Pyramidal Public Corruption : Public Policy and Bad Governance -- Nigerian Perspective

This study was designed to analyze the relationship between corruption and bad governance. The issue of corruption subsists in Nigeria since Political Independence in 1960 despite various reforms aimed at curbing it. Because of the extent of pyramidal corruption in Nigeria, some researchers tend to draw a link between corruption and bureaucratic rules, processes, and the political system due to overwhelming evidence of misuse of public resources for personal enrichment. Corruption characterized by the abuse of entrusted power for private gain lies at the heart of the categorization of Nigeria as the 144th most corrupt nation in the universe. Governance as the interplay of politics, public policy and ideology cannot be impeded by limited resources as people often say, but by lack of political will and sound ideas, and mostly, by pyramidal public corruption. Political will helps to build the popular trust toward democracy and lend the national anticorruption efforts additional credibility. The survey research design was used for the study. Data generated were coded, classified and analyzed using the Chi-Square statistical technique. The study found a strong positive relationship between public corruption and bad governance