Contextualising Corruption in Anti-Corruption: The Perspectives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigeria. (Published)

Nigeria is notorious for corruption. Almost in equal measure, the country has several anti-corruption agencies established to control corruption. Over the two decades, several studies have been conducted on the comparative operational performance of these anti-corruption institutions particularly on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). However, what is usually not clarified or justified in these studies are the criteria upon which such comparative analyses are based. In our study conducted by ethnography, we reviewed the operational activities of the ICPC mainly by participant-observation, document analysis and interviews. We found that the ICPC contextualises Nigeria’s corruption as being ubiquitous, financial, and non-financial in nature, and that corruption thrives on opacity in public administration and governance. We argued that the institutional perspectives of each anti-corruption agencies are critical to any informed analysis that would produce seminal findings on the comparative performances of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies and that research practices on comparative studies of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies should change. We therefore recommend complementary studies on the EFCC’s institutional perspectives on Nigeria’s corruption.

Keywords: Anti-corruption, Corruption, comparative studies, ethnography

The Manifestations of Grand Corruption in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic and Its Implication on National Development (Published)

The central aim of this paper is to highlight how grand corruption is manifested in Nigeria and its implication for national development. This is based on the premise that there has been tendency for literatures on corruption to propose solutions to combat corruption without considering the context and form which corruption takes place. It achieves its aim by first clarifying the concept of corruption and grand corruption. It also adopts the neo-patrimonial theory to explain how grand corruption are manifested in Nigeria. The study analyses secondary and empirical sources of data through qualitative methods. It argues that in spite of Nigeria’s transition to democracy, cases of grand corruption have been reported in the different governments. This has left devastating consequences in the country such as slow economic growth, mass poverty and unemployment, political and social instability, a recycled culture of corruption, diminished national prestige and loss of government legitimacy and national assets. It recommends a strong political will to fight corruption beyond propaganda and a radical sanitization of the political system in Nigeria.

Keywords: Corruption, Fourth Republic, National Development, grand corruption, manifestations

Nepotism, Cronyism and Prebendalism: An Exploration of the Mores that reinforce Corruption in Nigeria’s Political System. (Published)

The perception that Nigeria is a corrupt country has persisted for decades in spite of measures taken by successive administrations to mitigate it. This study explores the factors that encourage corruption in the Political System. It relies on the explanatory variables of Prebendal Theory. Employing survey research design, data were generated through interviews and documents and analyzed using content analysis. The central argument in the study is that, there are Mores and Belief Systems, rooted in Nigerian culture that encourages corruption. This is encapsulated in a Nigerian proverb: “One, whose father is in heaven, cannot be destined for hell”. The proverb purports that a public office holder must use the appurtenances of his office to benefit his cronies and relatives. The study recommends a cultural and moral reorientation to correct the erroneous impression that public office is a platform for dispensing prebends to relatives and cronies.

Keywords: Corruption, cronyism, mores., nepotism, prebendalism

Lobbying and Corruption: A Critical Analysis (Published)

This work critically analyses the concept of lobbying and corruption both of which are means of influencing the government. Specifically, the study looks closely at the distinction between lobbying and corruption with a view to recommending one as a better means of influencing and participating in government. Adopting the structural functional approach as a theoretical framework, the work basically discovers that while lobbying is legal and a profession, corruption on the other hand, is illegal and bereft of any requirement for expertise for those who indulge in it. The structural functionalist theory was adopted because it clearly brings out those governmental structures –the legislature and the executive – responsible for the provision of dividends of democracy and security to the electorates. The work stresses the need for the citizenry to imbibe the “virtues” of lobbying so as to help the legislators and other government officials realise the goal of government which is the extension of the good life to the majority of the citizenry. The paper finally recommends the legalisation of lobbying in Nigeria to enable the citizenry shun political apathy in order to team up with the government to achieve the goal of government as this demands collective responsibility.

Keywords: Bribery, Corruption, Nigeria, lobbying, lobbying bill

Re – examining the Fight against Public Sector Corruption in Nigeria: Has the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) lived up to its billing? (Published)

Issues of corruption have continued to feature prominently in the management of national affairs globally, and particularly in transitional States. Public governance in Nigeria has been serially accused with verifiable proofs of unbridled corruption, and is therefore a huge contributor to Nigeria’s embarrassing corruption perception on the Global Corruption Index. The ICPC as an institutional response to the ugly trend, is intended at curbing the incidence, severity, and depth of corruption in Nigeria public service. It is however worrisome, that public sector corruption is yet to witness a significant downward review, as bizarre incidences of public sector corruption continues to emerge even with the presence of ICPC. This paper therefore leverages on a Desk Study, hinged on Documentary Analysis, to interrogate how effective the ICPC has been, in the fight against Public Sector corruption in Nigeria, and to also ascertain, some of the challenges that militate against its operations. The findings show among others, that although the ICPC made some contributions to the fight against corruption, it is generally adjudged quite weak and ineffective, for reasons that range from wide political interferences/lack of autonomy, absence of the requisite political will, and poor funding. It is recommended among others, that the ICPC should be redesigned to make it much more autonomous and insulated from the likelihood of detrimental political influences as much as possible.

Keywords: Corruption, Effectiveness, Independent, Public Sector, institutionalization

Corruption and Democratic Governance in Nigeria: The Nexus (Published)

This study was aimed at examining corruption and democratic governance in Nigeria. One of the greatest threats to socio-economic and political development of any nation is corruption.   Democratic governance on the other hand is based on the will of the people and it is generally agreed that it is the best form of governance suited for allowing people to live in dignity and freedom, a point that was articulated in the Millennium Declaration by the international community. With huge resource expansion, unparalleled and unprecedented corrupt practices, it is unthinkable to expect democracy to thrive and derive dividend therein. Not only are things very stressful and difficult but the design and reality of democratic governance appears more of a mirage. All these hinge on either ethics or morality. The choice is either democracy or corruption as they are diametrically opposed to each other. This unenviable status continues to assert negatively on the State and the growth of democracy despite the several strategies put in place by past and previous regimes to combat the scourge. The study adopts secondary sources of data collection for overall understanding of the subject matter. Literatures were gathered from works of scholars in the area of investigations under review. The paper argues that for corruption to be curtailed in Nigeria, the constitutional provisions which fosters constitutionalism, rule of law should be effectively enforced. The paper sums up with conclusions and other vital policy recommendations for effective democratic governance in Nigeria.

Keywords: Corruption, Democracy, Democratic governance

Governance, Corruption and the Democratic Order in Africa: The Case of Nigeria (Published)

The triumph of the democratic order in Africa will depend to a large extent on the capacity of stakeholders to tackle the ravages of corruption. Across the continent, the quest for economic and political development had been hampered by corruption on the part of the leaders and followers, thus making the democratic enterprise appear as condemned to being subverted, as it turns out, from within. The scourge appears intractable due to its prevalence, thus, encumbering most States in the continent. For decades, Nigeria’s has been performing below average in the transparency international index of corruption. At some point, Nigeria was oscillating between the first and second most corrupt nation in the world. This unenviable status continues to assert negatively on the State and the growth of democracy despite the several strategies put in place by past and previous regimes to combat the scourge. This paper therefore considers the hindrances of corruption to the development of the democratic order and explores the imperative of good governance in remedying the malaise.

Keywords: Corruption, Democracy, Elections, Good Governance, Leadership

AN ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENTIAL PERFORMANCES OF THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION (EFCC) ALONG LEADERSHIP REGIMES IN NIGERIA (Published)

One of the greatest enemies of human growth and societal development is corruption. More worrisome is when there is manifestly a deliberate failure to get rid of its spread and existence. This research is a survey type that assessed the perception of Nigerians on possible differential performance of EFCC along leadership regimes. This research is an extraction of a Ph.D thesis that explored both primary and secondary data. The theory of prismatic society provided a frame work for the analysis. The study reveals a differential perception on the performance of the EFCC along leadership regimes. It also shows that president Olusegun (1999-2007) is favorably higher in ranking in the fight against corruption than the YarAdua regime with Goodluck’s administration at lowest ebb of the score. The research concludes that the premise for this leadership cocksureness is the vacuum created by weak institution of governance. This vacuum provides an avenue for tendentious attitudes and despotic inclination to governance. The study recommends inter alia; a need for virile institutions of governance, political culture of discipline and leadership consciousness and conscious national agenda.

Keywords: Anticorruption, Corruption, Leadership, Performance, Regime

CORRUPTION IN ELECTRICITY STEALING ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 2 PARAGRAPH (1) OF LAW NUMBER 31 OF 1999 ON CORRUPTION CRIME ERADICATION (Published)

This paper entitled Corruption in Electricity Stealing was intended to answer questions on whether an electricity stealing can be qualified as a corruption crime and to the extent of which electricity stealing crimes may bring about losses in the state’s finance. This paper was prepared by a juridical-normative writing method, that is, by studying legislations contained both in the law itself and in legal literatures/books, particularly those related to stealing and corruption. The result in a juridical aspect form was then written down in a descriptive-analytical way. The conclusion of this paper was the answer to the problems abovementioned as follows: that electricity stealing can be qualified as a corruption crime and that any electricity stealing brings about losses in the state’s finance.

Keywords: Corruption, Electricity, Finance, Loss, Stealing