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Background Nigeria is located in West Africa and it is the most populated country in Africa. The country's name was chosen by the wife of Lord Lugard, who was appointed as governor of the country during colonial times. The name comes from a combination of the words "Niger, " the country's longest river, and "area. " Some of its major cities are Abuja, its capital, Lagos, its former capital, Ibadan, Osogbo, Port Harcourt, and Enugu. Nigeria has a long and varied history. The earliest known civilization of Nigeria is that of the Nok, an iron age people that inhabited the Jos plateau in north-eastern Nigeria from 500 B. C.
to 200 B. C. After the Nok, the Knew-Bornu Empire facilitated trade between north and south Nigeria until the Ife, Of, and Benin kingdoms developed elaborate political systems in the south from the 15 th to 17 th century. The North was governed loose by Usman dan Folio of the Islamic empire.
Coastal ports were developed from the 17 th to 19 th centuries as the slave trade took root. After the slave trade ended, Britain colonized both north and south Nigeria in 1914. World War II inspired enough nationalism in Nigeria to convince Britain to give the country some independence. However it was not until 1960, 25 years later, that Nigeria recieved full sovereignty. It is at this point in time that begins Nigeria's history of a self-governing struggle that involves a series of military coups, broken promises, and never-ending oppression and denial of human rights. Before their independence was recieved, elections were held in 1959.
The three parties to choose from were National Council of Nigerian and the Cameroons (NCNC) of eastern Nigeria, the Northern People's Congress (NPC) of the north, and the Action Group (AG) of the west. After the elections failed and no one was elected, the NCNC and the NPC joined and began Nigeria's first government. Controversy within the government began as early as 1962 when the AG split-off to form the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP). In the following years, the Mid-Western Region was formed from part of the Western Region, the government changed into a republic, and the NCNC claimed that the 1963 population census was overestimated in favor of the north to give them more representation in federal parliament. After only 6 years of sovereignty, the first of many military coups took over the Nigerian government in 1966.
This military rule was stopped by Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, who took over and promised a progressive agenda and a return to civilian government. Aguiyi-Ironsi broke his promise when he dissolved all legislative bodies, banned political parties, and formed a Federal Military Government with the purpose of centralising government. This was the start of Nigeria's recent history of struggle within its government. As years followed, struggle, strife, and violence ensued.
Only a year after the first military coup, Nigeria's first civil war began. After 3 years, air bombings and starvation ended the war in 1970. In 1974, another promise was broken, the promise of the government to return to civilian rule. A year later, the next military coup took over and promised a return to civilian rule.
After the leader of the current military rule died, another military coup attempted to take over, and a new leader was chosen who eventually brought civilian rule to Nigeria in 1979. After the elections in 1983, the same president was elected, however many people believed this election was rigged which caused another military coup the same year. This new military leader put off bringing civilian rule in favor of reviving the economy while restricting freedom of the press, suppressing criticism of the government, and outlawing many organizations. After another military coup in 1985, the promise of civilian rule was broken twice in the every nineties. Finally, in 1999, Nigeria held elections for its return to civilian rule.
The same president, Olusegun Obasanjo, won the 2003 elections however many doubt the continuation of Nigeria's democracy with the upcoming 2007 elections. Statement of the problem Assuming that the current democracy continues and is not taken over by another military coup, the current problem in Nigeria is poverty. The main cause of poverty in Nigeria, and in most of Africa is corruption. This term is very general and it is hard to grasp why exactly this is a cause of poverty but only examples of corruption can shed light on why Nigeria is poor. Police officers routinely set up roadblocks, sometimes every few hundred yards, to recieve bribes of 20 naira, about 15 cents, from drivers. The governors of each of the 36 states of Nigeria enjoy immunity from prosecution because of a clause in the Constitution.
In one state, near the Niger delta, more than $ 25 million has been spent on the governor's mansion, according to budgets on file. The fence enclosing the mansion alone cost $ 5. 7 million. The Poverty Eradication Committee, whose purpose is not explained, has a budget of about $ 23, 000, according to the 2005 spending plan. That is a little more than half of what is budgeted for toiletries for state officials.
Over the past 40 years, or since the beginning of Nigeria's sovereignty, Nigerian leaders have stolen or misspent $ 400 billion of government money. Corruption in Nigeria is very severe and versatile; severe because Transparency International (an international anti-corruption non governmental organization) has ranked Nigeria over the last few years as the 2 nd worst corrupt nation on the earth; and versatile becuase corruption is found in nearly every facet of government. The political corruption affects how decisions are made which manipulates political institutions and rules of procedure. Bureaucratic corruption, or "street level" corruption procures illegitimate funds from the public. It affects citizens daily in places like hospitals, schools, local licensing offices, encounters with the police, and taxing offices. Electoral corruption involves purchase of votes, promises of office or special favors, coercion, intimidation, and interference with freedom of election.
Other forms of corruption in Nigeria include embezzlement and bribery of government officials and the corruption of the people who are corrupt only because they are trying to survive without jobs. The problem of poverty in Nigeria is simply that the leaders of the nation do not care about the people or the economy and that there is not enough initiative to enforce consequences on Nigeria's 36 governors. They are happy living in luxury and ignoring the economy, or the lack thereof. Statement of solution What Nigeria needs to cure its rampant corruption is an institution that can punish and reward the actions of government and business officials.
This institution should be free from corruption by being a non-governmental organization and by having no powers that can be taken advantage of. All of the spending's of this institution should be completely transparent in order to prevent its otherwise imminent corruption in Nigeria. In order to punish those corrupt, the institution should have powers to investigate those in suspicion of corruption and powers to prosecute outside of the corrupt government. To reward those not corrupt and those who promote non-corruption in Nigeria, the institution should have sufficient access to the media in order to publicize the achievement of those helping stop corruption in Nigeria. As far as "street level" corruption and and the corruption of the people to survive is concerned, I believe that this corruption will go away once their business and government is free of corruption and an economy is developed, which will bring employment to the people who will no longer have a need to be corrupt. I believe that this idea can work because it promotes non-corruption, but isn't ignored because of its powers.
This idea also gives someone that corrupt officials of Nigeria must answer to, whereas before they were free to be corrupt with hardly any consequence.
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Research essay sample on North And South Military Coup
