one important impulse

for change in African economies is the desire of African leaders, apparently shared by their

followers, for development. He describes passion or an ideology. According to him,

The most fundamental problems which plague African states are poverty, the high incidence

of disease, unemployment, military weakness, ignorance, technological backwardness,

cultural deprivation, short life-expectancy, social disorganization and the high incidence of

political instability.

Development may be defined as the harnessing both human and material forces of

production, land, labour, capital efficiently for growth. It should be noted here that whatever

kind of development be it at individual, groups, community, state or National level is

predicated on the efficient use of these three forces of production. That the cause of most

problems of man hinges on the use of land for agriculture, land is not adequately put to use.

Investment in agriculture has been neglected by the government, too many idle labour and

diversion or capital flight that would have been used for investment have been lost through

corruption, money laundering or extravagant use on irrelevances industrialization would have

engendered development, but poor policy or the use of foreign policy when the economy is

not capable to effectuate such policies or the necessary base for the policy to thrive is not on

ground, this crumbles the economy.

Broadly, National Development is the positive coordination of human and material efforts by

specialized institutions aimed at bringing about rise in productivity through the use of

improved methods, maximization of Gross National Product, the industrialization which may

either be small and medium scale with efforts aimed at absorbing available labour to enhance

stability of the system be it local, state or national. For development to thrive, there must be

every effort aimed at eradicating idle labour, improving standard of living through adequate

provision of infrastructures and facilities in rural areas, since development cannot take place

in a violent environment.

The World Bank’s Development Indicators (2008/2009) Report states that the world has an

estimated youth population of 1.2 billion and that more than one third of the youth are

without jobs: The International Labour Organisation (ILO), 2006) is of the view that in Sub-

Saharan Africa, three out of five unemployed people are youth.

Nigeria is a nation in dire need of development but because the elites have paid lip service to

the phenomenon, it has remained elusive to Nigerians. It is unfortunate that even with all the

potentials in both human and natural resources, the country has remained a sleeping giant in

terms of development.

National Development

National development simply means the development which belongs to a nation. It is the

progressive transformation of the economic, social and political structures of a society from

relatively less complex, less efficient and less desirable forms to relatively more complex,

more efficient and more desirable forms (Obasi 1987).

The imperative of national development stems from the recognition that besides what the

whole world has professed to achieve in the MDGs, SDGs and other such global

developmental programmes, each nation has devised home grown mechanism to improve the

quantity and quality of lives of their citizens. It is also built on the understanding that all
countries of the world do not share the same needs. In national development each country

focuses on what it considers important in the improvement of lives of its citizens.

The components of national development irrespective of the country applying it must have

political, economic, social and cultural improvement of the entire nation. National

development is about the citizens’ welfare and the upliftment of their lives from poverty,

crudity, and backwardness to an improved one. Development generally is about people and

not about things. As such, any development that has a national outlook must be tailored

towards the betterment of the lives of people it is meant for.

From the definition of national development above, national development is not a destination.

Thus, there is no point which a country will reach and it will conclude that it has attained

national development. We rather say that national development is a process, a continuous

process. The phrase ‘progressive transformation’ incorporated in the definition above

captures the soul of national development. It means that there is no destination, and that

national development consists in transcending attained destinations for higher destinations,

which will also be transcended. With the above in mind, when we talk of national

development we talk about a number of objectives which a country intends to achieve.

One of the major encumbrances to national development in Nigeria is widespread corruption

exhibited in crass and brazen looting of public funds which are supposed to be meant for the

implementation of the government’s objectives that will catapult the country to its desired

height. There have been several beautiful development plans, strategies, goals, objectives and

blueprints that have been worked out as springboards for national development for Nigeria.

Unfortunately, virtually all of them have not seen the light of the day because of the monster

called corruption.

THE NEXUS BETWEEN CORRUPTION, CONFLICT AND NATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
There are five major scholastic works which focused on the features and impact of corruption

on national development in Nigerian. One is Olaniyan’s book, titled: “Corruption and

Economic Development” written in 2004 which dealt on the issue of corruption and its

consequence on the Nigerian economy. However, the problem of corruption is not in any way

is Agedah’s “Corruption and the Stability of the Third Republic” (2001) which pointed out

the “inordinate, selfish, reckless and hyper-excessive accumulation of wealth by Nigerian

rulers”. The book also focused on the role of politicians, the military, the judicially, the

police, and the Nigerian people in ensuring the stability of the then Third Republic. While the

book highlighted quite a number of the historical cases of corruption in Nigeria, it did not

address the underlying causes of corruption in the country.

Also reviewed is Olopoenia’s “Political Economy of Corruption and Underdevelopment”

written in 2000. The book tried to evolve a durable solution to the anti-developmental stance

of corruption in Nigeria. Olopoenia proffered political and economic equity in Nigeria, as

well as an efficient legal system, as the panaceas for solution to corruption in the country.

These strategies are rather limited.

The forth work which focused on corruption in Nigeria is Professor Chinua Achebe’s book

titled: The Trouble with Nigeria”. The work dwells on the issue of corruption and its

catastrophic consequence on the Nigerian nation. According to Achebe, corruption in Nigeria

reached a “fatal stage” and the country would die” if no concrete action is taken to stem its

pervasiveness. However, the book did not particularly address the issue of corruption and its

impact on national development in Nigeria. Lastly, there is Onyeka Onwenu’s Television

documentary in 2001, “A Squandering of Riches” which focused on the socio-economic

mismanagement and corruption the permeated the second Republic of President Shehu

Shagari’s era, though as would be seen later, no regime in Nigeria has been free from

corruption.
There is an imprecise anecdote of when corruption started in Nigeria. However, one might

not be too far from the truth to join the polemic that the menace of corruption started with the

emergence of the entity called Nigeria. From the period of colonial administration through

the military regimes of Ironsi, Gowon, Murtala, Obasanjo, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha and

Abdusalam to the civilian administrations of Balewa, Shagari to the interim reign of

Shonekan, the civilian administration of Obasanjo, Musa Yar Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and

the present President Buhari, corruption has pervaded Nigeria, spreading from the cities and

urban centers to the hinterland.

The corrupt practices that pervaded most of these regimes are reminiscent in the continual

breaking of the entity called Nigeria into protectorates, to regions, and to the present thirty-

six states plus Abuja (FCT). These regions and states’ creations were the result of agitations

from people requiring a government nearer to them. It may be important to note, however,

that these agitations are most often laden with some selfish undertones. Such selfish

undertones impact national unity, integration, and development. Bryce (1921) reasoned that

the absence of a strong sense of national community often results in conflicts and corruption.

Often, advocates of state creation turn out to manifest behaviours characteristic of people

who are materialistically obsessed, encompassed with a mentality of a short cut to affluence

and desiring glorifications and approbation of ill-gotten wealth by the general public. This is

the precinct of all states and local governments created in Nigeria because those who

clamoured for their creation are now the clique of individuals who parade themselves and

cringe on the government at state and local government levels for money, materials and

recognition.

It is pertinent to accentuate that corruption is at its peak in Nigeria because most Nigerians

measure good life by flamboyant and grandiose affluence and conspicuous consumption. An

individual, in Nigeria, whose age ranges between 18 and 45 years and yet has no house(s) and
car(s) of his own is rather perceived as cursed and doomed for life. An attempt to prove to the

world and Nigerians that one is not cursed, and, or doomed, accounts for why many

Nigerians engage in dubious activities to cut corners to affluence. This accounts for the

brazen looting of public funds by public office holders and those who do not have access to

the public treasury either pray to get their some day to ‘cause their own havoc’ or take to all

sort of things like kidnapping, armed robbery, assassination, ritual killing and cheating.

Instances of ritual killings and cases of fraud, forgery, embezzlement and abuse of office; are

issues of loss of moral reasoning, moral values, and moral judgment. All these are indices of

corruption.

Other factors, no doubt, include those of poor reward system and greed. Greed as noted by

Dike (2002), Harrison (1985) and Onalaja (1997) is a product of peer community, extended

family pressures and polygamous households. In the words of Harrison (1985), extended

family system is effective as a clinical setting for therapy and social support. No wonder,

even when you try to be upright and be incorruptible in Nigeria, the first set of people that

will crucify you are your kinsmen. This is because they will put it to you point blank that

your being in that position is the only opportunity they have to enrich themselves, their

people and develop their place at the detriment of others.

Nonetheless, Harrison (1985) noted further that corruption posses a big obstacle for

development owing to the long familial chains that must be socio-economically attended to if

one would not want to be ostracized and negatively labelled. The socioeconomic care for the

family members may inadvertently affect the growth and development of the carer while

even possibly inducing corrupt practices and acts. In Nigeria, our greatest undoing is the

‘feeding bottle mentality’ where once a person is appointed or elected in to a public office,

his house in his country-side becomes a pilgrimage of some sort because of people that will
be trooping there for one favour or other which all boils down to putting pressure on the

public office holder to loot public fund to meet the need of his people.

That corruption permeates through the cities to the hinterlands is evident in the observations

of Akande (2013:50) who wrote that:

Glancing through any of Nigerian newspapers, one is often than not

starred in the face by the numerous and ever increasing cases of
fraud, swindling and theft and other forms of dishonesty and corrupt
practices in Nigeria. At a second thought, one wonders what type of
citizens Nigeria is breeding and what will be the ultimate end of a
dishonest country.
Akande (2013) further observed that in many villages where there had not been any direct

administrative contact with the western civilized countries, corruption has never been an

issue because there are established traditional administrative ways of dealing with individuals

who contravene established social rules. Suffice it to say therefore that corruption is an 'evil',

a social vice exacerbated by western civilization.

Corruption and corrupt practices sometimes bring about war within, and even between,

nations. No warring nation will boast of a healthy socio-political and economic development.

This is evident in the words of Mauro (1997) who, argued that corruption affects a nation’s

economic growth by reducing public spending on social and human capital formation. Lipset

and Lenz (2000) corroborated Mauro's submission by arguing that the government spends

relatively more on items to make room for ‘graft' rather than spending more on education and

social security.

Social Impact of Corruption

Socially, the effect of corruption is enormous. It is quite sad that almost all social facilities in

Nigeria are not working. The educational system for instance, particularly the tertiary

institutions are ravaged by incessant strikes and the other components are plagued by myriads

of problems. The health sector is comatose and dilapidated because they are manned by

people who not happy doing the job due to lack of enabling environment. This is evident in
the recent outburst by the Wife of the President Aisha Buhari family on the poor state of the

Aso Clinic that is supposed to cater for the first family in Nigeria. The security sector also is

another worrisome area that the country is suffering a big blow. This is due to the insecurity

that pervades the land and because people are not even sure of their safety anymore owing to

the volatile nature of the country.

Nigeria is a country that social security and welfare for all classes of people; the young, old,

women, children, workers and students is an illusion. This is not because the country is too

poor that it cannot afford them but the monster of corruption won’t let a larger number of the

citizens enjoy their God-given gift of rich natural and human resources the nation is blessed

with.

It is good to mention that conflict is assured in a country like Nigeria that its status is nearing

that of a failed state. The Boko Haram issue is a classical case of a boomerang of bad

governance in a country. Apart from linking the Sect to extremist belief system, the remote

reasons of Boko Haram are fallouts like the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor,

illiteracy, unemployment to mention a few.

Political Impact of Corruption

Politically, corruption destabilizes and leads to social revolution and military take over. It

might be pertinent to recall the many excuses usually given during military takeover

especially in Nigeria. One of such is the words of Brigadier J. Dongoyaro at General Buhari’s

post-coup broadcast to Nigerians in 1983. Dongoyaro, in the broadcast, emphasized that the

toppled Shagari administration has grossly been corrupt. One may be apt to say, however,

that the incursion of the military in Nigerian politics on the excuse that Nigerian politicians

are corrupt may no longer be tenable if lessons from the past military leaders are anything to

go by. It is evident that many of the past military leaders in Nigeria were more corrupt than
the civilian politicians and a great number of these past military leaders are even turning to

civilian politicians.

According to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, corruption is the greatest single bane

of our society and no nation can achieve anything near its full potential if it allows corruption

to become the full blown cancer it has become in Nigeria. He enumerated the cost and

consequences of corruption to include:

(a) It causes the undermining of Nigeria’s national development and it effects her economic

potentials and her political stability

(b) It leads to an un-quantifiable damage to all facets of the country’s corporate existence or

life.

(c) It makes government to lose enormous revenue.

(d) It leads to erosion of efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of Nigeria’s public sector.

(e) It causes tainting of our national image all over the world, resulting in loss of investor’s

confidence, development and progress.

The points enumerated by the former president provide an adequate platform from which to

view the effects of corruption on development in Nigeria.

Economic Impact of Corruption

On the economic front, corruption is seen as the primary driver of Nigeria’s economic

underdevelopment, unfulfilled government pledges, poorly executed and abandoned projects,

lack of human infrastructure and the disconnect between the wealth of the nation and the

through disempowerment of the citizen. Corruption is also seen as a regular source of drain

on government finance and the single most important factor in the inability of the sate to meet

or surpass set developmental objectives and targets.

In its Annual Report for 2012, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

observed that:

Corruption in the public sector remains a sore spot in

Nigeria’s quest to instill transparency and accountability in the
polity. The failure to deliver social services, the endemic
problem of power supply and the collapse of infrastructure are
all linked with corruption. Unfortunately, the will to combat
corruption in all tiers of government is still very weak. In some
cases, especially in the states and local governments, the
political will to fight corruption is non-existent, as the
workings of the polity are intricately connected with corruption
activities … It is no surprise therefore that most of the
predicate offences to money laundering are connected with
corruption within the officialdom.
To buttress this, findings by a PWC (2016) study shows that corruption in Nigeria could cost

up to 37% of GDP by 2030 if it’s not dealt with immediately. This cost is equated to around

$1,000 per person in 2014 and nearly $2,000 per person by 2030.

MEASURES FOR PREVENTING CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

Good Governance

More open and representative governing systems that allow for a high level of civic

participation typically have more vibrant civil society organizations that can publicly reveal

the abuses of corrupt officials and put their political futures at risk. A strong civil society can

protect individuals and groups against intrusive government and influence government

behavior, protecting the marginalized and furthering the interest of the governed.

Public accountability remains one of the most important mechanisms to control corruption in

Nigeria. Can public officials in Nigeria (elected or otherwise) be exposed to public scrutiny

and criticism for not meeting standards and for wrongdoing? Or, perhaps more importantly,

can they lose their jobs or be put in jail? Rose-Ackerman (1999) notes that “limits on the

power of politicians and political institutions combined with independent monitoring and

enforcement can be potent anti-corruption strategies.

Rule of Law
Rule of law can be seen as a constitutional doctrine which emphasizes the supremacy of law

over all subjects and the people in the society. In a system where the rule of law has broken

down, there is little transparency in government operations and public officials have a lot of

discretion in the way that they carry out their duties. It is more likely that public funds in

Nigeria will be used for personal benefit, that services will be disrupted and that the citizens

will have few avenues of recourse to lodge complaints or receive justice.

In such circumstances, the citizens may revolt (violently or non-violently) or perhaps protest

in other ways, like evading paying taxes- believing that there in no point in doing so when

they expect the money to go into the pockets of corrupt officials and not to the services that

they use (like roads, hospitals or schools).

Tax evasion remains a big problem in Nigeria where economic uncertainty after the fall of

the fuel subsidy led to poverty, corruption, new waves of crime and a growing distrust of

authorities. Tax evasion is also prevalent where there is no rule of law because too often tax

collection is either not enforced impartially or equitably.

Professionalizing the Civil Service

The civil servants like those in the core ministries are poorly paid, they may be particularly

prone to taking bribes. Sometimes, the extra income from a bribe can mean the difference

between being able to feed one’s family or not. Engaging in bribery, in other words, may be a

survival strategy. In these cases, improving wages, working conditions and merit-based

promotions may eliminate the need to engage in corruption, not to mention attracting more

qualified personnel.

Legal Reforms

The strengthening of the freedom of information law which enhances Nigerian citizens access

to information and the transparency of government operations; requiring public officials to

declare their assets and incomes; open and transparent budgets of government income and
expenditures; and ensuring that there are competitive, open bidding processes for obtaining

government contracts. These reforms take time to be implemented in a nascent democracy

like ours and can reflect how well the traits of good governance in are put into practice.

Separation of Powers

The principle of separation of power emphasizes that the powers of government should be

divided among the three separate body or organs of government such that the legislature is

concern with the law making, the executive with the administrative and implementation of

the law why the judiciary should be concerned with the interpretation of the law and

punishment of the offenders.

Ensuring that any one branch of government does not exert too much power and that the

branches can check the power of the others helps to keep corruption in check. A dominant

executive branch, for example, can operate with impunity if there is not strong oversight by a

legislative body. The judiciary too needs independence from the other branches. Judicial

independence is a key element of rule of law efforts everywhere because judges and

prosecutors must be able to decide cases impartially and be free from political influence.

CONCLUSION/WAY FORWARD

It is pertinent to submit at this juncture that individuals are influenced both by innate

tendencies, personality dispositions and the environment. Thus, a normal non-corruptive

behaviour will require an absence of corruptive cues in the environment, social organization,

and orderliness in the environments. These will invariably influence people's moral

development and perception, vis-a-vis a stable personality development and a resultant non-

corruptive behaviour. Where the reverse, in the environment, is the case, corruptive

behaviours from persons evolve.

Successive Nigerian governments must wake up to their responsibilities of providing

essential services for her citizenry, ensuring a safe haven for peaceful co-existence, and
punishing corrupt individuals and other sociopaths adequately, to prevent others from

performing other or similar criminal acts.

We must not also lose sight of the fact that a learnt act can equally be unlearned. Therefore,

through reinforcements and public enlightenment campaigns, Nigerians can learn to

appreciate social values and change their orientation through moral value judgments.

Again, if corruption is allowed to fester in Nigeria, national development can be difficult to

establish and social and economic development will be hindered. With respect to the

implications of corruption on sustainable development and peace, leaders must learn to

wrestle with making difficult choices on when and where to tolerate corruption.

Certainly, peace scholars foreign and domestic; individuals, organizations and governments

have very important roles to play in addressing corruption and establishing good governance

in order to prevent conflict and strengthen national security which is a precondition for

national development.

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