THE EFFECT OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION ON NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

THE EFFECT OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION ON NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Nigeria and political corruption – political corruption is not a recent phenomenon that pervades the Nigerian state.

Since the creation of modern public administration in the country, there have been cases of officials misuse of resources, embezzlement of funds, looting of government property for personal enrichment “the rise of public administration and the discovery of oil and natural gas are two major events seen to have led to a litany of ignorable corrupt practices in the country over the years, the country has seen its wealth withered with little to show in living condition of the common man.

In this view, a Nigerian political leader, Obafemi Awolowo raised a silent issue when he said since independence, of few holding the cow for the strongest and most cunning to milk”, under those circumstances everybody runs over everybody to make good at the expense of others. Characteristically, apologist for the failings of African governments have blamed colonist for the pervasive corruption. According to this view, the nations’ colonial history may have restricted any easily influence in an ethnical revolution through out the colonial period. Most Nigerians were stunk in ignorance and poverty. The trapping of flash cars, houses and success of the colonialists many influence the poor to see the colonialist as symbols of success and to emulate the colonists in different political ways.

Involvement in the agenda of colonial rule may also inhibit idealism in the easily stage of the nascent nations’ development. A view common held during the colonial days was that the colonists property (cars, houses, farms etc) is not our property.

Thus vandalism and looting of public property was not seen as a crime against society.

This view is what has degenerated into them or sent disregard for public property and lack of public trust and concern for public goods as collective national property.

According to Sen (1999 p. 225) states that corruption is “an effort to secure wealth or power through illegal means private gain at public expenses or a misuse of public power for private benefit”.

Therefore electoral corruption includes the purchase of vote with money, promises of offices or special favours, coercion, intimidation and interference with freedom of election (Nigeria is a good example where this practice is common, botes are bought, people are killed or maimed in the name of election, losers end up as the winners where voters turns up in areas where vogues were not cast.

Generally, the implication of political corruption appears in different forms such as electoral corruptions, bribery, fraud, embezzlement, extortion, nepotism godfatherism, favouritism, madness of second tenure system and others.

The implication of political corruption as an impediment to the economical, social cultural and political stability is not a recent phenomenon that pervades the Nigerian state.

It started as far back as the colonial era among the colonists but grown to its apex / climax since, the creation of modern public administration in the country.

There have been cases of official misuse of resources for personal enrichment. Nigeria’s political godfathers, which came into existence as a result of inability of some aspirants of political officers to afford or sources their fund to run the election political godfathers there are those who are the powerful wealthy men who sponsor the political aspirants in Nigeria palace known as political godfathers in which their political fathering activities has been culminating to political polarizations, political traumas, political upheavals and political brouhaha which has become the talk of the day.

What is known as Anambra state today was created as far back as 1991 under the leadership of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Anambra today is one of the largest and dominating southeast state and comprises of (21) twenty one local governments.

Since 19991, the violence, corruption and godfatherrism” occurring elsewhere in Nigeria have run a rampant in Anambra since then Anambra has been proved by some political analysis to remain the eyes of the most political corrupt state in Nigeria in which a wealthy member of Chris Uba is an iconic example of the godfathers phenomenon in Nigeria as a prove in 2003 Anambra gubernatorial  election when PDP candidate Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige was sponsored and financed to rig the 2003 election in Anambra which the whole world witnessed their high level of electoral rigging, political irregularities political quagmires, political traumas and political upheavals as a result of godfatherrism, favoritism second tenure madness, nepotisms and other. By virtue of this unattainable agreement between Dr. Christ Nwabueze Ngige and his godfather Christ Uba, the two political gladiators degenerated a series of political traumas, electoral irregularities riggings, thurgry, kidnapping, killing, vandalization, false impeachment and all that.