Causes of Corruption in Nigeria: It is truism that Corruption is one of the biggest problems of Nigeria. This single issue has hindered the development of the country for a lot of years. Nigerians would have moved from being a third world country, but the problem of corruption has crippled every sector of the country. The increased corruption had caused Nigeria to rank high on the world corruption index.
There are various forms of corruption in Nigeria; some of them range from election rigging to bribery and even the embezzlement of public funds etc. The list goes on and on. Corrupt politicians who occupy the government offices keeps squandering the resources meant for the development of the common man and this has caused a lot of Nigerians to live in abject poverty.
Apparently, Nigeria is an oil rich country. It is also a country that has been blessed with a lot of mineral resources. Other oil rich countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc, have been able to manage their own resources effectively in other to ensure the development of their country and people. However, in Nigeria, the reverse is the case. Instead of managing the resources of the nation effectively, politicians embezzle government funds and use them for their own personal gains.
Corruption has been a part of Nigeria since its inception. This particular problem started soon after the departure of the British (colonial masters). The first republic politicians quickly helped themselves to the nations wealth soon after the British left. The level of corruption in the country also make the military to take over the Nigerian government in 1966, but the that did not end the problem of corruption in Nigeria, rather it increased it.
The military looted a lot of funds during their leadership. In fact, some of it are still being returned today as abacha loot. Nigeria’s 4th republic has not been free from corruption because it has never had any election that is free and fair since the 4th republic started. President Buhari who promised to make corruption one of the top priorities of his administration in 2015, also failed to deliver on this promise.
In today’s article, I would love to analyze the various causes of corruption in Nigeria and profer possible solutions to the problem.
Causes of corruption in Nigeria
- Greed
- Poverty
- Apathy
- Illiteracy
- Lack of right attitude to work
- Lack of freedom of press
- Lack of independence of the judiciary
- Lack of patriotism
- Lack of selflessness
Above is just a list of the causes of corruption in Nigeria. As you may know, these causes have greatly contributed to the problem of corruption in Nigeria. Thus, we are going to discuss each of them extensively.
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1. Greed
Greed is one of the major causes of corruption. It is Greed that will cause a politician to embezzle funds which are a meant for the development of the community. If leaders can learn how to stop seeking personal gain and start working for the good of the community then corruption will be greatly defeated.
2. Poverty
Poverty also leads to corruption. Poor people are easily influenced by politicians who seek to coerce them Into committing crimes such as rigging elections, accepting bribes etc. The politicians know that poor people are easily influenced, that’s why they don’t want to pass bills that will improve the standard of living of the masses. If the politician can shoe compassion to the electorate and start doing the work that they were actually elected to do, Nigeria will be a much better place to live.
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3. Apathy
Apathy is another major cause of corruption in Nigeria. People have lost faith in their leaders and thus no longer see the need to vote in elections. We need to restore the people’s faith in the government by fielding only Qualified and selfless leaders for political office. People need to understand that their vote is their greatest power. You must endeavor to register and vote in every election.
4. Illiteracy
lack of education is one of the causes of corruption. If people were educated they’d know the kind of damage they the corrupt government was doing to the country and in turn vote them out of office. In our fight on corruption we need to make funding education a priority so that we can win the war on corruption.
5. Lack of right attitude to work
If the corrupt politicians had a right attitude to work, they would know how to carry out their duties to the nation diligently and effectively. Politicians must start carrying out their duties the right way so as ensure that the nation moves forward. Doing the work they were elected to do entails refusing to collect bribes and refusal to embezzle public funds. They should also be quick to report any of their colleagues who engages in any act of corruption, that’s one of the ways that corruption can be fought.
6. Lack of freedom of press
In a corrupt administration one of the things that they try to do is silence the press. If the press can’t report on their corrupt activities then they are are more are less hidden from the public. In other to get rid corruption from our society, we must ensure that freedom of press is a main priority. Law makers should also enact laws that ensure press freedom, this is so that journalists are not prosecuted whenever they report news that goes against the current administration.
7. Lack of independence of the judiciary
The court they say is the last hope of common man. In other to make sure that human right is protected we must make sure that the judiciary is independent from other arms of government. We must Make sure that we appoint only unbiased judges so as to rid corruption from our society.
8. Lack of patriotism
We need patriots. We need people who love their country to occupy office. If a politician truly loves his country he will bring no harm to it. Patriotism should be one of the criteria for politics, only those that love their countries should be allowed to rule it. Patriotic politicians are the ones who report their colleagues who engage in corruption.
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9. Lack of selflessness
Ee need selfless leaders. Leaders who will put the need of the people before their own personal agenda. If we want to free our society from the shackles of corruption then we must endeavor to appoint only selfless leaders to lead government. Politics is one of the best ways to serve your country and in order to do it right you need to do it selflessly.
The following are the various causes of corruption in Nigeria as well as possible solutions to the problem of corruption. In other to ensure that corruption is kicked out of our country we must make sure that the proffered solutions are promptly implemented.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.