DEMOCRATISATION OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF ITS SOCIO-POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

Corruption is among the series of problems and challenges faced by the Nigerian State. The ferocious nature of the spread of the evil of corruption in Nigeria has left many citizens to believe and think that the phenomenon has become highly accepted as culture and is at present a democratized notion in our state. It is seemingly democratized in the sense that out of one hundred Nigerians, over ninety five are corrupt and do not see anything bad in the glorification of the act. There is no institution in Nigeria that can be singled out to be corrupt free. Indeed, the problem of corruption has attained the height of a pandemic in the country and has infiltrated into the family, the school at all levels, the government including the three levels of government and their respective organs or arms, the sacred sanctuary of God without exemption of any of the denominations, it does not also isolate any sex or age bracket nor does it respect the marital status of the individual, it does not recognize the poor or the wealthy nor does it look at ones educational qualification or lack of it. Corruption no doubt like the law of the land is no respecter of persons, government as well as powers. This paper aims at looking at Corruption in Nigeria and how it has grown in all facets of our life and how it has impacted on the socio- politico and economic aspects of the Nigeria state. The paper also makes an in-depth discovery on the causes and effects of corruption in the various sectors and institutions in the country and offered suggestions and recommendations on the way forward but not without looking at the laws applied in Nigeria to address the evil of corruption.