The Effect of Political Corruption on Nigerian Government and Politics
Chapter One
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to examine and provide the following in depth through analysis of political stability in Nigerian government and polities.
To provide adequate political education to the Anambra youth and other politicians.
To provide suitable environment to enhance political stabilities.
To give a stop to luke warm concept of godfatherism in politics.
To provide job opportunities to Nigerian & Anambra youths to reduce the level of poverty which has been an offshoot of massive thurgry and kidnapping during election.
To give proper causation and warning to the fraudulent INEC officials on the side of their electoral fraud and regulates which has been culminating to political traumas and qaugmire in Anambra state.
To mandate the state government to delegate power to the local government level as to enhance mass participation and political enlightment.
To ensure political stability which may conversely heralds to free and fair election in Anambra state
To encourage electronic voting system in Anambra state for more effective and efficient politicking and free and fair elections.
To ensure mass participation in the political activities
To ensure adequate party ideology in Nigeria government and politics.
More so, the study has the following aim to explain why Anambra state elections had never once been conducted free and fair.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTROUCTION
According to the Africans in America news watch special report of November 19,2009. Godfathrrism is both a symptom and a cause of the violence and corruption that together permeate the political process in Nigeria, public officials who owe their position to the efforts of a political godfather incur a debt they are expected to repay without and throughout their tenure in office. Godfathers are only relevant because politicians are able to deploy violence and corruption with impurity to compete for office in contests that often effectively, and some times actually exclude Nigeria’s voters altogether. But their activities also help to reinforce the central role of violence and corruption in polities by making it even more difficult to win elected office without resorting to the illegal tactics they present. Nigeria’s godfatherism phenomenon is not unique to the ruling PDP, but as with many of the other abuses described in this report it seem most often in the conduct of PFP officials as both a cause and a result of the party’s success in maintaining its power.
What are godfathers in Nigerian electoral system?
In Nigeria, the term godfather calkla money-bags! Alkla, loan-shacks) refers to superfluously very wealthy men (no known woman yet) that finance elections.
When the godfathers sponsor election, they normally corner the government treasure and control the government in order to recoup their investment. It is more like a business enterprises. When the godfathers sponsor election, the indigenes of the state become virtually their salves until they satisfactorily get the return they want. The problem is that, the term of their investment are secret in most cases and their greed is most often insatiable. The problem of godfatherism is a subject the people of Anambra state understand very well, more than any other state in Nigeria.
In this segment of the research, attempt shall be made to review relevant literature with regards to the under consideration. I it, we hope to underscore some basic facts such as the godfatherisms, phenomenon, that is prevailing Nigerian government and politics, the madness of second tenure system, lack of local autonomy and other social vice associated with political corruptions in Nigerian government and politics.
Therefore, for effective control of corruption on Nigeria, the society must develop a culture of relative openness, in contrast to the current bureaucratic climate of secrecy. And a merit system (instead of the tribal bias, state of origin and nepotism or favoritism which have coloured the landscape) should be adopted in employment and distribution of national resources etc.
More importantly, the leadership must muster the political will to tackle the problem head on (see report on second global forum on fighting and safeguarding integrity, May 28-31, 1999). Regardless of where it occurs. The government’s human rights record remained poor, and government officials at all levels continued to commit serious abuses. Inadequate infrastructures, endemic corruption and general economic mismanagement hindered economic growth. The much of the country’s wealth remained concentrated in the hands of a small elite more than 70 percent of citizens live on less than one dollar per day. What causes corruption is likely to have a more profound and different effects in less developed countries, than in wealthy and developed societies. This is due to a variety of conditions, which cannot deviate significantly from the nature of their under development society (dye 1967). Because of the corrosive effects of corruption in national development, and given the relative limited resources or poverty in the region, Africa and indeed Nigeria, can least afford to be corrupt.
CORRUPTION AND POVERTY IN NIGERIA
Corruption pervades all levels of government in Nigeria 86 in 2006 the head of Nigeria’s economic and financial crimes committee, Nulu Rihadu, estimated that Nigeria lost some U$380 billion to corruption between independence in 196- and the end of military rule in 1999. 87 Nigeria’s corruption epidemic has continued since then. Exact figures he impossible to come by, but some western diplomats estimate that Nigeria lost a minimum average of $4billion per year to corruption over the eight years of the Obasnjo administration. 88 that figure would equal between 4.25% and 9.5% of Nigeria’s total (GDP) in 2006. To put those numbers in perspective, a loss of 9.5% of the united state GDP to corruption in 2006 should have translated into #1.25trillion in stolen funds or #222billion (GDP 108.6 billion 89) in the case of the united kingdom’s economy.
CHAPER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
DESIGN OF THE STUDY
The researcher used descriptive research design in the study of challenges of political corruption, electoral corruptions such as purchase of votes with money, promises of office or special favours, coercions, intimidation and unnecessary interference with freedom of voting right of an individuals.
Challenges of godfatherism, madness of second tenure system, nepotism, embezzlement of government funds, impeachment through corruption and intimidations, electoral riggings, stealing of ballot box and others. To face to face interview and questionnaire used find the effect of godfatherisms, madness of second tenure, excessive electoral rigging, killing, kidnapping etc in Anamra state.
AREA OF THE STUDY
This research work covers the whole (21) twenty one local governments in Anambra state and their capital (Awka).
Anambra state is located at the southeast part of Nigeria, it is the most populated state in the whole southeast states. It has landmass for agricultural and mainly for business oriented areas, because of its much populated zonal.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
The population of this study involve all the Anambra state staff both in the local levels and the state levels.
It is estimated at 2000 staff strength. The above number include both junior and senior staff in Anambra state. the researcher used simple random sampling techniques in which the sampling units are selected according to some known law of chance such that every elements in the population has equal chance being selected – in all, one thousand two hundred respondents were drawn from the population of two thousand staff.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION
As previously state., the primary data for this research work were distributed and were collected for this study out of selected strength of 500 considered relevant for the study based on the peculiar nature of the research topic from this number 45c people returned them completed. The data were presented in table and further analyzed.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
SUMMARY OF FINDIGNS
Due to the comprehensive research carried out by the researcher which was fully evaluated and analyzed, it was discovered that political instabilities necessitates to the under-development of the Nation (Nigeria).
More so, from the analysis so far, it is obvious that political stabilities serves as an instrument of socio-cultural, and economical development of a nation i.e a good governments heralds to better governance and therefore brings growth and development in a country.
On review of the existing literature or political corruption in Nigeria, government and politics, the review provided more points that socio-economic development of a nation is determined by the political condition of a place and therefore requires equality, transparency, mass participation and full democratic dispensation rather than godfatherism, madness of second tenure, electoral irregularities, riggings, thugring, intimidation and other social vices by the affected politicians and the youths.
This study therefore, focused on the promotion of political stabilities, equity, transparency, free and fair elections, justice, orderliness, effective and efficient equitable distributions of allocation resources, and democratic dispensation at the highest order in Anambra state.
CONCLUSION
Sequel to our findings, we therefore make the following conclusions that godfatherism phenomenon and mobilizing cut groups for 2007 elections are deciding factors in political corruptions in Nigerian government and politics.
That the absence of political, financial and administrative autonomy at the grassroots among the (21) local governments in Anambra state is one of the factors that culminated to high level of political illiteracy among the rural dwellers and therefore heralded to high rate of political instabilities, high level of thurgry, intimidations and mass denial of freedom of voting which consequently institutionalizing injustice by not allowing / giving rooms for democracy in Nigeria government and politics.
However, impeachment through corruption and intimidations has not been favouring the litigants (officials) and therefore is one of the factors that institutionalized injustice, by empowering the incredible leaders in the country.
Finally, that the collection of votes from where and when vote was not cast by the INCE officials is one of the situations that had demoralized the spirit of equity, justice, fairness and good conscience in Nigerian government and politics and therefore affect the political sector and the entire sectors of the economy.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Having made some research and findings, it was considered appropriate to make some recommendations, believes that this would act as an antidote (remedy) to these political upheavals, political polarizations, political quagmires and political brouhaha in Anambra state.
The researcher therefore made the following recommendations:
– That there is a need to decentralize power to the grass roots level so as to boost their political knowledge among the rural dwellers in Nigeria precisely Anambrains.
– Alternatively, there is a need to adopt electronic voting system in Nigeria to ensure free and fair election in all states in the country.
– That the lukewarm Nigerian political godfatherism should be eradicated in Nigerian government and politics to ensure transparency, equity and justice among the government officials thereby restoring peace, orderliness, harmony and political stabilities in the nation (Nigeria). in the same view, job opportunities should be created to the Nigerian youths precisely Anambra youths in order to put a stop to high level of thugryings mass frequent, kidnapping, frequent violence, intimidations and other social vices among the youths in Nigeria.
– Alternatively, there should be succession clause in constitution i.e the madness of second tenure system in Nigerian government and politics should be put to a stop by criminalizing such ambitions.
– That the system of purchasing votes with money by the Nigerian politicians should be eradicated entirely.
– In the same vein, that corruption and the finding of political violence by many public officials should be put a stop by setting up an investigating committee panel such as (EFCC) that many public officials use stolen public revenues to pay for political violence in support of their ambitions such as PDP 2003 senate campaign of Nigeria Delta and the Anambra state case study discusses another of Nigerian iconic political godfathers, Chris Uba, who is a member of PDP’s national board of trustees 2007. With the above recommendations, the 29 July 2009 kell 15:38 case study of Anambra state godfatherism in Anambra state, impeachment through corruption and intimidations.
– Mobilizing cult groups for the 2007 elections.
– The 2007 elections and their aftermath shall be things of past in Nigeria precisely Anambra state.
REFERENCE
- Alatas, S.H. (1980) The sociology of corruption Singapore time book.
- Amundsen, I.G. (1997) University of tromo search of a counter hegemony state and civil society in the struggle for democracy in African unpublished PhD thesis institute of political science.
- Abubakar, A.U. (2002), Daily trust Edo civil servants call off strike.
- Adam, P.P. (1996), Nigerian: Next Parish Africa Report may June p9 43:p9 45.
- Bayart, S.F . (1997), Beatricaila criminalization delectate an Afrigue. Paris education complex the criminalization of the state in Africa Oxford James carry.
- Bello University Press (2001) And the Osu caste system Igboland. A challenge for democracy C.M. wood house (1996), New York plume Harcot brace. Book P9 109.
- Igwe I.U. (2010), Nigerian Government and Politics. II
- special report (19TH Nov. 2009) Dangers of outside godfathers sponsoring elections in Igboland prelude to slavery.
