Grand Corruption ‘Consists Of Acts Committed At A High

The biggest problem with the government of Nigeria in regard to its malpractice towards the people is the unchecked corruption. “A

It would be convenient to start this research paper by stating that corruption is a challenge mainly for businesses in developing countries and that it is unrelated to the current affliction of the economy in the United States. It would also be convenient to claim corruption has declined in America as a result of awareness raising campaigns and the numerous anti-corruption laws. But none of those aforementioned statements would be true. Corruption is not the exception, but rather the rule in today’s business practices. In 2004, Daniel Kaufmann, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution and former director at the World Bank, calculated an index of "legally corrupt" manifestations which is defined as the extent of undue influence

Daniel Jordan Smith presents an outstanding work full of insight and appreciation of Nigerian culture. The content is enriched by his years spent working there, his marriage to a Nigerian woman and his obvious affinity for the Nigerian people. Smith’s primary aim is to reflect upon popular Nigerian sentiment toward corruption but also to explore just how entrenched corrupt practices have become in society. The book focuses on two main elements; how Nigeria is as much a ‘culture of corruption’ as it is ‘against corruption’ (p. 6).

Throughout history, several sovereign nations across the world have been subject to political corruption by government officials for illegitimate personal gain. Corruption used to be a low profile line item. However, today it has reached heights at which the government must get involved to try and cover it up to ensure its secrecy and avoid exploitation. This instance is referred to as Crony Capitalism, which is a theory that has evolved from corruption over a period of time. This idea involves more intervention by the government who achieves its purpose by providing incentives and subsidies to their known business partners in specific operating fields. They favour this particular set of business owners who they keep close ties with over

Corruption can be defined as the use of entrusted power to accumulate public wealthy for personal benefit. Corruption is not peculiar to any country, continent or state; it is sure a global issue which is an endemic to all government all over the world. However, corruption is prevalent in the Niger delta region of Nigeria; public officers in this oil producing state of Nigeria are corrupt. Consequently, it has defied the Niger delta from developing politically and economically which has left the states reputation in a mess. Radicalization of youths, abject poverty and -political instability are the three leading effects of corruption in the Niger delta region of Nigeria.

This research work is divided into nine chapters. Chapter one introduces the thesis holistically, sets out the research objectives, research questions, methodologies, theoretical framework, research structure and reviews relevant literature related to the work. Chapter two considers the historical antecedents of grand corruption in Nigeria setting out why it has remained systemic and has proved so difficult to combat. Chapter three examines the Nigerian legal instruments on corruption and the nexus between grand corruption and human rights abuses. Emphasis is laid on the two major anti-corruption agencies: the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission in contextualizing the argument of the chapter. Chapter

This essay will address the question of whether the World Bank’s Anti-Corruption policy can be improved through the adaption of a Political Economy Analysis (PEA) framework. Since John Wolfensohn, then President of the World Bank, addressed the ‘cancer of corruption’ as a major impediment to growth in 1996 the World Bank has adopted a mounting concern over corruption. Today, the Bank’s fixation on corruption incorporates concerns over ‘good governance’, particularly in underdeveloped countries. Corruption and governance are political issues by nature. Yet, scholars’ have criticized the Bank for their reform strategies for being based largely in economic considerations (Khan: 2002, Marquette: 2004, Forest and Wild: 2011). Since then, the World Bank employed a stakeholder approach to address the political dimension of creating ‘good’ governance. Yet, academics and policy makers agree the World Bank’s anti-corruption initiatives continue to reject the need to integrate politics into their work, as they continue to be based in economic rationalism and the technical approach to governance. I will observe this in the context of political pressure that governs the World Bank’s mandate. Then looking at corruption as a moral category with reference to Bukovansky (2006) which suggests that, in order to achieve ‘good governance’ a country must follow a set of prescribed liberal approaches in order to grow. Considering the failures of the current approach, I suggest that a PEA

In the past decades, there were many studies that carefully examined the issue of corruption in the institutional framework as well as its significance in politics and economics. Jakob Svensson (2005) has published a paper in which he defines corruption and compares it to taxation and lobbying. Svensson talks about the main measures of corruption in the world and a variety of institutional theories that try to explore causal factors of this issue and possible policies that could eliminate its extent in any country. There have also been studies that examined corruption at the firm’s level and the global level. Fisman and Svensson (2001) have found some significant evidence of the importance of corruption at the microeconomic level. They looked at the bribe payments in Uganda and obtained significant results studying the relationship between firms’ growth and bribery. Moreover, Mauro (1995) published his work which examines the global level of corruption and its influence on economic growth. According to his findings, the effect of corruption on economic growth is relative and increases in power only when corruption is combined with other factors. In this paper, we will explore the definition of corruption and its reflection on the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels.

Media reports on corruption are frequent, some are reported in print form, others are conveyed via news anchor reports, and still others are described through online blitzes. Whatever the form, corruption has become a common topic of news reports. Being such a common topic, it would be logical to presume that corruption has a global definition that crosses not only cultural lines, but also the boundaries of societies’ sectors. Although Calhoun (2011) defines corruption as actions taken by people in order to evade the established rules of a company or system or even to escape societal norms for personal gain, there exist varying levels and forms of corruption. These variations cause discrepancies not only in dealing with

The topic I chose for my research paper is corruption in Africa. Corruption is one of the most deadly, wicked and immoral evil that endures in the society. Corruption is a toxic which has been meal in the mind of erroneous people in the society. We can see corruption in almost most parts of the world, but I would like to focus more on Africa and how the people there suffer because of these mal practices practiced by the people who have power and authority. If the people who have the power and authority to govern the people rather, than serving them starts asking them for a bribe for they service they need to give them, the society will never flourish. Corruption is a big cause of disparities in the civilization and community. It affects the evolution and progress of the country in all features like socially, economically and politically.

In relation to the records of the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, Remi Adekoya argues that ‘Jonathan 's record on corruption is a disgrace’. To buttress this, a recent report from Human Rights Watch states that ‘endemic public sector corruption continued to undermine the enjoyment of social and economic rights in Nigeria’. Former President Jonathan did not deny that his administration was undermined by systemic grand corruption as he has constantly referred to it as ‘common stealing’. He has been accused by even his political allies of only paying lip service while encouraging corruption through his “body language”. Recently, Jonathan received a letter from Obasanjo with ‘vitriolic criticisms, which include comparing Mr Jonathan’s rule to that of the late General Sani Abacha, the widely hated former military dictator’. In the eighteen paged letter, Mr Obasanjo accused Mr Jonathan of failing to tackle Nigeria’s many problems, in particular, the endemic grand corruption.

Corruption refers to the use of public goods or power for the benefit of an individual or a group of people. Referring to what the definition says, a corruption situation could occur in an organization that is actively handling money, and the people who are responsible of managing it within the institution take advantage of it for personal purposes. Corruption is a problem that occurs worldwide but it is more common in some countries than in others. It is more likely to happen in poorer countries.

2.2 Limitation to grand corruption One of the most famous typologies of corruption analysed in anti-corruption research is that of grand18 and petty corruption, although no international or national legal instruments provides expressly for this distinction. Thus, there is no legal definition for the term „grand corruption‟, with the effect that the concept and its prerequisites remain controversial.19 2.2.1 Qualitative element: powerful high-level authority Originally,20 the level of authority where corruption takes place has exclusively determined the distinction between grand and petty corruption. Whilst grand corruption takes place at the policy formulation end of politics, thus at the highest levels of political authority, petty corruption, also labelled as bureaucratic or administrative corruption, occurs in the public administration, at the implementation end of politics. For instance, payments to mid- and low-level government officials, such as police or immigration officers, demanding bribes constitute petty corruption. Beyond controversy, high-level authorities encompass prominent figures such as heads of States, heads of governments and ministers. However, the precise scope of high-level authority remains subject to debate.21 2.2.2 Quantitative element: large-scale corruption Increasingly, authors focus also on quantitative aspects to draw a line between grand and petty corruption.22 Typically, grand corruption is committed on a large scale and involves 18 The term „grand corruption‟ was first used by Moody-Stuart in The Good Business Guide to Bribery (TI 1994). He defined it as „the misuse of public power by heads of State, ministers, and top officials for private pecuniary profit.‟; Jayawickrama N „Corruption - A Violation of Human Rights?‟ available at http://resources.transparency.bg/download.html?id=219 (accessed 26 October 2013). 19 On the differentiation between grand and petty corruption, see Mashali B „Analyzing the relationship between perceived grand corruption and petty corruption in developing countries: case study of Iran‟ (2012) 78 International Review of Administrative Sciences 777 et seq. 20 Moody-Stuart (note 18) based his concept merely on the hierarchy of the perpetrator

Corruption has been an emerging issue in Africa within the context of government administration systems. Corruption in Africa involves the unprofessional conduct of authority of those who hold power and people in authority misuse the power by looking for personal increase which they are assigned. Segregation and poverty increase do to corruption, because of politics that are living a bountiful life, many of Africans are lacking from their basic needs such as education, housing, food, right to use clean water and hygiene. Wong & Gomes (2014) describes corruption in the governance of Africa in two parts, the historical and the social-economic. “Corruption is principally a governance issue, a challenge to African democratic functioning. It is a failure of both institutions and the larger framework of social, judicial, political and economic checks and balances needed to govern effectively. When these formal and informal institutional systems are severely weakened by corrupt practices, it becomes harder to implement and enforce laws and policies that ensure accountability and transparency ((Bamidele. O, 2013)”.

The lower status accorded to socio-economic rights in domestic legislations is reflected in the 1999 Nigeria Constitution where chapter II classify them as “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principle of State Policy” rather than a “Fundamental Right”. However, as argued in chapter three of this thesis, the issues of enforceability of socio-economic rights in Nigeria may still be realisable given certain defined parameters. Yet, 100% of the interviewee strongly argued that grand corruption would still undermine the realisation of socio-economic right even if they are made a fundamental right in Nigeria. Hence, the recommendation is that socio-economic rights should be made justiciable. Furthermore, the government should exhibit the political will and seriousness to combat grand corruption.