CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA: FACES OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA, CAUSES, EFFECTS AND THE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Nigeria,
which the most populated country in Africa, has been ranked high in corruption
by Transparency International and other notable organizations that monitor
corrupt practices around the world. They do not have anything good to say about
Nigeria at all. High corruption rankings affect almost all Nigerians who
migrate to foreign countries, as foreigners have the perception that since
Nigeria is corrupt, so are all Nigerians. In the year 2000, Transparency
International carried out a survey on the corruption levels of 90 countries,
including Kenya, Cameroon, Angola, Nigeria, Côte-d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Senegal, Zambia, India, Venezuela, Moldova, and others. At the end of
the ranking, Nigeria was seen as the most corrupt in that ranking because the
country occupied the 90th position in terms of transparency. Nigeria was the
most corrupt country in the year 2000. In 2001, Nigeria was ranked the
second-most corrupt nation in the world out of 91 countries, falling only to
Bangladesh. This shows that corruption in Nigeria improved by one step when
compared with that of 2000. Still from the same source, in the year 2002,
Nigeria was again ranked the second-most corrupt country in the world, after
the organization surveyed 102 countries. Nigeria was seen at the bottom,
occupying the 101th position in terms of Confidence Interval (CI). In 2003,
Nigeria received the same ranking, making no improvements from 2003. 2004's
ranking showed a little improvement when compared to the past four years.
Nigeria was ranked the third most corrupt country in the world in that year,
performing better than Bangladesh and Haiti. That year, 146 nations were
surveyed. The record on the corruption in Nigeria really improved in 2005. The
number of countries surveyed by the Transparency International was 158. Nigeria
was ranked eighth most corrupt. More countries were surveyed by Transparency
International in 2006. 163 countries were surveyed that year. The results
showed some improvement, and Nigeria was ranked the 21st most corrupt country
in the world. Haiti was the world's most corrupt nation that year. Among the
180 countries surveyed in 2007, Nigeria ranked 147 on the table along side with
Angola and Guinea-Bissau. This result shows that Nigeria was 33rd most corrupt
country in the world. An analysis of the anti-graft/anti-corruption laws in
Nigeria shows that corruption will continue in spite of the law, because the
perpetrators do not fear any consequences (Oyinola 2011). In 2012, Transparency
International again deemed Nigeria one of the most corrupt nations in the world
again (Uzochukwu 2013). In that year, the country ranked 139th out of the 176
surveyed countries, making Nigeria the 37th most corrupt nation. In 2013,
Nigeria ranked 144 out of 177 surveyed countries in terms of transparency. The
score made Nigeria 33rd most corrupt country in the world that year. The result
published by the organization also showed that Nigeria scored 25% out of 100 in
terms of transparency. In the 2014 ranking, Nigeria is ranked 136 out 174
surveyed countries (Transparency International 2014). The result shows that
there is improvement, though things are still bad. Nigeria was the 38th most
corrupt country in the world in 2014. With the emergence of new government in
the year 2015, many Nigerians were having great faith that corruption in the
country will be minimized. In that year, power left the hands of People's
Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressive Congress (APC). One of the campaign
promises made by the present President Muhammed Buhari was massive eradication
of corruption in the country. Irrespective of the campaign promises, Nigeria
ranked low in transparency and high in corruption in that year. In the year
2015, out of the 168 countries surveyed, Nigeria was seen at the bottom of the
table in the category of number 136. This implies that Nigeria was the 32nd
most corrupt country in the world in 2015. Nigeria failed when it came to transparency in
the country. By contrast, in 2013, Denmark and New Zealand scored highest at
91% each, meaning the countries are clean and have higher Confidence Intervals
than Nigeria. In the other words, Nigeria is highly corrupt. Corruption in
Nigeria wears many kinds of unattractive and dirty clothes. The situation has made
so many people feel a lot of pains as the money which would have been used to
reduce poverty in the country are being channelled into the pockets of small
group of persons. What can we say about the $2.1 billion arms deal? The money
which was budgeted for the purchase of arms in the fight against Boko Haram
insurgency group in the country all of a sudden disappeared. Whether the fund
developed legs and ran away is what the Federal Government of Nigeria could not
explain to the citizenry.
CORRUPTION AND PRACTICE OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA
Corruption
takes many forms and can be interpreted by many people in many ways. It is hard
to enter any sector in Nigeria without observing one corrupt practice or the
other. The areas where corruption is observed are not only in the public sector
or in politics.
Political Corruption
Books
have been written, people have talked, and press companies have been writing on
the high level of corruption in Nigeria politics, yet the political
perpetrators pretend as if they are not the people being talked about. They
feel they are above the law. Corruption takes many shapes, starting with
embezzlement, bribery, rituals, rigging in elections and so on. In fact,
corruption is highest in the political system. In both the Senate and the House
of Representatives, corruption is seen as normal. Where do we start among
politicians? It is because of the “wicked level” of corruption that makes both
the youths and the old struggle to find themselves in one political party or
the other. They believe that once they occupy any position in politics, even
the smallest, they will use corrupt tricks to fill their pockets with public
funds.
Embezzlement
of public funds is common. Many leaders have helped boost the economies of other
nations by depositing embezzled money in foreign banks. Facts and figures have
shown that on many occasions, the men who rule the country have embezzled funds
into foreign banks.
Political
corruption is persistent in the Nigerian state. Since the creation of modern
public administration in the country, there have been cases of official misuse
of resources for personal enrichment (Storey Report 2014). After the death of
the former president, President Sani Abacha, an investigation was carried out
to detect the amount of money he embezzled in gas plant construction in the
country. The investigations led to the freezing of accounts containing about
$100 million United States dollars (Hector 2004) that he stole. The Abacha
administration in the 1990s notoriously looted upwards of $3 billion (Uzochukwu
2013).
As
of a few years back, whenever it was time for election in Nigeria, small
children in the country began to go missing. Child-missing during that period
was rampant and parents were usually advised to guide and guard their children
from ritualists. But why was it like that and what were the children used for?
This is another face of corruption that breaks the hearts of mothers. The
missing children were used by contesting politicians to perform ritual killings
in order to get protections and other devilish powers that will enable them win
elections. This is corruption and wickedness in the highest order because it
involves the termination of human life. Those who take part in that practice
have their children at home and went on capturing and killing the children of
others. It is not as if this has stopped, but it has slowed down.
Election
rigging is not an unheard-of phenomenon. During elections, the contestants hire
thugs who go round the election polling stations to highjack the ballot boxes.
When they steal these boxes, they then use their hands to vote for their
candidate. In the recent times, the new tactics that the contestants have
adopted is buying voter’s cards so that they can manipulate and use the cards
for their own advantages.
On
many occasions politicians have bribed some top officials to do wrong things to
their favour. Some political leaders, including governors and presidents, have
been sued by opponents, but the sued followed the back door, bribing barristers
and judges. At the end of the judgement, the leader who bribed won in the case.
Corruption in Universities and
Colleges
It
is not new to any real Nigerian to hear that corruption parades itself in
universities, polytechnics and colleges. There are certain things that
lecturers do that deserve “hot punishment.” Most lecturers use the opportunity
they have to take advantage of others. Harassment of women by lecturers and
pressure to sleep with them is common. The most painful part of it is that some
of them are married, yet they are not satisfied. After some of the female
undergraduates submit to the lecturers request, they are rewarded with good
grades.
Universities
have been crying about the amount of funds allocated to them. A lecturer in a
university located in Anambra State on the nature of the poor standard of the
foundry in the department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering has this
to say: “What makes our foundry to be of low standard is...corruption. An
organization gave the department some money that would have been more than
enough to upgrade and standardize the foundry, but I do not know what the
management of the department did with the money.” Corruption is one of the
biggest challenges faced by the education system.
How
do some students find their ways into the universities? Some are there not by
merit, but through a kind of bribery called sorting. Some rich men in the
country bribe vice-chancellors and heads of departments to secure admission for
their children. When this kind of dirty practice is conducted, those who would
have made it on merit are cheated, as no admission will be offered to them.
Every university in Nigeria has a quota (maximum number of students) they can
admit each year.
Corruption in the Police Force
Where
do we start when it comes to the nature of corruption observed in the police?
Do we start with the bribery, intimidation, sexual harassment of the young
inmates in the prisons, or turning truths upside down? There is a saying that
“police are your friends”; in Nigeria policemen are your enemies because they
can deny the truth and collect bribes to do so. Because of the encounter many
Nigerians have had with policemen, even the good ones among them are
generalized as being bad. What a shame.
The
police who work in some checkpoints on the expressways cannot do so without
collecting of bribes from car owners and drivers. Their interest is to collect
money from road users and not to secure the road. Bribes become compulsory even
when your particulars are in order. Bus drivers must offer money before they
continue with their transportation business, be it fifty naira (₦50 = $0.31) or
twenty naira (₦20 = $0.12). The police are now turning to gods that receive
money from the worshipper as offering.
Some
women prison inmates went into prisons singled to come out doubled. What this
implies is that the policemen use the opportunity they have to assault women
who are imprisoned. The women may say no, but because the policemen have guns,
the women could not do anything. They were impregnated before they were granted
bail. What kind of prayer will erase this kind of abomination?
Corruption in Nigerian Football
Corruption
is like a curse laid upon us by an unknown person. Even in football has
corruption. Players are not chosen by merit. It is all about who you know in
top political offices or society.
In
the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), corruption is the reason why Mr. A is
elected as the leader of the group today and tomorrow the election is nullified
and Mr. B chosen. Everybody wants to be at the head so that he will fill his
bag with the national cake. People do not fight to work because it is
stressful, so whenever people fight for a particular position, there is every
possibility that they are there to clean out the organization.
Reports
and evidence have shown that there are corrupt practices in Nigerian football.
A BBC news report said this: “A senior football official and a club
administrator have been banned for 10 years following their involvement in
corruption, the football authority has announced” (BBC Sport News 2013).
Match-fixing and corruption is a problem in Nigerian football and has lead to
sanctions against a number of clubs, referees and officials (Oluwashina 2013).
A
referee (name withdrawn) who is currently a Catholic priest serving in a parish
in Anambra, once gave his experience on the level of corruption in football.
According to priest, he said that he narrowly escaped death when he officiated
a match in the local league. He stated: “After the first half of the match,
none of the two sides scored any goal. Before the beginning of the second half,
some officials and young youths who were supporting the club at home side came
and said to me: if you want to leave this pitch alive, make sure that you do
anything possible to see that our club win this match.” The young referee was
scared of the treat and finally the home side won the match with a lone goal.
The inability of Super Eagles of Nigeria to qualify for 2015 Africa Cup of
Nations (AFCON) can be attributed to corruption.
Corruption in Churches
When
churches are corrupt, what hope do Nigerians have? The truth is that not all
the churches in the country are corrupt. Corruption is witnessed mainly in the
“mushroom churches.” Mushroom churches in this context are those churches which
do not have solid origin or foundation. They are not like Catholic, Anglican,
or Orthodox churches. Mushroom churches are those churches which start when a
person who calls himself a pastor goes and rents a room, decorates it, and
convinces people to join him, that he has been given powers to summon signs and
miracles from God.
Imagine
how a man that have been dying of hunger for years claim that you should come
to him that he has been called and can transform you financial status. It is
the common thing they usually say that make hungry Nigerians yield to their
deceptions. The people come and the so-called pastors use their tricks to
collect the money that is remaining in the pockets of the poor ones in the country.
Some
of the pastors go to the extent of using magical and devilish powers in running
their church business in the name of God’s power. They give the congregations
what they want without them knowing the source of their so-called power. If it
is for women who are in search of babies, the babies may be given to them
through devilish powers but continue to cause headaches to the children’s
parents till death. Today, one of the children will steal money from a bank
through armed robbery and tomorrow kill an innocent person, operating under the
influence of the devil.Pastors have on many occasions been caught in adultery
and fornication. It is not new and it is certain that you as a reader have
heard about such shameful acts. Through newspapers, televisions, and other
channels, the immoral acts committed by Nigerian pastors have been observed. In
early November of 2014, there was a radio program from Blaze FM, Orifite, on a
pastor that impregnated an 11-year-old girl. According to the report, the girl
was impregnated by the pastor when her mother took her to the pastor’s place
for prayers, and left for her own business.
Internet Fraud
Fraudulent
Internet activity is another face of corruption. Graduates and non-graduates
who lacks the knowledge and skills to help them earn money find joy in Internet
fraud. It is a criminal act and deserves serious punishment. Among the classes
of offences committed in Nigeria, both the Senate and members of House of
Representative are working hard to see that those caught in such fraud act face
the punishments they deserve without any favour.
Some
Nigerians, who are mainly youths, have been scamming their fellow citizens
using illegal means. Some host websites online and claim to be giving jobs to
job seekers and scam any who fall prey to their tricks. They tell job seekers
to make certain payments for processing documents without them knowing that
they will not be issued any job. Some Nigerians have been stolen from by cyber
criminals.
The
level of corruption in Nigeria has made many citizens of the country show no
respect to holy and Godly affairs. This is seen in the report given by the
spiritual director of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria, AMEN, news report on
December 2014. According to the spiritual director, Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka,
some Nigerians impersonated him through websites and social media sites,
specifically Facebook. He lamented that the bad guys used his picture to
deceive people and collect money from them while claiming they were Fr. Mbaka.
The notable reverend father made it clear that he is not on Facebook and
neither does he own a website with his name. He went further to say that anyone
caught in that act will dance ti the music that he or she deserves and the
police have been involved to find those criminals out.
Corruption in the Customs Service
Are
Nigerian customs really doing the work they are called to do correctly? The
customs service of Nigeria is the organization that is authorized to clear
goods that are imported into the country. This group is not free from the
menace of corruption.
In
most occasions, you must pay bribes to customs before your goods are cleared.
Many containers that are being held captive by customs because the owners are
not willing to pay the large amount of money being demanded.
CAUSES OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA DEMOCRACY
A
number of things cause corruption, and among them are:
- Greed
- Poor
youth empowerment
- Poverty
- Unemployment
Greed
Greed
has caused a lot of crises in the world, including in Nigeria. It is because of
greed that political leaders embezzle from the funds they are supposed to use
for national development for their own selfish needs.
Poor Youth Empowerment
Poor
moral youth empowerment is a contributor to corruption. Internet fraud, sexual harassment
by male CEOs, and other bad acts are because Nigerians lack understanding on
the importance of youth empowerment. When parents and governments empower
youths both financially and morally, the level of corruption among them will
diminish.
Poverty
According
to international standards of poverty, a person is said to be poor when he
lives under $1.25 (₦210, though it varies) per day. There are many poor people
in Nigeria, and poverty pushes them into corruption. According to World Bank Group,
in 2004, 63.1% of Nigerians were poor. The poverty level increased in 2010. In
2010, 68% of the Nigerian population were estimated to be poor. A person can
take bribes to commit crime because he is poor. It is one of the reasons why
the poor youths in the country collect bribes to work as thugs for Nigerian
politicians.
Unemployment
Unemployment
is one of the major challenges in Nigeria and does not need much explanation
because it has broken the hearts of many citizens. People are pushed into
corrupt practice because of high unemployment. An unemployed citizen can
indulge in corruption to make money and live better.
The
youths, fathers and mothers are seriously lamenting on the negative impact of
unemployment in their lives. Some said that it is better for death to come and
take their lives than suffering under the torment of unemployment challenge in
the country. Words cannot explain the level of punishment the citizens of this
country are as a result of this menace.
Effects of Corruption
The
negative consequences of corruption are many, and among them are:
- Poor
investment
- Rise
in poverty
- Poor
national development
- National
crises
Poor Investment
Unemployment
in Nigeria would have been eradicated to some extent if only investors were
attracted to it. Companies that would have invested in Nigeria are afraid
because they do not know if the corrupt practice will ruin their industries in
time. Because of this, they refuse to invest in Nigeria.
Rise in Poverty
When
the heads of public service are busy laundering the money that is supposed to
be used to create employment for the masses and reduce poverty, what happens is
that there will be a rise in the poverty level of the country. Just like the
rise in poverty as statistically shown between 2004 and 2008. Since the
government is selfish and does not want to help the poor, poverty continues to
rise in Nigeria.
Poor National Development
Any
country with high corruption is likely to experience developmental bankruptcy.
A situation where some CEOs indulge in corrupt practices to make their money
means that economic development will suffer. When Nigerians keep on shifting
the country’s currency to foreign countries, there will be less economic
development in Nigeria.
National Crises
So
many crises in Nigeria today are as a result of corruption. The insecurity in
Nigeria brought about by Boko Haram is a consequence of corruption. Corrupt
politicians are fighting the government of President Goodluck Jonathan using
Boko Haram as their agent because they do not want him to succeed. The attacks
by Boko Haram have caused disorderliness in Nigeria and seriously affected the
economy of the country.
Ways of Eradicating Corruption in Nigeria
Corrupt
Nigerians do not truly understand the harm they are causing to other citizens.
Corruption can be reduced by these possible remedies:
- Self-Satisfaction
- Institution
of strong anti-corruption groups
- Employment
generation
- Proper
government funding of schools
- Treating
all citizens equally
Self-Satisfaction
Self-Satisfaction
in this context implies being content with what one has. When the leaders of
Nigeria are satisfied with the salary they are paid and use them in the right
way, the issue of embezzlement and money laundering will be history. Managers
who are satisfied with what they are paid will not have time to indulge in
corruption to make more money.
Institution of Strong Anti-Corruption Groups
Creating
strong anti-corruption institutions is another arsenal to win the fight against
corruption. This group is to work independently with the government to ensure
transparency. Anyone who is caught in corrupt practice by the group should
experience the consequences decided by the anti-corruption agency. That he is a
minister or governor of a state should not be an excuse from facing the
punishment he is to receive according to the Constitution of Nigeria.
Employment Generation
The
unemployed in the country find themselves involved in corruption mainly because
they want to make money to meet the demand of the day. Governments and capable
hands should endeavour to generate more jobs for citizens to get employed and
paid in return. A busy mind may find it difficult to indulge in corruption
because he is being paid adequately.
Proper Government Funding of Schools
Understanding
the importance of skill acquisition will go a long way to propel them to
develop all the schools in Nigeria. When more attention is paid to the tertiary
institutions in the country, it will produce graduates who are employable.
Installation of the necessary machines needed in universities will help
Nigerian graduates acquire skills and use them to generate income, even if no
company employs them after graduation.
Self-employment
will make graduates more determined in the work they do and will prevent them
from corruption like Internet scams, kidnapping and the rest.
Treating All Citizens Equally
Treating
any offender in the country equally will help reduce corruption. Nobody is
above the law and any who acts contrary to it should be given the punishment
that he or she deserves. That she is the Minister of Aviation or Governor of
the Central Bank of Nigeria should not count in this case. If any minister or
head of state is given the punishment he deserves for corruption, others will
learn and separate themselves from any corrupt practice.
CONCLUSION
Corruption
is a canker worm that has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigeria. Discussed are
the many faces of corruption, causes, effects, and the possible solutions.
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