ANTI-CORRUPTION MEASURES AS AN ANTIDOTE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY IN NIGERIA PUBLIC SERVICE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The word corruption means the destruction, running or spoiling of a society or a nation. A corrupt society stops valuing integrity and moral principles. It changes for the worse. Corruption hinders economic growth and deters investment. The impact of development assistance is reduced and natural resources are over-exploited, causing further harm to a country’s environmental assets. Resources are diverted from sectors such as education and health to less important sector or personal enrichment. The rule of law is eroded and the people no longer respect or trust the state. A few people manage to get rich at the expense of society as a whole, while the poor suffer terrible rejection. In the long run, unchecked corruption pushes more and more people into poverty which often destabilize a society.

The consequences of corruption for social and economic development are bad. People who are getting a very low wages and salaries feels they have to demand bribes in order to live decent lives. But they do not realize that corruption causes sufficiency to other. No society can endure anything neat if they allow corruption to become the full blown concern as it has become in Nigeria. One of the greatest tragedies of military rule in recent time is that corruption was allowed to grow unchallenged and unchecked even when it was glaring for every body to see. It is also pervasive that both the public and private sector are affected, corruption now permeate every aspect of Nigeria life especially in the transaction of government at various level. It is a constant topic of conversation among all, of course, every body complains about it yet, every one appears to be involved.