Corruption is a global phenomenon that
has hindered global development. Though it is not peculiar to a region or
continent, there are areas that the effect of corruption are felt more than
others; Africa is one of such places. According to an article by Nick Dearden,
African leaders have impoverished the continent through corruption that many
countries rely on foreign aid which is even redirected by these same leaders
into to their personal gains rather than people oriented projects. Nigeria is
one country known worldwide for the issue of corruption most especially bureaucratic
corruption. This is a corruption that occurs in public administration where
public office holders embezzle the funds meant for the citizenry.
A nongovernmental group known as the
Transparency International has designed a means of measuring the rate of
corruption in about 178 countries. The model is known as Transparency
Perceptions Index (TPI) where countries are rated 10 to 1 with the highest
number being the most transparent country and the lowest number indicates the
most corrupt. From its 2010 rating, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are
tied at the top of the list with a score of 9.3, followed closely by Finland
and Sweden at 9.2. At the bottom is Somalia with a score of 1.1, slightly
trailing Myanmar and Afghanistan at 1.4 and Iraq at 1.5. Nigeria is rated
number 134 most transparent country in the world with 2.2 (see: http://www.transparency.org/
cpi2010/results).
A nation with over 250 ethnic groups and finely divided
into two religions (Christianity and Islam) has had a series of division using
those classifications. Could these reasons be the root of Nigeria corruption or
it goes beyond that?
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