Corruption Control and Political Stability in Nigeria: Implication for Value Re-Orientation in Politics

Abstract

There is a clear indication that politics in Nigeria has been the opposite of what it is in the developed countries. African politicians are still backward in terms of their values such as unfulfilled promises, political corruption, greed, violence, tribalism and intimidation. The premise of this study is on how corruption impacts on the development of Nigeria and Africa in general. Corruption is said to manifest through fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, inflation of contracts, sexual harassment, bribery and others. Corruption is also seen to be caused by misplaced sense of values, lack of accountability and transparency in government, greed, discrimination in wealth distribution and others. There is noticeable negative impact of corruption on the social, political and economic life of Nigerians resulting in political instability, erosion of cherished cultural values, economic distortion and underdevelopment. The paper proffers ways of controlling corruption to include, behaviuor modification, transparency in governance, political will and sustainability of democracy. The study is of the view that with diligent implementation of its recommendations Africans can enjoy dividends of democracy and develop.