CORRUPTION AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM IN NIGERIAN SOCIETY

KADUNA STATE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

COURSE CODE: SOC218
COURSE TITLE: SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL WORKS

QUESTION:
IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF CORRUPTION ON THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY AND THE POLICIES PUT IN PLACE TO CURB THE MENACE SINCE INDEPENDENT TO DATE

COURSE LECTURER: MRS MARYAM UMAR MUHAMMED

TO BE SUBMITTED ON 31 JULY 2017


INTRODUCTION
Corruption is Nigeria's biggest challenge. It is clear to every citizen that the level of corruption in the country is high. It's found in every sector of society. Be it a small or big sector, there is every possibility of observing corrupt practices when critically examined (Mike 2017). The  truism  that  corruption  is  a  surest  route  that  hinders  development  in  any  society  does not  need  contention.  Though,  in  some  quarters,  it  is  argued  that  corruption  could  trigger development  (Otite,  1986).  However,  despit this  assertion,  there  is  a  widespread  held opinion  condemning  corruption  in  all  ramifications  and  hence,  worldwide  outcry  and  call for  eradicating  the scourge.     Evidence  may  abound  that  corruption  could  aid  development;  no  such  evidence  could  be claimed  to  any  root  most  especially  developing  state  (Nigeria  inclusive).  Compelling evidences  across  the  globe  demonstrate  that  corruption  is  an  anathema to development (khan,  a).  Furthermore,  evidences  in  Nigeria  have  shown  that  corruption  does  more  harm than  good.  This  is  evident  in  the  fact  that  despite  Nigeria‟s  abundant  natural  resources  the country  is  classified  among  poor  countries  in  the  world.  Added  to  this  is  the  fact  that about  54%  of  the  population  earns  less  than  $1  per  day.  It  needs  to  be  stated  that  the incidence  of  extreme  paradoxes  of  widespread  and  endemic  poverty  and  hunger  in  the midst  of  plenty  is  a  manifestation  of  corruption  enmeshed  in  deteriorating  condition  of living  (Ali,  2008).  Statistics  had  also  shown  that  “Nigeria  is  among  the  four  largest economies  in  Africa”  with  a  real  GDP  of  58.4  billion  dollar  and  a  population  of  about 170m” (Ibid).   Similarly,  the  enormous  revenue  generation  capacity  from  oil  and  non-oil  sectors, woefully  contrasts  with  the  decaying  public  infrastructures  and  extent  of  institutional development  recorded.  As  it  was  rightly  asserted  by  Salawu  (2007),  the  phenomenon  of corruption  in  Nigeria  has  made  it  impossible  for  Nigerians  to  enjoy  the  dividends  of democracy  and  indeed  the  gifts  of  nature  with  which  the  country  is  greatly  and abundantly  endowed.  This  scenario  is  an  acknowledgement  that  the  state  of  affair  in  the country  today  is  a  reflection  of  pervasive  corruption  which  has  eaten  deep  into  every facets of  Nigeria  life.  

WHAT THEN IS CORRUPTION?
The  concept  attracts  different  meanings  from  different people particularly  the social scientists. Below are some of the definitions by scholars;
Onigu  Otite  defined  corruption  as  “the perversion  of  integrity  or  affairs  through  bribery,  favour,  or  moral  depravity...  societal impurity”  (cited  in  Okafor,  2009).  Lipset  and  Lenz  (2000)  define  corruption  as  an  “effort to  secure  wealth  or  power  through  illegal  means  for  private  gain  at  public  expense” (Fagbadebo, 2007).   Corruption,  according  to  Nkom  (1982)  is  the  perversion  of  public  affairs  for  private advantage.  In addition, corruption is a disease or sickness that eat society up and thwart it development.

CAUSES OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIAN SOCIETY

1. Greed
2. Poor youth empowerment
3. Poverty
4. Unemployment
5. Weak Institutions of Government
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Weak Institutions of GovernmentCorruption is bound to thrive when the institutions of Government are weak. When the judiciary, legislative and executive arms of government are not performing their duties well, this leads to break down of law and order in a country. Even in the civil service, bribery, nepotism, ethnicity, not using merit as a yardstick to employ qualified individuals are just some of the reasons why corruption thrives in Nigeria.
CONSEQUENCES OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIAN SOCIETY
1. corruption promotes poverty
2. it creates the condition for political instability.
3. corruption contributes to the blanket criminalization of Nigerians, especially the youths.
4. corruption promotes the existence of an underground/illegal economy.
5. corruption also has other social costs apart from poverty.
1. First, corruption promotes poverty. A simple example could be made with the corruption in the management of the pension funds in Nigeria. The theft of pension funds means that retired Nigerians would not have access to their pensions as at when due. This means that those that have dependants to care for would be deprived of the needed funds. Some pensioners eventually died because of the rising expectations that often end in frustrations sometimes occasioned by standing for hours in long queues. What happens to the dependants of a pensioner when he or she is deprived of his pensions? Will such dependants be able to attend qualitative schools or will they be forced out of schools to fend for themselves? If education remains one of the main routes leading to a good life and national development, without education, what would be the future of these dependants and the country?

2. Another consequence of corruption is that it creates the condition for political instability. This is because unrestricted corruption makes the state an unlimited allocator of wealth to individuals and groups. This character of the state makes it possible for the politics of do-or-die to take root, with politicians struggling to out-compete one another sometimes in a most violent manner. It must be recalled that the various military regimes that took over power from democratically elected representatives of the people had always justified their intervention on the grounds of grand corruption and looting of state treasury by political state actors.

3. Third, corruption contributes to the blanket criminalization of Nigerians, especially the youths.  With its capacity to generate poverty and instability, the youths have been systematically hijacked for selfish ends by unscrupulous politicians and ideologues. Some of those that were not “hijacked” have found interest in advance fee fraud popularly known as Yahoo-yahoo or 419 in local parlance. While corruption cannot, and should not, be the singular cause of this systematic criminalization, it contributes to it.

4. Four, corruption promotes the existence of an underground/illegal economy. The possibility of bribes infiltrating the security systems has made it easy for underground economies in counterfeit, adulterated and substandard products, especially drugs. Though these underground economies are worth billions of dollars, the government does not benefit from taxes nor are the people benefiting from the dangerous effects of adulterated drugs.

5. Five, corruption also has other social costs apart from poverty.  As rightly noted by Myint (2000: 50), in “any society, there are laws and regulations to serve social objectives and to protect the public interest, such as building codes, environmental controls, traffic laws and prudential banking regulations. Violating these laws for economic gain through corrupt means can cause serious social harm.” The frequent use of substandard materials and violation of building regulations have led to numerous building collapse. Killing innocent occupiers has become a recurrent decimal in Nigeria while large scale oil spills with catastrophic effects have continued unabated in some parts of the country.

STEPS BY GOVERNMENT TO CURB THE MENACE
In the history of nigeria, the action taken by government to curb the menace of corruption to Nigeria n society stated with the former president of Nigeria chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
ICPC,  EFCC  and  the  War  against  Corruption  under  Obasanjo- The  author  notes  that  the  first  anti-corruption  agency  to  be  set  up  by the  Obasanjo  administration  was  the  ICPC  which  focused  on  the public  sector.  Upon  its  establishment  in  2000,  the  Commission earnestly  began  to  exercise  its  powers  and  discharge  its  functions,  but 2003  it  was  prosecuting  barely  49  public  servants,  which  was considered  a  drop  of  water  in  an  ocean  of  official  corruption  and  a burgeoning  regime  of  ‘kleptocracy’.
 However,  in  the  aftermath  of  9/11 and  the  global  war  against  terror  the  EFCC  was  set  up  to  combat  the threats  posed  by  money  launderers  and  other  organised  trans-border criminals  operating  in  Nigeria.    The  author  included  statistics  of prosecutions,  convictions,  and  funds  recovered  to  show  that  the  EFCC was  more  effective  than  the  ICPCC  during  the  period  under  review. But  the  data  relied  upon  apparently  did  of  take  into  account  the  fact that  the  ICPC  focuses  on  public  sector  crimes,  while  the  EFCC mandate  embraces  both  the  public  and  private  sector.  Without disaggregated  data  it  would  be  impossible  to  determine  the  relative effectiveness  of  the  two  agencies  using  prosecutions,  convictions,  and recoveries  as  parameters.
         The second action is by the incumbent government i.e the government of Mohammadu Buhari. In a Thursday newspapers news President Mohammadu Buhari announces new measures to stop corruption in London. He said that in furtherance of his administration’s war against corruption, Nigeria would soon begin the full implementation of the principles of Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS).

CONCLUSION
Conclusion The  problem  of  corruption is  peculiar  to  most  countries  of  the  world  especially developing  countries. The  situation in Nigeria  is  an indication that  corruption is  a  potent factor  which  has  and  still  affects  the  development  of  the  country. The  way  out  of  the corruption problem  is  to reduce  it  to the  barest  minimum  in order  to realize  our  set  goals  as  a nation. To pretend as  if  nothing  is  happening  would further  submerge  the  country  into  the abyss  of  underdevelopment.


REFERENCES
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Otite  Onigu (1986) “On  the  Sociological Study  of  Corruption”  in Femi  Odekunle (ed)   Nigeria:  Corruption  in  Development  Being  the  Proceedings  of  the  Nigerian Anthropological and Sociological Association, held in Zaria, 10-13 May, 1982
Salawu  Bashiru  (2007)  “Towards Solving  the Problem of  Corruption in Nigeria: The   ICPC  under  Searchlight”  in  Journal  of  Social  Sciences  –  Volume  5,
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