EFFECT AND CAUSES OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIAN PUBLIC SERVICE. ( A CASE STUDY OF THE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE OWERRI, IMO STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

According to Max Weber he defined bureaucracy as an organization with a hierarchy of paid, full-time officials who formed a chain of command and these are concerned with the business of administration with controlling, managing and coordinating a complex series of task. Bureaucracy is a system of control, it is a hierarchical organization in which superiors strictly control and discipline the activities of the subordinates. ORUEBOR, A.A (2007:142) According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2000) defines corruption as “dishonest or illegal behavior, especially of people in authority; the act or effect or making somebody change from moral to immoral standards of behavior” corruption is a deviation from following the normal accepted standard of behavior by a public official in order to serve social economic or political interest. CHINELO AROH (2010:50).

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The Nigerian police Authority have and will continue to be one of the prime mores of development in different parts of the world and their importance and impact on daily activities of citizens cannot be over emphasized. Before the independence of Nigeria in 1960, public relations practice was not popular because only a few Nigerians know what it was. In Nigeria, public relation was introduced on 1^st January, 1944 with the establishment of the first ever public relations office in the country though it was not popular. The lack of adequate knowledge of public relations as a career and the absence of public relation programmes for understanding its practice hindered many Nigerian organizations until recently, when the Federal Republic of Nigeria promulgated Decree No.16 of June,1990,establishing and upholding the practice of public relations in Nigeria.

The origin of the police is a product of social crisis in the society. The word Police is derived from the Greek word “polis” meaning that part of non ecclesiastical administration having to do with the safety, health and order of the state. Policing and police work did not start as a paid profession. It started as a noble, incorruptible and distinction. It was the justices of the peace system, which corrupted the parish constable system. The 1960 constitution established the Nigerian police force as a federal force charged with the responsibility for maintenance of law and order throughout Nigeria. However, the constitution did not prevent the regions from establishing their own local police force. The command of the Nigerian police force was under the inspector general of police (IGP) while those of the regions were under the command of commissioners of police. Recently, the Nigerian police force (NPF) dropped the force in its name and now answers the Nigerian police. Do not be surprised to read the Nigerian police in place of the Nigerian police force.

The Nigerian police is grouped into departments A-F;  “A” department takes care of administration personnel promotion, dismissal, transfer and posting, medical budgeting, pay and accounts, public relations and printing etc. “B” department and “F” have their own respective duties, our major concern is “A” department where public relations belongs or categorized.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Here, the unfortunate aspect of corruption in Nigeria is that there are enabling laws to fight it but the leadership find it difficult to enforce these laws. The menace of corruption leads to slow movement of files in the offices, police extortion e.g. “In collecting twenty naira from bus drivers causing traffic congestion and even road accidents if any of the drivers refuses to give them money, they will start shooting guns to deflate their tires. The funds allocated for their welfare disappear into this air. Thus, it is believed by many in the society that corruption is endemic in all government. Corruption is found in democratic and dictation politics, feudal, capitalist and socialist economies.

The leaders as well as their followers are corrupt. If there is lack of control of corruption in every sphere in the nation, it is then like the old saying “When water chokes you, what do you take to wash it down?”(The philosophy of Aristotle, 451-ME2783, p.355). Corruption is as a result of man made factors such as greedy people, especially our leaders, who are not contented with what they have so that they will use public funds for selfish gains. Also, many people in Nigeria, especially the youths want to get-rich-quick, so that they indulge in all types of crimes to make money, kidnapping, electoral fund (thuggery), armed robbery, yahoo yahoo, 419, the list is endless, yet the elders who are to correct them end in praising them. Nigerian police force was known in the eighties and nineties for early dispatch of services, result oriented performance and high productivity.

1.3       OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The aim and objective of this project are as follows:

1. To solve the problem of corruption in the Nigerian public service for better governance.
2. To know how bureaucracy structure and control encourage the police force to achieve its objectives.
3. To find out how bureaucracy improve decision making.
4. To ascertain how bureaucracy improve productivity.

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTION

1. `Why is corruption a viable enterprise in the 3^rd world, nay, Nigeria?
2. To what extent does the poor living condition and welfare of the police affect their performance?
3. To what extent does police brutality and extortion damage its image to the public?
4. How cordial is the relationship between the police and the press?
5. To what extent do the Nigerian police effectively handle crowd and crisis management?

The purpose of this research is to answer the uplisted research questions that bother both the police and civilians in the state.

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1. The findings in this study shall be of immense help to administrators and managers in correcting animates coherent in a bureaucracy set up.
2. It will aid the government and television authority to avoid bureaucracy bottle neck, red tapism and i do not care attitude portrayed by workers.
3. It will help the police force also in boasting productivity.
4. Corporate bodies and entrepreneurs that wish to share their own business police force would find this study invaluable in their endeavours.
5. Academically, it will help other researchers in further research analysis.

1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Since in large police force corruption in eminent and inevitable for the success of such television authority, the study shall focus on Nigerian police authority and due to its structural largeness the study shall be narrowed down to the administrative sections.

1.7       LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

In the study, the researcher encountered certain constraints that impede the academic work. These are:

1. Time Constraints: This posed as a limitation to the study, as the time frame work constructed by the department for the kick off of the study was incompatible with out academic work load.
2. Unwillingness of staff to give out information: The researcher myself could not gather as much information and facts due to non compliance and non-cha/llant attitude of respondents of workers against the study.
3. Funding: Due to economic problem, the researcher myself is faced with lack of adequate finance was not available for mobilisation of the work.

1.8       DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. An organization: This is a group of people who forms a business together to achieve a goal.
2. Bureaucracy: This is the official rules and ways of doing things that a government or the police force has with positions of an authority will defined hierarchically so as to facilitate the attainment of police force goals.
3. Administration: This is seen from a government perspective where it is being used as a machinery for implementing government policy.
4. Objectives: Something that one tries to achieve, it is also the aim or goals the police force or government seek to achieve.
5. Hierarchy: This is a system with grades of authority or status from the lowest to the highest. At each level of the hierarchy, officials enjoy the right of issuing directives to subordinates who have the duty to obey them.