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Generally seen as the misuse of public office for private gain
(World Bank, 2000, Sandholtz and Taagepera, 2005)
Corruption refers to the perversion of society’s moral norms
or an institution’s established standards
Corruption is basically a moral phenomenon.
It is the perversion of integrity or a given state of affairs.
It is an immoral and unethical phenomenon that contains a
set of moral aberrations from moral standards of society
(Gold, 1991)
It is a kind of cancer, a socio-political, religious and moral
disease that spreads to all the different levels of society
Corruption is measured by the Corruption Perception Index
http://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/learn-aboutcorruption/what-is-corruption/our-definition-ofcorruption/
Governance is seen as the nature and manner of
administering the state, how the resources of the
state are distributed to meet the needs of its
component publics. It could be good or bad.
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Good governance refers to activities of
government that are people oriented,
transparent and accountable
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It is also about the equitable management of
societal resources, the promotion of a just
society through deliberate policies
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It is participatory and consensus oriented,
involving the mass mobilisation of the people.
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It is predicated on the rule of law
The political economy approach: the prebendal and patrimonial
nature of the state and pattern of governance over the years
Sustenance of primordial loyalties like family, clan, state,
ethnic group, religion, etc serving as patronage networks
The patronage networks to which public officials belong
uphold the value of appropriating resources from the
state to further the collective interests of the family,
friends, relations, community, etc (Helman and
Ndumbaro, 2002).
Therefore, corruption has become part and parcel of
daily life, institutionalised and embedded. It is too
systemic that it takes extra devotion, contentment and
selflessness not to be corrupt in Nigeria, i.e. to be
accountable
Public office provides the incentives for officials to feed
from the state known as politics of the belly (See Bayart
Ellis and Hibou, 1999)
The
cement import crisis, under Shagari regime
The 12 billion dollars oil windfall, under the
Babangida regime
The looting of national treasury under Sanni
Abacha regime
16 billion dollars wasted in the power sector
under the Obasanjo regime
The Halliburton and Siemens scandal
The Pension Scam, etc.
It is our contention that in situations of embedded
corruption,
systemic
and
institutionalised
non
accountability, being transparent and accountable or
above board is likely to be problematic and requires
nothing short of fundamental societal change that
includes restoring power and economic relations as well
as developing new norms. Indeed a revolutionary break
from the past is canvassed if we are serious with
promoting accountability and transparency. We need
moral restitution and imposition of severe sanctions to
discourage law breakers. Fortunately, the emergence of
Buhari, a leader known for his stoic discipline, ramrod
character, austere lifestyle and impeccable integrity can
help change this. Whether this Buhari tree can make the
forest in Nigeria is another matter.