Analytical skills for policy practice: A social policy framework to address corruption as a social problem for development in Nigeria

Abstract

Corruption is a dishonest exploitation or use of power for personal gain. It is the extreme act of immorality and depravity, the state of being corrupt and rotten. Corruption destroys the entire societal fabric as it undermines the effectiveness of government’s social policies aimed at providing social or welfare services to citizenry; and even those policies aimed at fighting its continue existence. This paper examines critically the various ways through which corruption had became institutionalized in Nigeria and its subsequent impact on political culture and behaviour on the one hand and its implications for development on the other hand. The paper hypothesized that the institutionalization of corruption leads to an overall change in the value-system and norms of behavior in a society. This was eventually related exclusively to politics and the manifestations of corruption in the political arena were discussed.