Governance, Corruption and Underdevelopment in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

Abstract

Governance is a series of public activities that entail making choices in the public interest for the well-being of a nation. Corrupt practices have polluted these activities. Corruption in Nigeria is not just widespread but also systemic and responsible largely for the country’s underdevelopment. The main objective is to probe the implications of governance and corruption on development in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic utilizing qualitative research design and content analyses. The paper is guided by Social Learning Theory (SLT) propagated by Albert Bandura arguing that corruption is pervasive in Nigeria because people watch and learn from those in positions of governance. The study traces the foundation of corruption in governance from the colonial era and relates with the dimensions of corruption to governance in Nigeria, from where the justifications, motivations and implications of corruption are identified and discussed, and concludes that corruption in governance has undermined economic growth and development, worsened social services, neglected environmental pollution, challenged peace and security, heightened electoral frauds and scared foreign investments. It recommends the reappraisal of the anti-corruption strategy among others.