Executive corruption in Nigeria: a critical overview of its socio-economic implications for development

Abstract

In the recent times, the issue of executive corruption has taken a front burner. Simply defined as corruptive practices involving politicians, policy makers, bureaucrats, top members of business community, the paper argued that the phenomenon is very rampant in Nigeria. Tracing the evolution of executive corruption in the country through the colonial period to the present dispensation, the paper showed that the malaise has a long historical past. Locating the theoretical explanation of this phenomenon within the purview of political economy, the paper argued that executive corruption may have resulted in squandering of trust, high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime and poor infrastructural development in the country. The paper therefore suggested that fight against the cankerworm must be integrative rather selective.

African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Vol. 8(1) 2005: 21-41