Nigeria became an independent nation on the 1st October 1960 a country richly endowed with monumental geographical and diverse natural resources ranging from crude oil to gas Nigeria possesses potential market ability for rapid economic development. However, in spite of these obvious resources and its advantage, Nigeria remains a poor and underdeveloped country. Scholars have achieved and advanced several reasons to explain this parlous and depleting state. One of the major and prominent factors advanced is corruption.
Corruption has been a major problem in Nigeria since independence, numerous state institutions have become dysfunctional because of large-scale corrupt practices, Projects are routinely abandoned, and no one is brought to book, public goods and resources are diverted to private ends. Corruption endangers the good governance and the democracy we see today, Corruption was cited as one of the more prominent reasons for Nigeria’s first military coup by the coups of January 15th, 1966 military putsch, Massive corruption and resources brigandage also were cited as reasons for the military takes over by the regime of Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon on December 31st, 1983.No society can achieve its full potentials if allows corruption to become a full-blown cancer as it has become in our nation.
Corruption is a global phenomenon. It occurs in both the developed and the developing countries of the world. The difference however is that in the developed countries, it does not obstruct the normal functioning of state and social system in the same way, because there are established ways of dealing with the problem. Corruption is however of special concern in developing countries. In the countries where poverty is widespread, those who pay and receive bribes further expropriate the nation’s wealth leaving little for its poorest citizens. In such situations where corruption is systemic, even countries with extensive natural resources may fail to develop in a way that benefits the ordinary citizen.
According to Michael (1997: 69-90) corruption is of a symptom of deeper difficulties in the society where it is prevalent and usually operates within the broader context of other social problems. Thus, corruption is associated with slow economic growth, reduced investment feeble property and contract right, effective institution, limited social interaction and weak rule of law, poor economic competitiveness, deep ethnic division and conflicts. Low popular participation in polities of civil liberty, low educational attainment, and closed economic and political systems. In other words, corruption is pervasive in underdeveloped societies and there is hardly effective means of combating the cankerworm. In Nigeria, corruption is a pervasive phenomenon; corrupt practices have become synonymous with governance and consequently, have become the bane of Nigerian society. According to Ake (1976: 3), the widespread corruption of public officials could be attributed to the economic weakness of the Nigeria ruling class, as fact that he in turn attributes to the colonial experience and to the dependence of the Nigeria economy on international capitalism.
Corruption is not a recent phenomenon in Nigeria society. As noted by Ayose (2005: 87). On February 26, 1952 during the dying days of colonialism, the Emir of Gwandu moved a motion in the Northern House of Chief. “That this house agreeing that bribery and corruption are widely prevalent in all walks of life, he recommends that Native authorities should make every effort to trace and punish offenders with strict impartiality and to educate public opinion against bribery and corruption”.
Indeed, the first anti-corruption war was launched by General Murtala Muhammed on 16th September 1975. He set up a three-man panel to investigate and examine all the assets of certain former officers to ensure that such officer have not abused their office in the acquisition of such assets. This led to the retirement of many senior public officials and the much talk about mass purge. His regime that initiated the making of the 1979 constitution provided for a code of conduct for public officers, a code of conduct Bureau for the enforcement of the prescribed behaviour and a code of conduct tribunal. The Second Republic (1979 – 1983) the Shagari administration launched an anti-corruption programme Christened ethical Revolution and even appointed a minister of cabinet rank for national guidance following his lamentation about the state of corruption in Nigeria. This was to raise awareness and hopefully change deviant behaviour into conforming one. In spite of this however, one of the reasons why his government was toppled was because of its weakness in controlling corruption. The Buhari / Idiagbon regime (1983 – 1985) the regime launch an anti-corruption programme called “war against indiscipline”. The government exhibited seriousness to fight fraud, corruption, abuse of public office or graft and other similar vices. The regime matched is pronouncement with action by not only promulgating draconian legislation to control and prevent corrupt practices but brought to book people considered to have been fraudulent of corruption.
Above all, the present administration of Muhammad Buhari has also adopted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as one of the Commissions of combating corruption. From the foregoing analysis, it is demonstrated that corruption is indeed a frightening problem in Nigeria. It pervades every segment of the national atmosphere and has overwhelmed all levels and branches of government, it undermines the goals of development, public funds are often arbitrarily handled, use for private purposes or deposited in personal account including fattening of foreign bank account. Consequently, government and social economic conditions have badly deteriorated. The crime of corruption has always been viewed with particular distaste. It is no coincidence that the word itself is also used in the phrase ‘corruption of the flesh’, to indicate decay, death and malodorous happenings. It is often coined alongside the word bribery, that is, the means by which officials are induced to become corrupt,” wrote Peter Johnston, former Chief Executive of the Scottish Institute of Chartered Accountants. Olajide F (2000) notes that there is an alarming increase in the number of fraud and fraudulent activities in Nigeria, requiring the visibility of accounting services. Therefore, many foreign investors have lost several billions of dollars to fraudsters thereby leading to reduction or even dis-investment from Nigeria and its attendant negative consequences on economic growth and development. Appropriate legislation was enacted to criminalize all corrupt conducts including unjust enrichment. Key institution like Independence Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) were established to fight corruption.
Corruption is a term with many meanings, but generally, it entails misusing one’s office for a private gain or unofficial end. It involves both monetary and non-monetary benefit. Bribery, extortion, influence peddling, nepotism, frauds, ‘grease money’, and opportunism readily spring to mind. Accounting unit serve as means of curbing corruption in Nigeria economy. According to Waziri (2009), corruption afflicts virtually all parts of Nigeria society. It has eaten deep into Nigeria value system and is now threatening to spread to the culture as public adulation for wealth has increased. In this age of high technology, fraud investigators can no longer be satisfied with just mere mouth but with accounting skills and treated by accountants with extensive knowledge of accounting information (Bressler, 2006; Manning, 2005; Ramswamy, 2005).
