ABSTRACT:

Apparently, democracy, with all its defects, has been adjudged the best form of government in the world. Granted that democratic governance is a political process which the people at the helm of affairs render political, economic, and social servicesfor the overall benefit of the citizens of the state, corruption is an evil and hydra-headed monster that wreaks havoc on economic and socio political development of the state. It is a negation of the principle of social justice, accountability and transparency in the exercise of corporate responsibility. It is against its background, that this paper examines the veracity or otherwise of these mutually but diametrically opposed concepts with regards to national development. The wave ofcorruption permeating the public and private sectors of the nation; the underlying political process which encourages justice, equality, fraternity, and liberty rather than injustice, inequality, domination and hostility among the people of the state is being sacrificed on the profane altar of corruption by a few unpatriotic Nigerians. This paper therefore addresses the problems of corruption that have severely limited and significantly weakened the capacity of the political stmctures to petform governmental functions and provide the needed infrastructure to improve the conditions of living of Nigerians.