Corruption and the Challenges of Good Governance in the Nigerian Public Sector (original) (raw)
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Corruption in the Nigerian Public Service and Its Implications for National Development
The aim of this paper was to investigate corruption in the Nigerian public service and its implications on national development. The paper reviews the concept of corruption,, public service and development. This discourse examined the forms and causes of corruption in Nigerian Public Service, as well as corruption in public service from Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa’s era to present administration. It also, examined the implications of corruption in the public service on national development in Nigeria. The paper revealed that corruption which ever dimension has tremendous negative implications for the development and growth of any society. The paper further revealed that corruption in the public sector involves the looting and embezzlement of public funds for personal use. The quest for self-preservation has superseded national interest and the absence of national interest manifest in lack of national development in Nigeria. Findings revealed that corruption in the Nigerian public service is albatross to national development in Nigeria. As a remedial measure, the paper recommended among others that stiffer punishments like long jail terms should be applied so as to serve as deterrence to individuals who have the intention to embezzle funds of government.
Corruption in the Nigerian Public Sector
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 2022
The ills of corruption in governance and public management creates an oddity of interests between leaderships and citizens. The myriads of challenges confronting many developing economies in the world today stems from corruption and the lack of transparency in governance. The elegance ascribed to political and economic corruptions in most African states stems not only from the depraved self-seeking nature of the individuals, but also from a societal expectation of grandeur and affluence after a successful political or bureaucratic career. The Nigerian state is evidently ethno-centric and blessed with abundant natural mineral resources. However, there are several factors fostering corruption in Nigeria, and this includes the rampant lack of accountability in governance, poor political leadership, and an ill-informed system of governance. For the Nigerian state to be free from corruption therefore, a lot needs to be done towards encouraging transparency in governance, responsible and an accountable political leadership, citizen participation in governance and an established system of informed policy formulation, exemplary leadership hinged on the tenets of morality, and the re-engineering of the social construct towards the rebuilding of trust between leaderships and the citizens. This review takes a critical look at corruption in the Nigerian public sector, and also offers some vital suggestions on how to overcome this protracted challenge.
Iconic Research and Engineering Journals, 2020
Corruption in the Nigerian public service has become a syndrome. The issue of accountability of resources, both human and financial, in the public service is a very vital one, especially as it concerns development and proper harnessing of our limited resources. Public servants are expected to give account of public resources committed and entrusted on them. This is why accountability in the public service has always occupied the priority list of every succeeding administration. In this paper, the nature, causes and effects of corruption are considered. The role of public administration in the war against corruption in Nigeria is historically examined between1975-2004. The paper recommended among others, that a good, sound and moral education will help Nigerian leaders and citizens to be conscious of the fact that all hands must be put together to work towards the progress of this great nation.
Corruption and Public Accountability in the Nigerian Public Sector : Interrogating the Omission
European Journal of Business and Management, 2013
The main objective of this paper is to interrogate the omission in the system of public accountability in the Nigerian public sector that has made corruption a monster. It is germane to state that corruption heightens wherever systems for ensuring effective accountability are weak. There are internal and external mechanisms for achieving accountability in the Nigerian Public life, but it appears that they are ineffective . This is due mainly to lack of political will in redressing the corruption dilemma. Additionally, the Nigerian penal (code) system or sanctions for weighty crimes such as corruption are weak and serve no deterrence to actual and potential offenders . The paper is segmented into : Abstract, Introduction ; Conceptual clarification ; Corruption and Public Accountability in Nigeria: A Discourse, Conclusion and recommendations . In order to rise above this challenge and make progress, the fallen status of our laws must be addressed through pragmatic implementation and committed leadership anchored on sound values and practice.
Public Sector Corruption In Nigeria
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2016
Corruption is a monster that has held Nigeria hostage for a long time. Public institutions created to effect public good or collective welfare have been turned into personal fiefdoms by the privileged few. Indeed, according to saharareporters.com (Olorunfemi,2016) there is currently an attempt by the senate to decriminalize corruption by seeking to amend the CCT Act "while the senate president is standing trial for a breach of the (same)law". As at now the bill has passed its second reading and only awaits a third at the national assembly to become law. This paper therefore is an attempt to highlight the causes, patterns and consequences of corruption in Nigeria.
2020
Corruption in the Nigerian public service has become a syndrome. The issue of accountability of resources, both human and financial, in the public service is a very vital one, especially as it concerns development and proper harnessing of our limited resources. Public servants are expected to give account of public resources committed and entrusted on them. This is why accountability in the public service has always occupied the priority list of every succeeding administration. In this paper, the nature, causes and effects of corruption are considered. The role of public administration in the war against corruption in Nigeria is historically examined between1975-2004. The paper recommended among others, that a good, sound and moral education will help Nigerian leaders and citizens to be conscious of the fact that all hands must be put together to work towards the progress of this great nation. Indexed TermsContribution, public administration, corruption, historical discourse
In 2011, Nigeria was ranked 143th out of 182 countries surveyed by the Transparency International in its corruption perception index indicating the level of corruption in the country as compared to other countries. Although this came as an improvement from the previous years, it did not result from an improved system of governance, rather it was due to an increase in the number of countries that participated in the survey. Between 2010 and 2011, Nigeria's rank actually decreased by 9 spots, showing an increase in corruption despite the efforts of the government to rid the nation of corruption. This survey shows a lack of accountability from public officials and a lax system of governance in the country. As a result corruptible acts are not harshly penalized and easier to get away with, within the country's public sector.
Public Sector and Corruption in Nigeria: An Ethical and Institutional Framework of Analysis
The paper examines the imperatives of good ethical conduct in the conduct of government business in Nigeria. As government business grows in complexity with the adoption of technological innovations in government, governance in Nigeria's public sector becomes more problematic and ethically tasking as a result of endemic corruption. An evaluation of the collapse of institutional measures and codes of conduct puts in place to ensure high standard of behavior, using institutional theory suggests that moral contradictions in institutional behavior expectation from the public deepen daily. The perceived lack of an effective ethical organizational framework to coordinate the activities of various institutions has astronomically worsened unethical practices such as corruption in the Nigerian public service. The paper recommends a more realistic African traditional approach to ethical restraint of public servants from indulging in corrupt behavior by subjecting them to customary oath taking based upon the theistic values of fear of sin against mother earth (Ani Casimir, 2009), (a departure from the western style, which sees public service as no man's business: Ekene, 2012). These core African values that emanate from theistic humanism should also permeate the various anti-corruption organizational frameworks in Nigeria to coordinate the national fight against corruption in the public sector. The behavioral and errant departure of civil servants and Nigeria's public service from the core human values that ensure transparent private and public conduct of individuals have resulted in underperformance and underdevelopment. It is perceived furthermore that this lack of public service commitment to human values which would have enabled them to consider others above selfish interests, fear divine retribution, dishonor of a good family name, distaste for greed and stealing of public good has weakened the fight against corruption and turned it into a pedantic and cosmetic exercise without results. Therefore, unethical practices and the systemic abandonment of core African human values by the Nigerian public servants oil the wheel of public sector corruption in Nigeria.
Corruption in Public Administration and National Development in Nigeria
Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2023
Although the facts of weak institutional structure, inefficiency, poor professional standards, low productivity, a culture of waste, over-bloated staff structure etc., have been identified as problems of the civil service in Nigeria, only scant attention has been paid to the debilitating effects of corruption. This paper chronicled some of the annals of administrative corruption, vis - à - vis ., their impacts on administrative development in Nigeria. Adopting the qualitative approach, the paper utilized the Market-Centred perspective as an analytical guide and considered corruption, not just as the epicentre of the problems of administrative development in Nigeria but also as the bane of the nation’s development processes. Besides the plugging of corruption loopholes and the institution of a more robust reward system for corrupt-free administrative officials, the paper recommended stringent measures to restrain systemic corruption, by making it a high-risk activity where perpetrators must be apprehended, severely punished and dispossessed of corruptly earned monies and property.
Bureaucratic Corruption and Practice of Public Administration in Nigeria
2015
The role of the public bureaucracy in fostering a perfect and efficient administrative system in a country cannot be under estimated. In Nigeria, performance of public bureaucracy has come under severe criticisms and questionings within the context of the gap that exists between its anticipated role and its actual output. The failure of public bureaucracy to deliver the expected output to the society informed the series of reforms that have come to form the policy thrust of successive Nigerian governments since the 1980's. Suffice it to say therefore, that the aftermath of such reforms has been on the need to have efficient and responsive public service that has the capacity to meet the challenges posed by the domestic and internal environments. The efforts of the Nigerian government have not yielded the much expected results due to the problem of corruption that has eaten deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian society. The paper therefore examined the causes of the upsurge of co...