Corruption, money laundering and Nigeria’s crisis of development
| Published date | 07 October 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-08-2018-0082 |
| Date | 07 October 2019 |
| Pages | 1133-1145 |
| Author | Adebisi Arewa |
| Subject Matter | Financial risk/company failure,Financial crime |
Corruption, money laundering and
Nigeria’s crisis of development
Adebisi Arewa
Department of International Law, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies,
Lagos, Nigeria
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper isto demonstrate the congruence between Nigeria’s unremittingrule
of law deficit, corruptionpandemic and its crisis of developmentalism. The paper proves that marketfailures
and state failures are mutuallyreinforcing and are functions of systemic official corruptionin the private and
public sectorsof the Nigerian economy.
Design/methodology/approach –This study is library-based.It relies on secondary data generated by
the variegated multilateral agencies, law reports of international and municipal tribunals, relevant books,
journals,monographs policy papers and so forth as the basis of analysis.
Findings –Findings suggest that Nigeria’scorruption pandemic is a derivative of its unremitting rule of
law deficit and that its crisis of developmentalism is a logicalfunction of the pervasive normlessness, very
wide latitude for discretion,arbitrariness, weak institutions and lack of centrality of law and its institutions,
which characteriseits body politik.
Social implications –Systemic corruption in Nigeria affectsthe citizens’perception of social justice and
equity and undermines economic efficiency. It has also distorted the work reward causality, which has
engendereda rentier social-economic order.
Originality/value –By first demonstrating the congruence between Nigeria’s rule of law deficit,
corruption and economic and governancefailure; the paper focusses on the total breakdown of norms in the
Nigerian private and public sectors and resultant stultification of economic growth, sustainable human
developmentand pervasive impoverishment of the citizenry.
Keywords Rule of law deficit, Corruption pandemic, Nigeria’s crisis of development
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The paper argues the thesis that Nigeria’s corruption pandemic is a logical derivative of its
unremitting rule of law deficit since 1960. Its polity is characterised by pervasive
normlessness, very wide latitude for discretionand arbitrariness, weak institutions, and the
lack of centrality of law and its institutions.It posits that the inorganic state of its legal order
and collapse of the parliamentary system negates the creation of an environment of formal
rational law, whichimpels all public and private actors to behave and conduct themselvesin
a development inducingmanner that induces development and devoid of arbitrariness.
Systemic official corruption is a national crisis in Nigeria. It placed 148 out of 180
countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2017. Nigeria has
become a society in which corruptionis institutionalised and systemic.
The critical importance of addressing this rampant corruption is evident in that
corruption is a major factor in the country’s prevalent poverty and an important
contributing factor to the difficulties of life experienced by its citizens. A 2016 survey
conducted by a consortium of institutions showed that households perceived corruption
as being third only to unemployment as an impediment to development (UNODC; NBS;
EU, 2017).
Nigeria’s
crisis of
development
1133
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.26 No. 4, 2019
pp. 1133-1145
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-08-2018-0082
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