Political corruption and economic growth in Nigeria

Abstract

Contrary to the Western liberal school that argued that corruption is a product of moral laxity or decadence; lack of common standard of morality, growing cultural and religious decay, we posit that the root of corruption should not be sought in the value and attitude of individuals in the society rather in the nature of social relations of production. Despite the efforts by political leaderships to evolve anti- corruption strategies, agencies and programmes in Nigeria especially under President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007), the incidence of corruption remains the major enemy of economic growth. Owners of capital and investors consider the Nigerian economy as unsafe for investment due to the prevalence of corrupt political leaderships. In this paper, we explore the impact of political corruption on economic growth in Nigeria since the return of democratic government in 1999. Data was collected largely from documented evidence and analyzed with qualitative descriptive method.