Corruption in Nigeria

by Mubarak Ajah Obiahu.

ABSTRACT.

Nigeria is a land blessed with abundant natural resources that has not been able to successfully harness to the benefit of it teeming population. A major reason that has been responsible for her socioeconomic stagnation is the phenomenon of corruption. The kernel of the paper rest in the fact that political leadership and corruption were interwoven and it is against this background that it explored the corrupt tendencies of the political leadership class in Nigeria and its implication for socioeconomic development. The paper concludes that for Nigeria to experience sustainable socio-economic development, responsible and credible leaders must emerge to implant the act of good and selfless governance in the country.

INTRODUCTION.

The paper argues that the political leadership class in Nigeria cannot exonerate itself from the current travails of socio-economic underdevelopment in the country. It explores from a historical perspective the pernicious effect of corruption on public policy decisions, actions, and the management of collapsed infrastructure and the nation’s resources as well as its socio-economic implications to development. Attempt is made to assess the impact of the phenomenon of corruption on the social and economic well being of the country as a whole. The paper also emphasized on the causes, effect of corruption and also Effect of honesty in leadership. This paper also explicate on the other sectors that contributed to corruption in the country.

Key words;

Corruption; is a form of dishonesty or criminal activity undertaken by a person or organization entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire illicit benefit, or, abuse of entrusted power for one's private gain.

Bribery; according Collins dictionary, “bribe is money or anything given or promised to induce a person to do something illegal or wrong or to do something against his or her wishes”.

Graft Corruption it is understood in American English is a form of political corruption, being the unscrupulous use of a politician's authority for personal gain. Similarly, political graft occurs when funds intended for public projects are intentionally misdirected in order to maximize the benefits to private interests.

Fraud; Fraud is a deceit or trickery over another to gain profit and an untruthful advantage. Fraud is also an intentional deception so that the one doing the act may gain advantage or may profit from it.

Theft is taking something from another person without the consent of that person. It is a crime against property, like money and other valuable things.

Extortion is a form of theft that occurs when an offender obtains money, property, or services from another person through coercion. To constitute coercion, the necessary act can be the threat of violence, destruction of property, or improper government action. Inaction of the testimony or the withholding of testimony in a legal action are also acts that constitute coercion.

Blackmail is when the offender threatens to reveal information about a victim or his family members that is potentially embarrassing, socially damaging, or incriminating unless a demand for money, property, or services is met. Even if the information is true or actually incriminating, you can still be charged with blackmail if you threaten to reveal it unless the victim meets your demand.

Embezzlement refers to a form of white-collar crime in which a person or entity misappropriates the assets entrusted to him or her.

Political godfatherism is a hierarchical and pyramidal system of elite recruitment and placement(Albert, 200;Omotola, 2007), in which a 'godfather' is a person with the power to personally determine both who gets nominated as a candidate for local elections, and often who wins (Ibrahim, 2006). Godfathers are thus 'political gatekeepers' who 'dictate who participates in politics and under what conditions' (Albert, 2005: 82).

Corruption in Nigeria.

Corruption is of no doubt a major serious and acute problem facing Nigeria today and of course one of the biggest constrained in the effort to create good governance. Corruption is widespread in Nigeria, not because the people are different from other part of the world, but because the condition are ripe for it. There are many reasons why this is so. The motivation to earn income from among the populace is relatively stronger; exacerbated by poverty, unemployment and low wage. In many developing countries Nigeria inclusive, accountability is general weak. Political competition and civil liberties are often restricted laws and principles of ethnics in governance are poorly developed and the legal institutions charged with enforcing them are ill-prepared.

Corruption and deficiency of good government has become a salient feature of the Nigerian state and has since become routine in the awarding of government contract and in the regulation of the economy and official business in general. This is particularly the case with Nigeria where Nigerians see corruption not only as the abuse of state offices for personal or private gain but also as encompassing a whole range of other social behaviors allowing morally questionable deception leading to the achievement of wealth, power or prestige as well as much more mundane ambition. To the Nigerians therefor, corruption entails a wide range of social ill such as; Bribery and graft, election mal-practices, fraudulent business deals known as ritual killings, Bribery ,Embezzlement, Theft and fraud, Graft, Extortion and blackmail, Influence peddling, Favourism and nepotism, Alienation, cheating in schools, importation and distribution of fake or sub-standard goods, political godfathering, political motivated assassinations.

Corruption has indeed robbed Nigerians the benefit of economic development because scares available resources that should have deployed to execute development and project have to private foreign accounts.

Corruption is defined by Nigerian economist as “the Use of public office for private gain. The misuse or improper use of power and influence, deliberately and consciously for personal aggrandizement or group advantage”.

According to Svendson “it is the misuses of public office for private gain” and this implies to the sale of government properties by government officials, kickback in public procurement, bribery and embezzlement of government funds. In Nigeria corruption can be viewed from the social, legal, political, economic, institutional and ethical connotations. This is particularly so since corruption in Nigeria comes in various form and dimensions with every facet of the society corruption or exhibiting the tendency to be corrupt.

According UNDP, good governance encompasses the exercise of political, economic, legal, judicial, social and administrative authority in a manner that meets the aspirations and needs of the citizens and these includes; the government, the private sector and civil society. It also includes the formulation of policy initiatives that would strengthen institutions and civil society organizations with the main objective of making government responsible more democratic responsive and accountable.

The constitution is the most important of law in the country. In the fifth schedule of the constitution ( code of conduct) it is prohibits public officers from accepting property or benefits of any kind for him/herself or any other person on the account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties.

It’s of no doubt that corruption have taken over almost all the sectors in Nigeria and this is a potent cancer that has mercilessly eaten Nigeria to stupor. A study report made by institution for Development Research, Ahmad Bello University, Zaria ( IDRS,ABU Zaria) shows that the following are perceived as the most corrupt;

Nigerian police, Political parties, National and state Assemblies, Local and Municipal Governments, Federal and State Executive councils, Power Holding Company Of Nigeria ( PHCN), Nigeria National Petroleum Company ( NNPC), Federal Road Safety Commission( FRSC), Nigeria Customs, Federal Inland Revenue Services ( FIRS). Corruption is rife across the country’s economic sectors: petroleum, trade, industrial, agricultural, infrastructure, power sector, banking, and environmental. Together, these forms of corruption erase billions of dollars from Nigeria’s bottom line and prevent it from realizing its great human and economic potential.

Corruption in public and private sector.

The educational sector: Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges have been hardly hit by the effects of corruption; corruption is rampant in Nigeria educational sector Even though Nigerians universally recognize education as key to socioeconomic advancement but the country’s education sector has been hurt by decades of corruption and mismanagement. Whether it is officials embezzling money meant to build, furnish, and equip schools or extorting money from students in return for admission or exam grades, educational corruption remains a nationwide problem. Some people are in university not by merit, but through a kind of bribery called sorting. Some rich men in the country bribe vice chancellors and heads of departments to secure admission for their children. When this kind of dirty practice is conducted, those who would have made it on merit are cheated, as admission will not be offered to them. Every university in Nigeria has a quota (maximum number of students) they can admit each year. Corruption has hindered many Nigerian from furthering their education due to yearly admission issues and high demand from the universities.

There are certain things that lecturers do that deserve “hot punishment.” Most lecturers use the opportunities they have to take advantage of others. Harassment of women by lecturers and pressure to sleep with them is common. After female undergraduates submit to the lecturers' requests, they are rewarded with good grades.

Religious sector: Some religious leader are corrupt, most of the religious leaders have turned the worship places into a business money and money extortion center. Some religious leaders are misleading people due to their greed for money while some of them are poli-religious leader who are looking for a way to enrich their selves.

Health Sector: Nigeria public health infrastructure is inadequate and incapacitated by a cocktail of mismanagement, corruption, and funding shortfalls. Nigerian government spend huge amount of money on healthcare annually but the fund is been diverted, real expenditures are likely far lower. Top officials and health facility administrators routinely embezzle funds or inflate construction or equipment contracts. Too often they build clinics or purchase expensive equipment that after the initial photo op are never used or properly maintained. Beyond the many anecdotes that can be found in press and social media, however, it is difficult to measure the impact health sector corruption has on individual Nigerians’ health outcomes. Corruption in health care is more dangerous than in any other sector, because it affects health outcomes and is literally deadly.

INEC: Political party structures unlock corruption opportunities across a range of other sectors. Brown envelope journalism and other types of media corruption are commonly practiced and undermine democratic norms. Meanwhile, the symbiotic relationship between legislative and bureaucratic corruption, embodied by white elephants like Nigeria’s three space agencies, influences a disproportionate share of government expenditures.

Security system: The defense sector are destabilizing and compounding security challenges in conflict hotspots like the Lake Chad Basin, the Middle Belt, and the Niger Delta. Nigeria has one of the most corrupt defense and security sectors in the world, according to Transparency International but High levels of defense sector corruption have serious frontline consequences. Despite sharp increases in ad hoc defense spending since 2011, operations in the northeast remain hampered by equipment, materiel, and pay shortages. Corruption in the judiciary and within anticorruption agencies has already undermines the country’s anemic accountability mechanisms, thereby fueling corruption across the spectrum. Nigerian security personnel are deeply involved in various kinds of rackets that protect the activities of armed robbers, kidnappers, illegal miners and loggers, and drug smugglers.

Nigeria Police force: The Nigerian police is one of the world’s largest unitary forces, the 270,000 strong Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is endemically corrupt, poorly paid, and often predatory. Police personnel are mostly absent outside Nigeria’s towns and cities, except at road checkpoints where they can be seen soliciting petty bribes from motorists, the naira note benchmark used as ‘toll fee’ then was N20 denomination as against today’s N50 and N100 notes. Some motorists are detained and bailed with illegal bail fees, ranging from N10, 000 and above.Police officers are Nigeria’s most-bribed type of official, according to a 2016 survey. Extortion, embezzlement, or petty bribery has hollowed out the NPF, leaving it unable to address Nigeria’s main internal security challenges. Police manpower in particular has been severely impacted by corruption. The culture of checkpoint corruption has been a recurring features amongst Nigerian security and law enforcement agencies, even as their respective leaderships continue to speak stridently against the practice with threats of harsh consequences.

Legislative system : Nigeria legislatures are supposed to be a first line of defense against executive branch corruption. They are empowered to act as a check on executive power, approve and adjust budgetary expenditures, confirm key appointments, and undertake rigorous oversight of government activities. Instead of functioning as anticorruption watchdogs they use the power invested on them to abuse their immunity by taking advantages of the culture of impunity and the abuse their power in various ways without worries. Legislative corruption extends beyond demands for kickbacks and the odd quid pro quo from ministries and agencies. Though ostensibly legal, federal legislators’ excessive salaries, allowances, and other benefits amounting to $540,000 per lawmaker in 2017 are also seen by many Nigerians as akin to corruption.

Judicial system: Like the police, Nigeria’s legal institutions are weak and easily compromised. The destructive effects of corruption extend well beyond the country’s top judges: corruption also affects magistrates, lawyers, and administrative staff many of whom are overworked, poorly trained, and underpaid. Judicial corruption is often not overt but rather involves judges accepting bribes in exchange for using obscure technicalities to dismiss cases, for excluding critical evidence, or for allowing defence lawyers to use spurious tactics to delay cases for years on end or judge in favour of the guilt person.

Salary and pensions fraud: Employing ghost workers is a common form of official corruption at all levels of government. In March 2018, Nigeria’s accountant general discovered the government was losing ?14.3 billion ($39.7 million) in corrupt payments to ghost police personnel annually.98 Theft from pension funds is also common: even the former head of Nigeria’s pension reform task force is wanted by the EFCC in connection with a ?2 billion ($5.5 million) fraud.

Tax waivers and tariff barriers: In addition to abuse of import duty waivers and other tax holidays as described earlier, Nigeria’s formidable array of tariffs also facilitates corruption by boosting certain politically favored firms at consumers’ expense. The money been generated from tax and tariff are been embezzled by certain group of people.

The Causes of corrupt in Nigeria.

Nigeria trying to be a lawlessness country makes anyone with connection or with some political or financial clout engage in an unlawful behavior, including criminality without queries and call to order because they have the ability of circumventing the law not forgetting our senators who are taking undue advantages as the law maker to abuse their power and engage in corrupt practices by failing to declare their financial assets before and after leaving office.

· Higher levels of bureaucracy and inefficient administrative structure.

· It is believed that the discovery of oil and natural gas are the 2main event that led the country to sustained increase practice of corruption in the country.

· Low level of democracy, weak civil participation and low political transparency.

· Greed of money and ostentatious lifestyle: Greed has caused a lot of crises in the world, including in Nigeria. It is because of greed that political leaders embezzle the funds they are supposed to use for national development for their own selfish needs.

· Favoritism and networking : is among the major challenge in Nigeria, most people are in the office not because they are qualified to be there but because of emanmaduism. Favoritism is the illegal practice of using one's influence in government or connections with persons in authority to obtain favors or preferential treatment, usually in return for payment while networking can be an effective way for job-seekers to gain a competitive edge over others in the job-market. The idea is to cultivate personal relationships with prospective employers, selection panelists, and others, in the hope that these personal affections will influence future hiring decisions.

· Nepotism and clientelism involve the favoring of not the perpetrator of corruption but someone related to them, such as a friend, family member or member of an association. Examples would include hiring or promoting a family member or staff member to a role they are not qualified for, who belongs to the same political party as you, regardless of merit.

· Low economic freedom and low press freedom.

· Higher level of market and political monopolization.

· Gender inequality and low levels of education.

· Lack of commitment to society.

· Weak property rights.

· Contagion from corrupt neighboring countries.

· Low levels of education.

· Political instability.

· Too much power.

· Political apathy.

The Effects of corruption in Nigeria.

It’s of no doubt that Corruption drawback any government; it hurt the people disproportionately-by diverting funds intended for development, undermining government’s ability to provide basic services poor quality public services, low salary of civil servants, lack of checks and balances financial irregularities, feeding inequality injustice, and discouraging foreign investment and aid. Hence Good governance is integral to economy growth, the eradication of poverty and hunger, transparency, accountability, sustainable development, The views of all oppressed groups including ,youth and poor, must be heard and acted upon; considered by governing by governing bodies because they will be most negatively affected if good governance is not achieved.

· Corruption is the bane of Nigeria socio-economic development which threatens the existence of Nigeria as a political entity.

· It undermines the national image- corruption ridden country stink in the comity of nation and meaningful investments cannot be attracted nor can developmental cooperation be established because every Nigerian is viewed as corrupt and dubious outside. For instance, Nigeria has been consistently ranked among the corrupt country in the world by transparency international.

· Corruption erodes confidence in the application of the rule of law.

· Corruption also weakens state governance and reduces government revenues available to provide service, thus promoting state weakens and fragile at the same time failing.

· Mass poverty: When the heads of public service are busy laundering the money that is supposed to be used to create employment for the masses and reduce poverty, what happens is a rise in the poverty level of the country, just like the rise in poverty shown by the statistics between 2004 and 2008. Since the government is selfish and does not want to help the poor, poverty continues to rise in Nigeria.

· Unemployment: Is one of the major challenges Nigeria youths are facing. People are pushed into corrupt practices because of the high unemployment rates. An unemployed citizen can indulge in corruption to make money in order to meet the demand of the day.

· Election malpractice: is not an unheard-of phenomenon. During elections, the candidates hire thugs who go around the polling stations to highjack the ballot boxes. When they steal these boxes, they write in votes for their candidate. In recent times, a new tactic that contestants have adopted is buying voters' cards so that they can manipulate and use the cards to their advantage. Some politicians go to the extent of buying voters.

· Lack of good governance which entails lack of capacity to manage country’s resources in a transparent, accountable in equitable manner.

· Employment because the job does not go to most suitable or qualified person, but to does who are ready to pay for it or any other way in return of the favor.

· Deficiency in managerial.

· Organization inefficiency.

· Lack of accountability.

· Low level of income.

· It breed all kind of crimes and vandalism-arm robbery, youth agitation and massive brain drain a great number of Nigerian best brain has been driven to other part of the world where they now spearhead developmental and scientific exploits.

· Income inequality is one of Nigeria’s most serious but least talked about challenges, it is disparity between rich and poor, more than poverty itself, that generate anti-government sentiment and tend to encourage poverty. Low wages encourages individuals whose main role is to perform administrative duties seek to supplement their income with bribes or to dally in the performance of their duties due to chronic poverty as seen as natural breeding ground for systematic corruption due to social and income inequality and perverse economic incentives. Inequality fosters a norm of corruption as acceptable behavior that corruption is like to reinforce or widen existing inequalities, and those vicious circles of inequality corruption. Income inequalities enable government officials to engage in abuse of power for private gain as the person has to look for another means to augment what is lacking in his/her income, which may lead to unethical behavior; one has to make ends meet, definitely.

· Oppression over the masses.

· Lack of capital formation.

· Financial support and loans from other country.

· Access to state service is denied the poor who cannot pay bribes.

· The cost of doing business increases.

· Abuse of state resources.

· High transactions cost.

· Reduce government effectiveness.

· Reduce investment economic growth.

· Lack of accountability.

· Undermines the rule of law and legal certainty in the state.

· Undermines the mediatory of the judiciary.

· Undermine judicial independence, impartiality and neutrality.

· Lack of public confident in the judiciary

· Conflict resolution becomes impossible due to lack of confidence in the legal system.

· Promote impunity.

· State capture and predation leading to distorted public policy making

· Unhealthy competition for state power.

· Lack of separation of power because executive can buy influence from other arms of government ( i.e., legislature and judiciary).

· Authoritarian tendencies.

· Command structures within the security agencies are weaken.

· Indiscipline within the security services.

· Abuse of human right.

· The rise in private security.

· Material and training needs of the security agencies are ignored.

· Laws enacted in the legislature may not be in the interest of the public but the elite.

· Reduces the capacity to manage and resolve conflict.

· Reduces public participation in governance.

· The oversight responsibility of the legislature is easily ignored.

· It threatens the very survival of a nation as it prevents the provision of basic social amenities for the citizenry. The money meant for development is often pocked by few thereby making good governance impossible. It has affected our health sectors not to talk of our educational institutions. As today, not even one of the universities in Nigeria is rated among the first 200 in the world and none is rated the best in Africa. Corruption generally erodes standard to abysmal levels. Quality of goods and services cannot be guaranteed in a corrupt country.

· Corruption aggravate unemployment and under development which engenders mass poverty that thwart effort to overcome it.

· Most infrastructural decay and unsatisfactory provision of amenities can be traced directly or indirectly to corruption. There is a total collapse of power and road network in the country due to the corrupt attitude of the past leaders.

· It erodes the ethical base of society: as due diligence, excellence, honesty, merit and integrity are discouraged.

· Political corruption and the concomitant corruption of politics undermine institutionalized public affairs, including political change and conflict resolution mechanism.

· Criminal gangs collaborate with corrupt security personnel to challenge authority of the state.

· Armed rebellions receive support from the general public.

· The state monopoly over the use of force is challenge.

· State fragility.

· Economic instability. The effectiveness of investment decisions and projects. In the presence of corruption, the investments are smaller, as entrepreneurs are aware that they will have to bribe the officials or even give them a profit share for a successful implementation of a business. Due to these increased costs, the entrepreneurs are not interested in investing

· Tribal conflict.

· Reduced confident in the legitimacy of the political leaders.

· Increased political tension.

· Lack of confidence in the political process.

· Failure of democratic transitions.

· Federal government loses control over economic plans, infrastructural development and decision making.

· Weaken state institutions.

· Rule of laws become ineffective.

· Increase public grievance against government.

· Increase in organized crime.

Possible ways to control or prevent corruption.

· The politicians both men and women need to know the moral of integrity in leadership to ensure democratic good governance in all the levels of government in Nigeria, especially at the grassroots.

· The security agents should be more vigilant, the more the arrest and convict the corrupt the more corruption reduces.

· Division of power among the leaders.

· Death penalty for anyone found guilty of corruption.

· Imprisonment with hard labor for anyone found guilty of corruption.

· The rule of law is above all and it is very crucial in fostering good governance and it is their conviction that adherence to the rule of law will guarantee good governance because it will help to prevent and reduce corruption among government officials and civil servants as whole.

· To curb corruption in Schools any teacher, lecturer or school administration found guilty of corruption should be dealt with to set an example for others.

· Employment: job opportunity will help in reducing the rate of corruption in the country because a busy mind may find it difficult to indulge in corruption because he is being paid adequately.

· Self-Satisfaction; Self-satisfaction in this context implies being content with what one has. When the leaders of Nigeria are satisfied with the salary they are paid and use public funds in a proper manner, the issue of embezzlement and money laundering will be history. Managers who are satisfied with what they are paid will not have time to indulge in corruption to make more money.

· Proper Government Funding of Schools; Understanding the importance of skill acquisition will go a long way to propel them to develop all the schools in Nigeria. When more attention is paid to the tertiary institutions in the country, it will produce graduates who are employable. Installation of the necessary machines needed in universities will help Nigerian graduates acquire skills and use them to generate income, even if no company employs them after graduation.

· Self-employment will make graduates more determined in the work they do and will prevent them from corruption like Internet scams, kidnapping and the rest

· Equality among all citizens; Treating any offender in the country equally will help reduce corruption. Nobody is above the law and any who acts contrary to it should be given the punishment that he or she deserves. That she is the Minister of Aviation or Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria should not count in this case. If any minister or head of state is given the punishment he deserves for corruption, others will learn and separate themselves from any corrupt practice.

· The leaders should be informed by the rules, principles and regulations of the public services; they must lead by modelling the appropriate conduct in consent with the public services ethics.

· Adequate training from the local level on ethics and moral decisions and to do the right things for our country.

· The need for government to organize seminar and workshop training to create awareness on the importance of ethical practice. i believe that training in ethics will help employees to be aware of rules and regulations and provides them skills for right decisions when confronted with ethical dilemma, the training will help reinforce the message that violates the ethical codes or rules that is not tolerated by government .

Honesty in leadership.

The Unite Nation Development Program states that good governance is “the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs and includes a complex array of mechanism, processes relationships and institution through which citizens manage their affairs involving public life”.

· Nigerians need leaders who are morally sound at all levels of government in Nigeria if we were to achieve good governance.

· The prospective of any type of leadership is to provide good governance in any country depends largely on ethical or moral integrity of it officials. Honesty in leadership goes a long way to build peoples trust and confidence in their leader and government.

· A leader that has the interest of people will use his or her power and resources to push for the agenda that serve the interest of the people as a whole rather than personal interest of their tribe or region.

· Nigerian government needs officials that have concern for the people and to commit to meaningful and effective governance. When the public interest fails to be the key focus of public administration, it leads to unethical behavior and corruption.

· Good leaders has the potentials to guarantee and sustain good governance which is means pf holding government officials accountable to the citizens to combat corruption especially at the public sector were office holders see themselves as lord of the masses and not as servant of their people.

· An honest leader utilizes the public resources for the provision and development of social amenities and economic needs for the people.

· An honest and ethical leader will not misappropriate the public fund for private interest or involve in other form of corruption.

· The government should be transparent by creating accessible platform were everyone will be able to access in order to get information on what is going on in their government; the citizens have right to access the government which will enable them to know what their officials are doing.

· To fight corruption the common citizens should be involved in gathering useful information on hidden cases of high level of bribery, financial fraud and corrupt practices at the arms of government and this can be attained through anti campaign whistleblowing and government will have to reinforce the safety and protection of the citizens who dare to blow the whistle on the action of corruption.

· Transparency will sustain good practice and good democratic conversance in Nigeria if adhered to. Ethical leadership has the potential to guaranty and sustain transparency, accountability, and role of law for good governance in Nigeria. It was the believe of all the respondent that transparency, means for holding the government officials in combating corruption, is critical to promote governance, particular in the public sector.

· Transparency entails that government business, meeting budgets and financial statements, and the decision-making process are open both to the public and the press.

· Transparency is vital for good governance a leadership that is transparent is committed providing good governance to the people to it serve. There is no much transparency because the subordinate do it always know what the official are doing. The keep the masses in the dark about what is going on. That an indication that they have something to hide from the public. Honest and ethical official are honest in conducting the public affairs because, as ethical person, they ethics stands and principals in their actions. When public official involve in bribing and corruptions such official will not be open to the public, least of their illegal exposed.

Emanmaduism – The process of getting a job or getting into power with the influence of the person you have in that sector. Stated by Mubarak Ajah Obiahu.

CONCLUSION.

It’s of no doubt that corruption is indeed a cankerworm that has eaten Nigeria deeply, it is the monster that has weighed Nigeria down, corruption has kept Nigeria undeveloped, corrupt practices among the political leaders have also resulted in undermining the growth and stability of the nation’s trading and financial system. In 2012, Nigeria was estimated to have lost over $400 billion to corruption since independence; in 2018 Nigeria was ranked 144 in 180 countries listed in transparency international’s corruption index and basically Nigerians themselves view their country as one of the world’s most corrupt. It is therefore imperative that the entire sundry should engage in anti-corruption in order to make the country a better place for you and for our unborn generation.

William Pitt stated and i quote “Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it; and this i know, my lords: that where laws end, tyranny begins”.

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