CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY IN THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY DR. GODWIN CHUKWUDUM NWAOBI
[email protected] 234-08035925021 QUANTITATIVE ECONOMIC RESEARCH BUREAU P.O. BOX 240, GWAGWALADA, ABUJA NIGERIA, WEST AFRICA ABSTRACT Nigeria is going through a difficult political and economic transition after forty years of independence. Yet, Nigeria remains a society rich in cultural, linguistic, religious, ethnic and political diversity. Today, the average Nigerian struggles hard to make ends meet; sees himself or herself as being poorer than he or she was a decade ago; and finds it hard to be hopeful that things will get better soon. It is against this background that this project sets out to increase the knowledge about state capacity in Nigeria by taking stock of economic and governance issues. Using a simple growth model, we illustrate the interrelationships between natural resources, corruption and economic growth in Nigeria; as well as proposing anti-corruption policies for Nigeria. KEY WORDS: ECONOMIC GROWTH, NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMIC GROWTH, NATURAL RESOURCES, CORRUPTION, BRIBERY, GOVERNANCE, NIGERIAN ECONOMY JEL: Q4, Q32, D73, H3, K00, O1 1.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT “Father in Heaven, you always provide for all your creatures so that all may live as you have willed. You have blessed our country Nigeria with rich human and natural resources to be used to your honor and glory and for the well being of every Nigerian. We are deeply sorry for the wrong use of these your gifts and blessing through acts of injustice, bribery and corruption, as a result of which many of our people are hungry, sick, ignorant and defenseless. Father, you alone can heal us and our nation of this sickness.