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Between Corruption and Development: The Political Economy of State Robbery in Nigeria

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Abstract

The study is based on the hypothesis that there is a link between corruption and underdevelopment and that corruption is responsible for the shortcomings and poor performance of the Nigerian political economy. In addition to examining the historical trajectory of corruption in Nigeria, this paper delves into the underlying causes of corruption as well as its cumulative impact on national development in the country. Lastly, the paper assesses some public and private sector initiatives that have been taken and that might stem the tide of corruption.

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Notes

  1. From the land of Lilliput, in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, where the people are only 15 cm high.

  2. I am indebted to the reviewer of this manuscript for bringing this salient point to my attention.

  3. Source: Article 4. African Union Convention on Combating Corruption and Related Offences, 2003.

  4. Felix Machi Njoku, “Nigeria at 40: Putting Africa’s Giant Back on its Feet.” In Pan African News Agency, Sept. 30, 2000. Available at WESTLAW, Africa News Library (quoting President Obasanjo).

  5. Excerpts of President Obasanjo’s Speech, BBC NEWS WORLD MEDIA WATCH, May 29, 1999, Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/monitoring/newsid_356000/356120.stm.

  6. The title of this paper derives from this work.

  7. In fact, the street riots that engulfed many African countries in the late 1980s and early 1990s were due partly to salary arrears in the public sectors of many of these countries (Van de Walle 1994).

  8. Others have also argued that the current administration of due process causes a lot of delay, and therefore hampers the full implementation of the appropriation act passed by the National Assembly.

  9. Detailed information about the initiative can be found on the Global EITI website www.eitransparency.org (and on the Nigerian EITI-NEITI-Website, www.neiti.org.ng.

  10. Many people have taken it for granted that the various goals identified by EITI are all bundled together and particularly that (a) better transparency will lead to better governance and accountability, and (b) these in turn will foster growth and reduce poverty.

  11. See, for example, Leaving a Legacy of Transparency in Nigeria, Revenue Watch Institute Policy Brief, April 2007, pp. 3–4.

  12. Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: Audit of the Period 1999–2004 (Popular Version), http://www.neiti.org.ng/files-pdf/PopularVersionof1stAudit.pdf.

  13. Background Paper on the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative: Measures to Enhance Petroleum Revenue Transparency for Public Information and Policy Making, http://www.neiti.org.ng/files-pdf/BACKGROUND%20PAPER%20THE%20NEITI.pdf.

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  1. Department of Development Studies, University of Cambridge, Magdalene College, Cambridge, CB3 0AG, UK

    Daniel Egiegba Agbiboa

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Agbiboa, D.E. Between Corruption and Development: The Political Economy of State Robbery in Nigeria. J Bus Ethics 108, 325–345 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1093-5

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