Chapter 2 Literature Review and Theoretical Frame Work

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CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW

2 THEORETICAL FRAME WORK

For the purpose of this research, we will be looking at two different theories to

juxtapose our literature on the concept of corruption. These theories include:

Observational Learning Theory

Psychology of needs Theory

2.1 OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING THEORY

According to Bandura (1986) much of what we learn is obtained by observing

others, and that this is much more efficient than learning through direct

experience because it spares us countless responses that might be followed bypunishment or no reinforcement of any kind. The people whose behavior is

observed are referred to as models.

Learning through modeling involves cognitive processes and is not based simply

on imitation since the learner adds and subtracts from the observed behavior and

generalizes from one observation to another. Certain factors determine whether

we are going to learn from a model in a given situation or not. One of the key

moderator variables is the characteristics of the model; we are more likely to

model powerful people than inept ones, high status people rather those of low

status, and so forth.

A second moderator variable concerns the characteristics of the observer.

People of low status, education, or power are more likely to model than people

high on these attributes. A third factor refers to the consequences of the

observed behavior on the model. If the person greatly values the behavior being

observer, there is a greater likelihood that it will be modeled. But even of more

crucial importance for the paper is the impact on learning when a model is

punished for a given behavior. Observers learn to refrain from modeling a

behavior that produces severe punishment to the model. For example, a person

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who sees another being punished for corruption might not wait to receive the

same punishment before deciding to refrain from this activity.

Finally, Bandura (1986, 1988) identified four main processes that are crucial for

observational learning which includes attention, retention/representation,

behavioral production, and motivation. In order to learn through observation, you

must attend to the model. Factors that regulate attention include the frequency

with which we associate with people, whether or not we are attracted to them,

and whether we think the behavior is important and can yield some profit to us.

Second, we must be able to make some mental representation of what we have

witnessed in memory, since we may not have the occasion to use an observed

behavior for up to several years. Behavioral production involves the process of

converting the mental representations into appropriate actions. For instance, you

may remember that someone cheated on his taxes or embezzled money that

was entrusted under his care, but can you perform the same feat? Lastly,

observational learning is most effective when observers are motivated to enact

the modeled behavior. Your motivation may depend on whether you encounter a

situation in which you believe that the response is likely to lead to favorable

consequences for you.

It is obvious that many Nigerians see cases of corruption everywhere. Many of

the kickbacks received by top officials go through intermediaries, some of who

are subordinates of these officials. People who are hitherto living from hand to

mouth often begin to build houses and are commonly seen driving around in

flashy cars shortly after being appointed to "lucrative" positions that grant them

access to money or influence. Therefore, attending to the behavior of the model

is not a problem here. It is also certain that these people are able to remember

the corrupt activities that they have observed.

A number of instances have shown that they are able to reproduce the observed

behavior. In the early 1980s, there was reason to believe that some financial

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mismanagement or embezzlement had taken place at Nigerian

Telecommunications Limited (Nitel). Just as a financial audit of the establishment

began, there was a fire incident at Necom House, Nitels headquarters in Lagos

that destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. Almost 15 years after, the

renovations on the building have yet to be completed. Not surprisingly, the fire

started at the floor on which the finance department was located. Shortly

thereafter, there was a series of fire incidents involving ministries and parastatals

with impending financial probes that coincidentally involved the burning of vital

financial records.

It is not difficult to see the motivation in modeling the corrupt practices that have

been attended to, retained, and with which these people have an ample capacity

to reproduce. This factor will be elaborated upon in the next section where we

focus on why the phenomenon of corruption has proliferated to new levels.

Suffice it to say at this juncture that there is the obvious need to take care of the

several demands of the immediate and extended family. There is also the factor

of simply aspiring to be like other big shots and generally get societal recognition

through the award of traditional titles and other self-aggrandizing projects. But

even more fundamental than these factors, we believe, is the basic insecurity

from not knowing whether there would be any other opportunity to place one in a

situation where worrying about basic problems such as feeding the family or

fulfilling other basic obligations would no longer be a problem. We will return to

this factor later.

The second important issue about observational learning involves the factors that

determine whether or not a particular behavior will be modeled. We indicated

earlier that one of the key determinants relates to the consequences to the model

for engaging in a specific behavior. The question one may ask is: "what typically

happens to people who engage in corruption in Nigeria?"

The answer is, hardly anything at all. People clearly see individuals, not only

including, but especially the military, whose only source of income is supposedly

the salary, living up to several times above their means. Yet, few, if any of these

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people are ever questioned, let alone tried for these apparent corrupt practices.

Once in a while when a top official is retired, rumors go on for some time that the

retirement was due to embezzlement, but it remains at the level of rumors. The

official announcements usually indicate something like "retired in the public

interest," but these people are often allowed to keep their questionably acquired

wealth.

It is common knowledge today that the best time to embezzle money in Nigeria is

during a military regime because the military is never probed. To the present day,

no probe has covered an era in which the military was in power. A number of

people claimed to have identified General Obasanjos ballot during the 1979

elections and suggest that he voted for the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

They go on to suggest that his electoral choice was based on his fear of the

publicly stated intent of the presidential candidate of the Unity Party of Nigeria,

Chief Awolowo, that he would probe the Obasanjo regime. We may never be

able to verify this claim, but thus far nothing has happened to warrant an outright

dismissal of that viewpoint. Even the so-called no-nonsense Buhari/Idiagbon

administration limited their probe to the period between October 1979 and

December 1983. The various tribunals made a joke of what started off as a good

idea. But even then, all those who were jailed during those trials are not only out,

but some are holding key positions in government today.

Even the General Abdulsallam Abubakar regime that is supposedly cleaning up

the corruption that took place under Abachas reign does not seem to have

punished those who were not only caught, but made to return large sums of the

money they had allegedly stolen. It is our argument that a good deal of the

prevailing corruption is due, at least in part ,to the processes of observational

learning discussed above, especially regarding the fact that this behavior yields a

high modeling rate owing to the absence of punishing consequences to the

models. What is the deterrent to corrupt behavior in Nigeria?

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2.1.1 THEORY OF HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

There is a general consensus that corruption in Nigeria is at an all-time high. It is

common to hear people remark that you can not trust anyone in Nigeria

anymore. Why this dramatic increase in the rate of corruption in Nigeria?

Although the prevalence of corruption can be explained in part by observational

learning, this theory seems inadequate to explain this steep rise in corruption. It

is our contention that the concept of hierarchy of needs gives a better account of

this proliferation. As with observational learning theory, a brief description of the

concept might be necessary to effectively espouse this connection.

The concept of hierarchy of needs derives from Maslows (1943, 1970) more

general theory of motivation and is based on the assumption that people are

persistently motivated by one need or another. When one need is satisfied, it

ordinarily loses its motivational power and is replaced by another one. Thus, as

long as peoples hunger needs are frustrated, they will strive for food, but once

they have enough food, they move to other needs such as housing. According to

Maslow, basic or lower-level needs must be satisfied at least to some reasonable

degree before higher-level needs become motivators. What this means

essentially is that needs are arranged on a sort of a ladder, with each ascending

step representing a higher need, but one less basic to survival. Lower needs

must be satisfied in order for people to strive for higher needs. Thus, a person

who holds an office job may be satisfying higher-level needs such as esteem, but

if he becomes hungry, will leave his work in search of food. The following are

Maslows needs in order of prepotency (predominance): physiological, safety,

love and belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization.

Physiological needs include food, water, oxygen, and so forth. They are the most

basic or prepotent of all. People who are truly hungry are motivated to eat, not

make friends or gain prestige. People from affluent societies have their hunger

needs satisfied as a matter of course, so when they say they are hungry, they

are really talking about appetite; a hungry person is unlikely to be fussy about the

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temperature or texture of food. Physiological needs are different from other

needs in at least two important ways. First, they are the only needs that can be

completely satisfied. However, they also have the attribute of recurrence. Even

when we have had more than enough to eat, we will eventually get hungry and

have to eat again. The other needs do not constantly recur.

When the physiological needs are fairly satisfied, we become motivated by safety

needs, including physical security, law and order, freedom from threats of illness,

danger, anxiety, and so forth. Love and belongingness needs are next after

safety and include the desire for friendship, the wish for mate and children, the

need to belong to a club, etcetera. Once these are satisfied, people then move to

pursue esteem needs, such as confidence, self-respect, and the esteem of

others. The final step is the move to self-actualization which Maslow suggests is

not an automatic step. In fact he contends that very few people step over this

threshold. A very essential component of this postulation relates to the fact that

even if one attains the upper-level needs, once the lower, more basic needs are

deprived, the person ignores the higher needs in order to address the basic one.

How does one apply this to the proliferation of corruption in Nigeria? Until a few

years ago, most of the basic needs on Maslows hierarchy were adequately

satisfied by a majority of Nigerians.

People had enough food to eat, and could fulfill their basic needs. In fact, in the

case of a majority of officer level personnel, most of the safety and to some

extent, belongingness needs were also met. A sizeable proportion of the people

were striving for esteem needs, it would seem. Then, beginning gradually during

the waning days of the Shagari regime in 1983, and through the various

structural adjustment programs involving devaluation of the naira, the resultant

inflation, massive reduction in the work force, and so forth, the quality of live for

most Nigerians reduced by a quantum leap.

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Many senior civil servants and even people in the private sector can barely make

ends meet. A good proportion of workers salaries cannot adequately cover the

food costs, tuition fees, transportation to work, and other basic amenities. Prior to

now, a good percentage of people had climbed up the ladder of needs and were

striving for such upper-level needs as esteem and recognition. University

lecturers could think of publishing and being competitively placed with colleagues

at similar levels in other countries. People within the regular civil service could

aspire to reach the top in their various areas of service in order to have that

sense of fulfillment. It was conceivable then to see how these kinds of people

would ignore the corrupt route to the top, because it would tarnish that for which

they fervently aspired. It would appear that these most basic needs are now

deprived and therefore, people are no longer worried about self-respect or

recognition to the same degree, since the lower needs must first be satisfied.

Inflation has grown at rates way beyond the pensions. Therefore, even those not

threatened in terms of job security do not find solace in the fact that they will work

until they retire. The general misconception that corruption is more prevalent

among high status members of society. The reality is that a good deal of

corruption goes on at the low levels - from local government employees to

community-level personnel. The difference derives from access to the resources

at their disposal, even the involvement of people who appear to be well-off can

still be explained under this theory because of the perceived uncertainty of their

situation.

According to Maslow, thwarting of basic needs leads to some kind of pathology

that can result in people lying, cheating, stealing, or even killing. It appears that

what is important is not so much the availability of the resource necessary to

satisfy the need in question, but the confidence that it will be there when needed.

People who live in areas that are at war live in constant fear even when their

homes are not in the process of being attacked because they know that this can

happen at any time. In like manner, the person who seems to have enough

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money but continues to engage in corrupt activities may be doing so because of

the uncertainty of his or her position and thus may want to accumulate as much

as possible so that even when the job or status is not there tomorrow, he may

still have the means to support self and family. Thus, the accumulation

constitutes a pathology arising from the fear of being deprived of physiological

and safety needs. Since job security was high and pensions were adequate for

the basic needs of most retirees in the era prior to the proliferation of corruption,

it is plausible that this factor may be responsible, at least in part, for the current

proliferation of corruption in Nigeria.

2.2 LITERATURE REVIEW

CORRUPTION: A CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION

There have been a number of different attempts at defining corruption. However

no precise definition can be found which applies to all forms, types and degrees

of corruption, or which would be acceptable universally.

According to Oxford English Dictionary (OED) the term corruption in political

context is defined as Perversion or favor, the use or existence of corrupt

practices, especially in a state, public corruption, etc.

One of the most popular definition of corruption was given by Leslie Palmier

(1983, p.207). According to this definition corruption is seen as the use of public

office for private advantage.

Herbert Werlin (1973: 73) defines corruption as the "diversion of public resources

to non public purposes." In Africa many people see corruption as a practical

problem involving the "outright theft, embezzlement of funds or other

appropriation of state property, nepotism and the granting of favours to personal

acquaintances, and the abuse of public authority and position to exact payments

and privileges" (Harsch 1993: 33). Joseph Nye (1967: 419) argues that

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corruption involves "behavior which deviates from the normal duties of a public

role because of private-regarding (family, close clique), pecuniary or status gain;

or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of private-regarding

influence.

Jacob van Klaveren believes that a corrupt bureaucrat regards his office as a

business from which he is able to extract extra-legal income. As a result, the civil

servant's total compensation "does not depend on an ethical evaluation of his

usefulness for the common good but precisely upon the market situation and his

talents for finding the point of maximal gain on the public's demand curve

(Klaveren 1990: 26). As part of his definition of corruption, Nathaniel Leff (1964:

8) includes "bribery to obtain foreign exchange, import, export, investment or

production licenses, or to avoid paying taxes." According to Carl Friedrich (1990:

15), individuals are said to be engaging in corruption when they are granted

power by society to perform certain public duties but, as a result of the

expectation of a personal reward or gain (be it monetary or otherwise), undertake

actions that reduce the welfare of society or damage the public interest

Arnold Heidenheimer (1993 p. 25) Montesquieu saw corruption as the

dysfunctional process by which a good political order is perverted into evil one

and a monarchy into a despotism. According to Rosseau political corruption is a

necessary consequence of the struggle for power. Then he argued "that man had

been corrupted by social and political life. It is not the corruption of man which

destroyed the political system but the political system which corrupts and

destroys man." Arnold Heidenheimer (1993 p. 25) There is an agreement

between the views of Rosseau and Lord Acton that "all powers tends to corrupt

and absolute powers corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton is focused on the moral

depravity which power is believed to cause in man, "they no longer think about

what is right action or manner, but only about which is expedient action or

manner." Arnold Heidenheimer (1993 p. 16)

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According to Carl Fredrich (1972 p.18) "Corruption is a kind of behavior which

deviates from the norm actually prevalent or behaved to prevail in a given

context, such as the political. It is deviant behavior associated with a particular

motivation, namely that of private gain at public expense." So he stated the

concept of corruption in a way that constitutes a break of law or of standards of

high moral conduct.

Jacob Van Klavaren (1954, p.25) defines corruption as the exploitation of the

public. And he brought very interesting explanation taking a public official as an

economic subject who, as every economic subject, tries to minimize his gain or

income. Thus corruption is always an exploitation of the public, which can occur

only because the civil servants occupy a constitutionally independent position

vis-a-vis the public."

According to Friedrich (1966, pp.174-5) the use of public office for private

advantage is not always widely perceived in a given society to be corrupt.

"Particularly if an individual making personal gain is simultaneously making a

positive contribution to the society-there is no necessary contradiction between

private advantages and contributing to the general good-many citizens will see

such actions as at least acceptable and sometimes even just reward."

Corruption in developing countries is often believed to arise from the clash or

conflict between traditional values and the imported norms that accompany

modernization and socio-political development. Bureaucratic corruption is seen

by some researchers, then, as an unavoidable outcome of modernization and

development (Alam 1989, Bayley 1966). David Bayley (1966: 720) argues that

"corruption, while being tied particularly to the act of bribery, is a general term

covering the misuse of authority as a result of considerations of personal gain,

which need not be monetary."

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As one of the oldest and most perplexing phenomenon in human society,

corruption exist in every country in the contemporary world and it is not

exclusively a problem of developing countries. The classical concept of

corruption as a general disease of the body politics was stated by ancient

political philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Plato in his theory of the "perverted"

constitutions-Democracy, oligarchy, and tyranny-worried that these regimes

instead of being guided by the law were serving the interest of the rulers. "These

fundamental general notions of corruption all practically define corruption as

dysfunctional. For it is seen as destructive of a particular political order, be it

monarchy, aristocracy, or polity, the latter a constitutionally limited popular rule,

and thus by definition devoid of any function within a political order." This classic

conception of corruption continued into modern times, and is central to the

political thought of Machiavelli, Montesquieu and Rosseau. For Machiavelli

corruption was process by which the virtue of the citizen was undermined and

eventually destroyed. "Since most men are weak and lacking in the virtue of the

good citizen except when inspired by a great leader, the process of corruption is

ever threatening. And when virtue has been corrupted, a heroic leader must

appear who in rebuilding the political order infuses this virtue into the entire

citizenry."

2.3 TYPES OF CORRUPTION

The type of corrupt activities prevalent in Nigeria includes:

Political corruption

Bureaucratic corruption

Electoral corruption

Embezzlement and bribery

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Political corruption: takes place at the highest levels of political authority, is a

corruption of greed. It affects the manner in which decisions are made,

manipulates and distorts political institutions and rules of procedure.

Bureaucratic corruption: which occurs in the public administration" or the

implementation end of politics, is the low level and street level corruption. This

is the type of corruption the citizens encounter daily at places like the hospitals,

schools, local licensing offices, encounters with the police, taxing offices, etc. It is

petty -corruption of need - that occurs when one obtains a business from the

public sector through inappropriate procedure.

Electoral corruption: includes purchase of votes, promises of office or special

favors, coercion, intimidation and interference with freedom of election, and

corruption in the offices involves sales of legislative votes, administrative, or

judicial decision, or governmental appointment.

Other forms of corruption include embezzlement (theft of public resources by

public officials) and bribery (persuade to act improperly by a gift of money, etc).

2.4 FORMS OF CORRUPTION

Katsenelinbogen (1983, p236) identifies two basic forms of corruption.

Actions whose harmful effects on society are questionable. According to

Katsenelinbogen, this form of corruption involves redesigning the system

and legalizing the appropriate actions of people in it.

Actions that unambiguously harm society. Such acts should be treated as

corrupt and criminal."

Then Arnold Heindehmer (1970 pp.3-28) goes further and identifies three basic

categories of corruption 'black', 'white' and 'gray'. Depending on the level of

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commonality of perception of a given act by public officials and citizens. 'White'

acts are more or less accepted by both groups, whereas 'Grey' acts are those

about which both officials and citizens disagree. 'Black' acts are perceived as

wrong by both officials and citizens.

Leslie Palmier (1983, p.207) use of public office for private gain. This definition is

both simple and sufficiently broad to cover most of the corruption that we face,

and it is also widely used in literature. Public office offers many opportunities for

private gain. Bribesare one of the main tools of corruption. The Oxford English

Dictionary defines a bribe as a reward given to pervert the judgment or corrupt

the conduct. A bribe consists of an offer of money by an outside party to secure

desired action from the governmental officials. Bribes can influence the choice of

private parties to supply public goods and services and the exact terms of those

supply contracts.

According to Robert Thobabeen (1991, p.62) buying contracts can be called also

Kickbacks "when government officials may use their bargaining power with

contractors and their discretion in awarding contracts to obtain a fee or service

charge for arraigning the contract. A percentage, usually five percent, of the

contracts is returned or kicked back to the public officials by the contractor."

According to World Bank report (1997 p.20)

Bribes can influence the allocation of monetary benefits (for evasion, subsidies,

pensions or unemployment insurance.) Bribes can be used to reduce amount of

taxes or other fees collected by government from private parties. In many

countries tax bill is negotiable. Bribes may be demanded or offered for the

issuance of license that conveys an exclusive right, such as a land development

concession or exploitation of a natural rescores. Sometimes politicians and

bureaucrats deliberately put in place policies that crate control rights, which they

profit from by selling. Bribes can speed up the governments granting of

permission to carry out legal activities. Bribes can alter outcomes of the legal and

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regulatory process, by inducing the government either to fail to stop illegal

activities or to unduly favor party over another in court or other legal proceeding."

The converse of bribery is extortion, the abuse or threat of power in such a ways

to secure response in payment of money or other valuable things. Extortion

according to the Oxford English Dictionary "is the act or practice of extorting

(defined as either to wrest or wring from a person, extract by torture or to obtain

from a reluctant person by violence, torture, intimidation, or abuse of legal or

official authority, or in a weaker sense by importing, overwhelming arguments or

any powerful influence) or wresting especially money, from a person by force on

by undue exercise of authority or power."

Another form of corruption is the large-scale spontaneous privatization of

state assets by enterprise managers and other officials in some transition

economies. According to Leslie Holmes (1999, p.5) the process of privatization

which is ultimately implemented by the state provides new opportunities to state

officials. They can demand or request bribes and kickbacks from private agents

interested in purchasing a formerly state-owned business. At the other end of the

scale is petty theft of items such as office equipment and stationary, vehicles and

fuel. The perpetrators of petty theft are usually middle and lower-level officials,

compensating, in some cases, for inadequate salaries.

Theft of government financial resourcesis another form of corruption, officials

may pocket tax revenues or fees (often with the collusion of the payer, in effect

combining theft with bribery) steal cash from treasures, extend advances to

themselves that are never repaid, or draw pay for fictitious ghost workers, a

pattern well documented in the reports of audit authorities. For example former

Philippines president Ferdinant Morcos was accused of stealing millions of

dollars, much of it in American foreign aid. In another example in Iran-Contra

affair in which profits from the sale of US government property (antitank and

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antiaircraft missiles) were diverted to private arms dealers and to

counterrevolutionaries in Latin America.

Robert Thobabeen (1991, p.63) brings another form of corruption Influence

Peddling when individuals with access to people in high places are sometimes

tempted to trade on the influence of high ranking government officials. "There is

money to be made through sale of access, the arrangement of contracts and

timely intervention to secure favorable disposition of regulatory decisions and

government contract. The use of these kinds of connections for personal gain is

usually described as influence peddling."

Patronage is another form of corruption. The assignment of government

positions to political supporters has long been a practice in politics. While civil

service regulations at the national and state level may effectively curtail the

number of patronage jobs, political appointments remain at the top levels of

government and provide a legitimate way for elected politicians to influence

bureaucracy through the appointment of legal executive officials. The process

becomes corrupt when appointees are expected to pay for their jobs. The custom

of rewarding wealthy campaign contributors with appointments as ambassadors

has been traditional in presidential politics.

Leslie Holmes (1993, p.205) brings three major forms of patronage. These are

the following.

Nepotism In this context "is the granting of public office on the bases of family

ties. This is a good example of a point where different cultures have very

different attitudes towards some forms of corruption.

Shared experience "there the patron and client have usually worked together in

the past and are on good terms and the patron promotes or has promoted the

client on the basis of these past experience and warm relationship."

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Shared InterestIn this case, the patron does not have common experience with

someone he she wishes to promote, but rather a common interest" (for example,

they both come from the same republic and/or are of same ethnic group; they

both favor a large increase in defense expenditure in contrast to what others

want, they are of the same gender.)

Corruption in a society can be rare or widespread. If it is rare, consisting of a few

individual acts, it is straightforward to detect and punish. In such cases non

corrupt behavior is the norm, and institutions in both the public and private sector

support integrity in public life such institutions, both formal and informal, are

sufficiently strong to return to a non corrupt, equilibrium In contrast, corruption is

systemic where bribery, or a large or small scale, is routine in leading between

the public sector and firms or individuals. Where systemic corruption exists,

formal and informal rules are at odds with one another bribery may be illegal but

is understood by everyone to be routine in transactions with the government.

There are many countries in which bribery characterizes the rules of the game in

private public interactions.

So it should be now clear that there are a number of ways of defining corruption.

The term corruption can not be defined satisfactorily; similarly it is not possible to

provide a classification that is suitable for all. In this chapter I tried to focus the

types, concepts, and definitions of corruption existing in the world.

2.4 CAUSES OF CORRUPTION

If we take the human nature as a base we may explore why all political systems

have experienced corruption. But it does not explain why some officials engage

in corruption while others do not. These differences we can understand by

making apparent the causes and opportunities for corruption. As we have seen

above there are many different definitions of corruption and, consequently, the

causes and opportunities for corruption are also expected to be many in number..

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Leslie Holmes (1993 p.157) the causes of corruption are divided into three

categories:

Cultural

Psychological

System-related.

Cultural factor: In many countries certain types of corruption are more or less

acceptable often depending on the scale in the traditional political culture. Some

countries have more of a reputation for corruption particularly because of

traditional attitudes towards family, kinship, etc.

For example Leiken Robert (1997) writes of the Africa that

"In postcolonial Africa, neo patrimonial regimes become the rule, and the state

emerged as an extension of the ruler's household, patronage, ethnic and kinship

ties, and bribes became major modes of governance. Corruption funded

patronage to Kinsman and crimes have exacerbated regional, tribal, religious,

and ethnic divisions. The International Forum for Democratic Studies estimates

that in oil-rich Nigeria some $12.2 billion in government revenue was divested to

"Extra-Budgetary accounts" between 1988 and 1994, and there are no records of

how these funds were used. Nigerians themselves wait in mile-long lines for gas,

and Nigeria now imports nearly 70 per cent of its petroleum. Unfinished pipelines,

financed by loans from multilateral development banks that have been pocketed

by government officials, tell a large part of the story. Oil earnings do less to feed

Nigerians then to enrich their corrupt rulers who instantly transfer their pickings to

foreign banks."

Cultural factoris a weak tradition of the rule of law and low level of respect for

the law. According to Holmes (1993 p. 159) "several of the Asian states were

formerly colonies and "the law" has been seen by some citizens as theirs' and

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therefore not respected in the same way that it might be in a long-established

independent country, such as many western states."

Conversely according to West German specialists in 1986 in GDR corruption was

in very low levels, which can be explained by the German tradition of respect for

law and order.

In Nigeria also there is evidence that people do not trust in or do not respect the

law. Many tax collectors ensure that, although they are inclined to take bribes, in

most cases taxpayers themselves offer bribes. People in Nigeria mainly are

inclined to solve their problems with the help of bribes and not with the help of

law. Bribing tax collectors, traffic police, and judges publicly perceived as a way

of life.

Psychological factor: There are number of psychological factors that help to

explain some types of corruption. Taking into account the internal factors of

individuals some individuals are "naturally evil" and will commit criminal acts,

including corrupt ones in any type of system. The external factors, individual's

relationship to the group is also important. According to Holmes (1993, p. 165)

the power of both peer pressure and peer-comparison can be great, for instance

in the words of one artist when the best of people take bribes, isn't it the fool

who doesn't?

In other words if individuals see others around them benefiting from corruption,

they may well choose to indulge too. The psychological factor may have some

role of causing corruption in Nigeria. People who work in a position that can take

bribes and don't use their chance they will be considered by their coworkers as

stupid men. So under the pressure of this factor many public officials during

some period of time become corrupted. But in many cases because people

choose their new job depending on the scale of opportunity for taking bribes and

they know they should take bribe because this is the way of life.

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According to Holmes (1993, p.170) The other psychological factor that is fear

also can encourage people to act corruptly. For example in a hierarchical

situation a subordinate may fear the consequences of not acting in a similar way

to his/her corrupt superior. Another type of fear, which was more widespread

during soviet times, is the fear of under fulfillment of the plan that may encourage

public officials to act corruptly. This fear may lead individuals to engage in corrupt

practices, either in order actually to fulfill the plan or else to appear to have done

so (the false reporting syndrome).

According to Holmes (1993) nepotism also as a form of corruption can be

explained in psychological term.The blood is thicker than water" syndrome

wanting to help one's family. Nepotism can be explained in terms of individuals

seeking to maximize their own power and the lust for power is a psychological

variable.

System related factors: One of the factors that distinguish post-communist

states from transitional societies elsewhere is that they have been undergoing

multiple and simultaneous transitions since the collapse of communist power in

1989-1991. In addition they had to introduce fundamental economic, legal,

ideological and social change. Many also had to redefine their boundaries and

identities, and realign themselves in international military and trading block.

The sheer scope of attempted change is one significant reason why most post-

communist states have suffered a severe legislative lag in the past decade. This

lag has meant that laws have often been either in essence non-existence or else

vague and contradictory. This situation is ripe for both corruption and organized

crime.

Klitgaard, R. (1998) brings three dimensions of institutional structure that he

considers most critical in bearing on the opportunities for corruption.

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1. The monopoly power of officials.

2. The degree of discretion that officials are permitted to exercise.

3. The degree to which there are systems of accountability and transparency in

an institution.

When officials have monopoly power over provision of a government good it is

crucial for explaining the incidence of corruption without theft. Monopoly power

could exist for the legal reason that a certain officials are the only charged with

performing a certain task. Whether an official will be in a favorable position to

extract bribes from clients depends not only on whether they have a monopoly

over their particular activity, but also upon the rules and regulations regarding the

distribution of government goods.

The greater the amount of discretion which is given to an agent, the more

opportunities there will be for agents to give "favorable" interpretations of

government rules and regulations to businesses in exchange for illegal payments

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REFERENCES

Ayua, I. (ed.). Proceedings of the National Conference on the Problems of

Corruption in Nigeria, 26 29 March 2001, Abuja.

Daily Times, 14 June, 2001.

Daily Champion, 5 April, 2001.

Ebirim, Innocent. Human Trafficking: Economic Implications, New

Nigerian, 25 February 2002.

Ike, Benjamin. The Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act,

2000, New Nigerian, 15 September, 2000.

International Center for Economic Growth, Information Brief 6, Causes

and effects of Corruption, Nairobi, 1999.

Lyday, Corbin B. The Shadow Market in Human Beings: An Anti-

Corruption Perspective. Paper Presented at Transparency Internationals

10 th International Anti-Corruption Conference, Prague, Czech Republic,

October 7 11, 2001.

Odunuga, Yomi. Ex-police Chief, 50 others arrested for human

trafficking, Punch, 2 August, 2001, p.3.

Transparency International and Key Centre for Ethics, Justice and

Governance, Australian National Integrity Systems Assessment,

Queensland Handbook, 2001.

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Uzor, Ben. Tackling Women Trafficking through Constructive

Engagements, Daily Times, October 8, 2001, p.28.

Women Aid International Press Release (http://www.womenaid.org).

World Bank Helping Countries Combat Corruption: The Role of the World

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Corbin B. Lyday, The Shadow Market in Human Beings: An Anti-

Corruption Perspective, Paper Presented at Transparency Internationals

10th International Anti-Corruption Conference, Prague, Czech Republic,

October 7 11, 2001.

Ayua (ed.) Proceedings of the National Conference on the Problems of

Corruption in Nigeria, 26 29 March 2001, Abuja.

Innocent Ebirim, Human Trafficking: Economic Implications, New

Nigerian, 25 February 2002, p. 9.

Daily Times, 14 June 2001, p. 4.

Daily Champion, 5 April 2001, p. 21.

Ben Uzor, Tackling Women Trafficking through constructive

Engagements, Daily Times, 8 October 2001, p. 28.

Yomi Odunuga, Ex-police Chief, 50 others arrested for human trafficking

Punch, 2 August 2001, p. 3.

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Benjamin Ike, The Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act,

2000, New Nigerian, 15 September 2000.

Transparency International and Key Center for Ethics, Justice and

Governance, Australian National Integrity Systems Assessment,

Queensland Handbook, 2001.

Bayley, H. David. (1966) The Effects of Corruption In a Developing Nation.

Western Political Quarterly XIX, 4 December 1966 pp.719-32 Quoted in

Heidenheimer, J. Arnold;

Heidenheimer, A. (1970a) Political Corruption. New York: Holt, Rinehart

and Wiston ? Quoted in Holmes Leslie, (1993) The End of Communist

Power. Anti-Corruption Campaign and Legitimation Crisis, New York:

Oxford University Press

Katsenelinboigen, A. (1983) Corruption in the USSR. Some

Methodological Notes. In Clarke (1983a) pp. 200-38. Quoted in Holmes

Leslie, (1993) The End of Communist Power.

Anti-Corruption Campaign and Legitimation Crisis, New York: Oxford

University Press

Kaufmann, Daniel. (1997) Economic Corruption. Published in Foreign

Policy Summer 1997 pp.114-131.

Leff, N. (1979) Economic Development through Bureaucratic Corruption.

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Nye, J. S. (1967) Corruption and Political Development. A Cost-Benefit

Analysis. Political Science Review. LXI2 June 1967 pp.417-27 Quoted in

Heidenheimer, J. Arnold; Michaek

Johnston; and Victor T. Le Vine. (1993) Political Corruption. New Jersey:

Transaction Publishers

Tanzi, Vito. (1995) Corruption, Government Activities, and Markets. In the

Economics of Organized Crime, edited by Gianduca Fiorentini and San

Pettrman, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tanzi, Vito and Hamid, Davoodi. (1997) Corruption Public Investment and

Growth. IMF Working Paper 97/139, Washington: International Monetary

Fund

World Bank. (1997) Corruption and Economic Development (WebPage:

http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/corruption/cor02.htm)

Chapter 2 Literature Review and Theoretical Frame Work

Documents

Transcript of Chapter 2 Literature Review and Theoretical Frame Work