Research Paper on Corruption in Nigeria

Introduction

Corruption refers to the fraudulent and dishonest conduct of individuals, especially those in positions of power. In most cases, corruption involves bribery and reflects the illegitimate use of power for private interests, the embezzlement of funds for personal purposes, and any other activities that according to the laws of a given society, are considered criminal. Over a long time, corruption and power have been inseparable among most nations in the world. For instance, in Nigeria, corruption has evolved along with the country's history. At the beginning of the development of statehood, the payments made to military commanders, leaders, and priests to appeal for their assistance in Nigeria was not uncommon. However, when individuals started receiving fixed incomes, this trend shifted, and the introduction of bribes into the economy followed. This resulted in corruption evolving into a critical challenge facing the country, with every citizen clear on the high levels of such evil in their country. Therefore, the menace spread to both large and small sectors.

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Forms of Corruption in Nigeria

Corruption takes myriad forms which can be interpreted by different individuals in distinct ways. Corruption is rampant in almost every sector in Nigeria, In fact, if one was to visit any sector, he or she must observe one corrupt activity. Therefore, corruption in the country not only manifests itself in the public sector but also in politics and other sectors. Thus, the forms of corruption in Nigeria might include, but not limited to political Corruption, corruption in Colleges and Universities and moral corruption among others.

Political Corruption

Perhaps, the most common form of corruption in Nigeria is political corruption. The levels of corruption in Nigerian politics have been explored, with different sources citing high levels of corruption in the country's political platform (Ogundiya, 2009). In Nigerian politics, corruption can take a variety of forms. These forms include bribery, embezzlement of resources, election rigging, and rituals, among others. For example, corruption is a common practice in the country's Senate and House of Representatives, and it begins with the election of leaders into positions of power. Once in these positions, these individuals apply all corrupt tricks with the aim of pocketing funds that have been allocated to the public. Thus, the political corruption umbrella of myriad forms of social evils.

Embezzlement of Resources

The political corruption is persistent in Nigeria, thus embezzlement is deeply rooted in various sectors. Leaders continue to boost the economies of foreign countries where they deposit the embezzled funds. In the wake of the creation of the contemporary public administration in Nigeria, the cases of misuse of public funds for personal gains have been untiring (Ogbeidi, 2012). For instance, following the death of one of the country's principal political figure, Sani Abacha, who at one point acted as Nigeria's de facto president, an investigation conducted revealed that he embezzled tremendous amount of money from a gas plant construction. The investigation proved that the leader had embezzled vast amounts of cash, resulting in the freezing of his accounts. The frozen account summed up to $100 million (Ogbeidi, 2012). Equally, during the 1990s, it is believed that the Abacha administration embezzled more than $3 billion of public funds. This resulted in the negotiation the Nigerian government and the Swiss government for the return of such funds (Ojewale & Appiah-Nyamekye, 2018).

Election Rigging

Election rigging is another form of political corruption present in Nigeria. In Nigeria, election rigging is manifested in the country's leaders hiring goons to highjack ballot boxes throughout polling stations. Other forms of election rigging in the country include purchasing voter's cards and manipulating these cards to their advantages.

Bribery

Beyond the embezzlement and election rigging forms of political corruption, Nigeria continues to be plagued by bribery. Nigerian politicians continue to bribe top officials to their advantages. They bribe judges and attorneys to get out of cases and have no remorse of bribing anyone who stands between them and their positions of power (Hope, 2017). According to a study done by Ojewale and Appiah-Nyamekye (2018), up to 68% of individuals who sought out police assistance in the year 2017 had to pay a bribe. The study also affirmed that up to 38% of Nigerians who required to obtain government documents had to pay for bribes, and 34% had to bribe to receive public services such as water and sanitation. Bribery associated with school-related services recorded a total of 32%, and approximately 20% of the study's respondents had to give a bribe to receive medical care (Ojewale & Appiah-Nyamekye, 2018).

The graph 1 is a representation of the levels of bribery in the allocation and provision of public services.

Graph 1: Level of Corruption inn Nigerian Public Services

(Source: Ojewale & Appiah-Nyamekye, 2018)

Precisely, political corruption in Nigeria remains a crucial challenge and is evident among all individuals in positions of power. Such individuals include police officers, members of the national assembly, as well as local government councilors. Figure 2 is an illustration of the perceived levels of corruption among these individuals.

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2: Perceived Corruption in Nigeria among Public Officials

(Source: Ojewale & Appiah-Nyamekye, 2018)

Corruption in Colleges and Universities

In Nigeria, the higher education sector is another field where corruption is evident. Individuals in positions of power within Nigerian colleges, universities, polytechnics, and other institutions are known to use their positions for personal gains. This is manifested in actions such as the harassment of female students for the purposes of higher grades. There are also continuous complains by public universities and higher education institutions regarding the allocation of funds (Martini, 2015). Moreover, corruption in the Nigerian higher education system is evident in the enrollment of students. Admissions for students from wealthy families often base on bribery rather than academic qualifications.

Moral Corruption

Moral corruption is yet another form of corruption that is prevalent in Nigeria. This reflects the cases of corruption in the moral and emotional spheres of life, and among the various entities that contribute to this form of corruption include religious organizations as well as traditional societies. Corruption in Nigerian religious organizations has been primarily attributed to the emergence and development of new generation churches. These are the types of churches that have not solid religious background, and unlike the traditional Anglican, Orthodox, and Catholic churches, new generations' churches are started by individuals who brand themselves as pastors and go to great extents to summon miracles and signs from God. These pastors are involved in sexual offenses such as fornication and adultery, and cases of them getting involved with young girls are seen on television, newspapers, and other sources. For instance, a 2014 report by the radio channel Blaze FM stated that an 11-year-old had been impregnated by her pastor when her mother left her in the care of the pastor after a prayer session (Chine & Nnedum, 2018).

Strategies for the Nigerian Government to Minimize Corruption

While fighting corruption is a crucial challenge for any government, it is made possible with the application of the right methods and strategies. A key recommended approach for the fight against corruption in Nigeria pertains to the options for the settlement of fines. The settlement of fines should include user-friendly and well-developed mobile and online platforms that allow individuals lodge complaints regarding penalties as well as report cases of extortion and soliciting for bribes, without the fear of retaliation. The use of these platforms can be encouraged through the application of non-material incentives such as free-call numbers for mobile users (Hoffmann & Patel, 2017). The goal here is ensuring convenience when individuals pay fines, settle disputes, and make complaints through the provision of various accessible mediums.

Similarly, reducing the official fines in an attempt to ensure they are not undercut through extortion and bribery can be another strategy for combating corruption in Nigeria (Hoffmann & Patel, 2017). The interaction between law enforcement agents and motorists in traffic and vehicle checks often results in fines and penalties that foster the corrupt exchange between these parties. These penalties and fines can be reduced to ensure that individuals do not attempt to bypass them through fraudulent and corrupt exchanges.

Additionally, increasing awareness and targeting communities and sectors with critical information regarding the human costs of corruption can be another strategy for the country to fight corruption. This applies in the case of moral corruption involving religious organizations and pastors. The government should foster more effective communication pertaining to the real costs and casualties of corruption (Hoffmann & Patel, 2017). This will be achieved through the deployment of anti-corruption campaign messages that can be reframed to reflect the affected sectors, contexts, and communities, with the help of positive and pertinent expectations, values, and norms. Such messages should target younger generations, promoting the development of low tolerance of corruption among these populations. An apparent fact is that anti-corruption messages tend to be more effective when targeted towards a given population, including young people. Social media can act as a critical platform in this respect, allowing individuals to advocate for and analyze anti-corruption strategies, measures, and policies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, corruption is a major challenge facing the Nigerian government, and anti-corruption strategies and policies should be implemented and supervised to ensure that the problem is mitigated. This paper has highlighted various forms of corruption evident in the country such as political corruption, moral corruption, as well as corruption in higher education facilities. Political corruption has been broken down into embezzlement, bribery, and election rigging. Nonetheless, various strategies aimed at reducing the evil have been proposed, among which include the development of user-friendly platforms for the settlement of fines, as well as the increased awareness of corruption and its impacts to communities and organizations. With the application of the proposed strategies, the Nigerian government can reduce cases of corruption within its governmental agencies, religious groups, and in other sectors.

References

Chine, B.C. and Nnedum, O.A. 2018. Corruption in Nigeria. Social Science Research, 4 (1).

Hoffmann, L.K. and Patel, R.N. 2017. Collective action on corruption in Nigeria: A social norms approach to connecting society and institutions. London: Chatham House.

Hope, K.R. 2017. Corruption in Nigeria. In Corruption and Governance in Africa (pp. 125-162). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Martini, M. 2015. Nigeria: Evidence of corruption and the influence of social norms.

Ogbeidi, M.M. 2012. Political leadership and corruption in Nigeria since 1960: A socio-economic analysis. Journal of Nigeria Studies, 1 (2).

Ogundiya, I.S. 2009. Political corruption in Nigeria: Theoretical perspectives and som...