Abstract
In spite of Nigeria’s rich human and natural resources endowment, endemic corruption has constituted a serious impediment to sustainable development. Nigeria was ranked 148 out of 180 countries in 2017 by the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which shows that the country is very corrupt. The application of false paradigm model of faulty and inappropriate advice provided by well-meaning but often uninformed and biased international expert advisers has also exacerbated Nigeria’s underdevelopment. This paper reviews some theories of growth and development and identifies corruption as a bane of sustainable development in Nigeria. It also postulates a home-grown recipe for accelerating sustainable development in Nigeria to include: forward integration of primary industries and backward integration of manufacturing industries, economic diversification, zero tolerance for and stiffer penalty against corruption at the household, firm and government levels. Therefore, a strict execution of the above would go a long way in fast-tracking sustainable development in Nigeria and thereby make the country one of the most desirable destinations in the world. Keywords: Corruption, Recipe, Growth and development theories, Sustainable development, Nigeria DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-16-03 Publication date: August 31 st 2021
Highlights
After over five decades of independence, Nigeria is still struggling to achieve sustainable development which has become a mirage
With a Gross Domestic Product of USD 578 billion as at 2014, Nigeria became the largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa (Oyesola, 2016)
The economy is yet to achieve the necessary structural changes required to jump-start rapid and sustainable growth and development. It is characterized by narrow productive base and weak sectoral linkages (Abasilim, Ayoola & Odeyemi, 2017). They further aver that primary production comprising agriculture, mining and quarrying dominates national output and the contribution of the manufacturing sector is small in terms of gross output, contribution to growth, foreign exchange earnings, government revenues and employment generation
Summary
After over five decades of independence, Nigeria is still struggling to achieve sustainable development which has become a mirage. The economy is yet to achieve the necessary structural changes required to jump-start rapid and sustainable growth and development. It is characterized by narrow productive base and weak sectoral linkages (Abasilim, Ayoola & Odeyemi, 2017). They further aver that primary production comprising agriculture, mining and quarrying (inclusive of oil and gas) dominates national output and the contribution of the manufacturing sector is small in terms of gross output, contribution to growth, foreign exchange earnings, government revenues and employment generation. The business environment has been unfriendly largely because of epileptic power supply, insecurity and unfavourable policies Against this backdrop, many manufacturing firms have relocated to countries with a more conducive business climate. Many manufacturing firms have relocated to countries with a more conducive business climate. York (2015) notes that the Nigerian currency is weakening, government revenue has dropped dramatically, civil servants’ salaries are delayed, many construction projects have been suspended and layoffs have begun
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