CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Nsikan Nelson Ekong

Department of Philosophy, University of Uyo, Nigeria

Abstract

Corruption is the basis of the problem in many societies ranging from social, religious, moral, economic, Political, cultural, academic and so on. It is a global problem and no country is completely free from its menacing grip. In recent times, the level of uncontrolled cases of corrupt practices in Nigerian is so alarming such that if it is left unchecked Nigeria may continue to experience state capture. The unimaginably challenging situation in most African countries ranging from hunger to a high level of poverty among the citizenry, religious crises, insurgency, economic and political unrest have all been attributed to the high rate of corruption, which has entrenched itself in the national ethos, politics, civil society, public and private sectors of business and commerce. The paper identify some key factors that causes corruption to thrive in Nigeria. The work centered on the fact that the high level of corruption in Nigeria is due to poor leadership and bad governance which in turn make corruption endemic and alarming such that it raised so much concern in recent times. The paper concluded that strengthening institution and promoting good governance can minimize corruption.

Keywords: Corruption, Governance, Leadership, Politics, Institution.