1.1 Introduction
Corruption is conscious attempt to secure wealth, power and misuse of public power through illicit means to satisfy a selfish interest at public expense. Corruption like insects has lived with human society for a very long time and has remained a major problem in many of the world’s developing economies with harmful consequences.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Corruption as a popular event and a severe challenge facing every country, it exists and functions in different degrees in various countries. It is not only found in democratic and dictatorial politics, but also in feudal, capitalist and socialist economies. The practice of corruption is not an issue that just begins today; but the history is as old as the world. Scot (2007: 3) said that even official corruption requires an element of covertness to work on a continuous basis. To him, the interesting point about corruption anywhere in the world is that it requires mutual understanding to work and prosper in it. It is not an ad-hoc and incidental affair like gift taking, which seldom happens by chance. Rather, it is an internally organized and well- coordinated arrangement between principals and agents or patrons and clients.
The Church with its institutional strength and moral sanity should be able to pose frontal attack against corruption in Imo State. Its voice has to be strong enough to fight against the spate of corruption, which has been looming large in the society. The Church which is the moral light of the society should be able to light up the dark clouds of corruption that has closed Imo State. It is the expectation of the researcher that the work will help Imo State Government and the Church to reflect on the best strategy for fighting against corruption and redeeming the society from the apparent socio-economic and political decay.
The dishonesty, conversion, diversion and theft of peoples funds and resources, has done more harm than good in the country, leaving us (Nigerians) with a bad reputation and a negative perception of being a mistrusted and dysfunctional country. This fact have been seen to be beyond human understanding that Nigeria, the giant of Africa, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil and a country with numerous natural resources till date has 70 percent of its population living below the poverty line, as an outcome of corruption and economic mismanagement. Majority of Nigerians appear to have no other choice than to approve and accept corruption as a conventional way of life; it is now like the food that nourishes the body in the country.
The Nigerian government remains distant from serving the interest of its people. The powerful mandarin who built vast patronage networks during the military days and their personal fortunes dominates politics at the federal state, and local levels of the Nigerian federation. Moreover, many of those so-called “godfathers” have been cultivating personal militias to secure their positions, promoting a local arm race in some regions… even though several governors one under indictment for money laundering abroad and others are being investigated at home. The bonanza continues at public coffers for these power holders, while basic infrastructure in many parts of the country remains as dilapidated as it was under military rule.
Irrespective of the hardship begotten by corruption and mismanagement of the nation’s resources, the relationship between corruption and underdevelopment is infrequently made by the citizenry and this makes the suspended hangingwar against corruption more difficult to tackle. Corruption is a very disgusting violation of citizens’ human rights and needs to be looked into as such. Calls have been made for a completely look into the judicial system; enactment of very strict, productive laws and the reinvestment of proceeds recovered from corrupt individuals in the development of much needed infrastructure to foster the nation’s economy. It is obvious that public officials need to be promoted to a higher level of accountability and the infliction of punitive measures that provide deterrence need to become strict in the system.
Therefore, in Imo State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Role of Church in Combating Corruption among Political office Holder.
1.3 Statement of Problems
The Church with its institutional strength and moral sanity should be able to pose frontal attack against corruption in Imo State. Its voice has to be strong enough to fight against the spate of corruption, which has been looming large in the society. The Church which is the moral light of the society should be able to light up the dark clouds of corruption that has closed Imo State.
Corruption is ubiquitous phenomenon, as old as human existence and has adversely affected the society since time immemorial. It is the expectation of the researcher that the work will help Imo State Government and Church to reflect on the best strategy for fighting against corruption and redeeming her society from the apparent socio-economic and political decay. It is the expectation of the researcher that the work will help Imo State Government and the Church to reflect on the best strategy for fighting against corruption and redeeming the society from the apparent socio-economic and political decay.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Role of Church in Combating Corruption among Political office Holder. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To determine the nature of relationship between the Church and political leaders in Imo State;
- To ascertain the extent the corruption has eaten deep and replicated itself among political office holders in Imo State;
- To examine how the Church with its institutional strength and spiritual authority could wage war against corruption in Imo and redeemed the State from socio-economic and political decay.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Has corruption eaten deep and replicated itself among political office holders in Imo State?
- Does Church have its institutional strength and spiritual authority that could wage war against corruption in Imo State?
- What is the nature of relationship between the Church and political leaders in Imo State?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
- H0: There is no significant relationship between the Church and political leaders in Imo State
- H1: There is a significant relationship between the Church and political leaders in Imo State
1.7 Significance of Study
This study on the role of the Church in combating corruption in Imo State is of enormous practical and theoretical or academic importance. Indeed, this research is greatly significant because it is not only contemporaneous, but also apposite particularly at this historic juncture when Nigeria is conscientious in fighting against corruption, therefore it will serve as a source of information to the members of the public.
The significance and choice of the Imo State crisis for this evaluation of Nigeria's democratic experiment is that it provided a platform for the assessment of the performance of the existing democratic institution in Nigeria. It is no exaggeration that that corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of the society. This is highly perpetrated by all and sundry but with high profile among the people in the governance both at Federal and State levels.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Role of Church in Combating Corruption among Political office Holder in Imo State.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Operational Definition of Terms
Corruption: Dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers)
Economy: The process or system by which goods and services are produced, sold, and bought in a country or region.
Religion: Religion as feelings, acts in the experiences of individuals in their solitude, and stands in relation to whatever that is considered divine.
Corruption: In broad terms, corruption is the abuse or misuse of public or government power for illegitimate private advantage.
