CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1       Background of the Study
Nigeria today, in spite of her oil and gas resources, is a poor country with 80 to 90 million Nigerians of the estimated 130 million people living in poverty. Only India and China have more poor people. Her GDP stood at about $45 billion in 2001 and a per capita income of $300. She has earned over $300 billion from oil exports since the mid 70s but her current per capita income is about 20% less than the 1975 level. She suffers under an excruciating external debt burden of about $33 billion, equivalent of 60% of the GDP. A lot of critical public infrastructure is in the decay and suffer from waste. Unemployment and inflation are in the double digits. Corruption continues to pose a major challenge to good governance. The fight against other crimes has not faired any better. Perhaps that justified the recent assertion by Jeffrey Robinson in his recent book titled “The Sink” that ‘there is no country on the planet earth to compare corruption and criminality as in Nigeria’. Although I do not accept the generalization, it is a fact that corruption and criminality of few has rubbed on the other Nigerians. It is however important to acknowledge the bold step taken by the present administration to change the tide. For the first time in the history of our country Government has stood up firmly to confront corruption from the top. Mr. President has in many public for a made it clear that he will fight corruption to a standstill. The establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices (And other Related Offences) Commission (ICPC) and the EFCC was in furtherance of that objective.
1.2       Statement of the Problem
The history of corruption is as old as the world, because ancient civilizations have traces of widespread ‘illegality and corruption’. Thus, Lipset and Lenz 2000 note that ‘’corruption has been ubiquitous in complex societies from ancient Egypt, Israel, Rome, and Greece down to the present’’. Corruption is also believed to be endemic in modern government and it is not peculiar to any continent, region, or ethnic group. This does not, however, mean that the incidence and magnitude of corruption activities are the same in every society. Some countries are obviously more corrupt: yet others have better plans in managing corrupt activities. Apparently, Nigeria is not one of those countries with a better handle on corruption, despite its unending corruption commissions and all the noise made by every administration on the efforts to transform the nation into a corrupt-free society. Now, the effect of corruption in Nigeria has been so glaring that even the blind can see it. It has reflected in the form of economic crimes and high security challenges in the country. Economic crimes have become not just a problem to the nation but a strategy for some unscrupulous individuals to get rich and earn recognition in the society. From my understanding so far, there is a relationship between economic crimes and insecurity in the country. Although, this my assertion is not scientifically proved; but I think that some corrupt people in this country especially those in top echelon commit these crimes and turn around to instigate insecurity. This is the strategy, if they steal and instigate insecurity, attention will be diverted from the stolen resources to the insecurity. On the other hand, some corrupt people first incite insecurity and then demand resources to attack the insecurity which indirectly goes to their bank accounts. This condition is worrisome because, this type of intention, attitude, and action has crippled the speedy development of our beloved nation. It has brought international mockery and disrespect to the country, to the point that smaller countries disrespect the giant of Africa. It is on this premised that this study was undertaken to examine economic crimes and insecurity. We will look at the challenges and the prospects. This is intended that at the end of this study, insightful fact must have been provided for better understanding of the subject. Recommendation will be made that will help push the nation out of this quagmire.