Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

The underdevelopment Nigeria is witnessing today is worsened by monumental political corruption that cuts across all facets of governance in Nigeria. Hence, this paper explores the nexus between democracy, corruption, and underdevelopment in the country with particular reference to her fourth republic. The empirical literature evidences have shown that mismanagement of the country’s resources courtesy of corruption has further sentenced Nigerian citizenry to abject penury. The study pinpoints the devastating effect of corruption on the socio-economic fabric of the country. The paper concludes that unless capital punishment is meted out to corrupt political officials and political offices made less attractive among other recommendations, corruption that breeds underdevelopment will continue unfettered regardless of perception about democracy as the government of the people by the people and for the people.