EMOKPAE RAYMOND

F/HD/17/3540044

What is the relationship between corruption, Unethical practices and Nigeria

development?
WHAT IS CORRUPTION?
In general, corruption is a form of dishonesty or criminal activity undertaken by a
person or organization entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire illicit
benefit. Corruption may include many activities including bribery and
embezzlement.
Corruption can occur on different scales. Corruption ranges from small favors
between a small number of people (petty corruption), to corruption that affects the
government on a large scale (grand corruption), and corruption that is so prevalent
that it is part of the everyday structure of society, including corruption as one of
the symptoms of organized crime.
In her 2011 article on corruption published in the Canadian law journal, The
Advocate, Karen Katz writes; "Corruption is understood to be the exploitation of a
position of trust, typically in the public sector, in order to receive a private gain,
which may or may not be financial.
WHAT IS UNETHICAL PRACTICES?
Unethical practices or behavior is an action that falls outside of what is considered
morally right or proper for a person, a profession or an industry. Individuals can
behave unethically, as can businesses, professionals and politicians.

In other words UNETHICAL PRACTICES that a person is been paid for monetary
or in kind or a person is gaining from in any way is CORRUPTION.
CORRUPTION, UNETHICAL PRACTICES IN NIGERIA
DEVELOPMENT
1) Giving Bribes for Contracts
Many corporate organizations bid for government jobs they are not qualified for
because they have other means of winning the contract apart from tendering a
practical bid.
2) Tax Evasion
Many companies evade Tax because they feel government will not use the money
well. The role of taxation in Nigeria economy can not be overemphasized.
However, many companies evade paying tax because they know the government
cannot catch them. The blame goes to the government who has not been able to
create a good tax collection system that will seize defaulters easily.
3) Creative Accounting
Crooked Company Management carries out creative accounting to deliberately
overstate their books to the Board of Directors as better than they are. This wrong
doing continues because the regulatory bodies are unable to quickly detect it. For
example, a few years ago Cadbury Nigeria PLC submitted an annual report that did
not show the true state of the company at the end of that accounting year. They
overstated the financial position of the company over a number of years to the tune
of N13 to N15 billion.
4) Embezzlement of Money
This is one of the most rampant dishonest business practices in Nigeria.
Embezzlement of monies put in the care of top management officers of companies
go on with impunity.
These officials deep their hands into the funds of these companies and secretly
steal money as if it is their entitlement causing bankruptcy of these companies and
loss of jobs.
5) Misleading Marketing
Misleading marketing is where a company creates a marketing campaign that
spreads falsehood. They would claim their products or services do what it could
not do and until the consumer buys this service or product they would not find out
the truth.
The consumer parts with their hard-earned money without any refunds as
Nigerians hardly take these rogue companies to court to seek redress.
The Consumer Protection Agency and the Advertising Council should act
promptly to stop this fraud.
6) Poor Work Environment and Safety Standards
Most companies in the country are guilty of this particular dishonest business
practice in Nigeria.
The small medium enterprises are the worst offenders. Many, carry on their
businesses in poor work environments without any safety standards.
Some of these companies owned by expatriates maltreat their workers who are too
afraid to report this abuse to civil rights organizations since they do not belong to
any labor unions and fear to lose their jobs.
Their industrial machines have cut workers hands and some even die from
accidents in these factories without real sanctions to these companies. This must
stop.
7) Maltreatment of Employees and Poor Salary
This is the regular occurrence in many companies in the country.
The owners of these companies maltreat the staff and get away with it. This abuse
goes on daily without redress. They treat the employee as if the company does not
derive any benefit from the work they do.
These companies behave with impunity, owe workers the usual low Salary, and
delay payment as long as they wish. Sometimes, they owe salary for months but
expect the productivity of each staff to stay excellent.
8) Producing Substandard Goods
Producing substandard goods is one of the notorious dishonest business practices
in Nigeria.
Some quack factories produce substandard goods and sell to unsuspecting
consumers. The goods would often have the seal of the regulating government
Ministry, Directorate or Agency. Ready examples are the manufacture of Water
and Drugs. For example, some manufactures make sachet water (pure water)
indiscriminately. They do so due to inability of NAFDAC to catch and punish
these dishonest business owners to serve as deterrent to others.
9) Wrong and Overcharges to Customers Accounts
Banks and Telecommunication companies are the main culprits of these dishonest
business practices in Nigeria.
The banks will deduct money for services they did not give and over charge your
account. For example, they would deduct commission for issuing you a manager’s
cheque which you did not ask for. Deduct SMS alert for one transaction three times
or even debit your account for Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) card
maintenance fee when you do not have an ATM card.
Telecommunication companies would make sure you click a hidden code which
would automatically deduct sums of money ranging from N25, N50 to N100 from
your air time and send you a message that you have just subscribed to Sports,
Business, or Motivational Tip.
They collect amounts every time you load a credit to your telephone line with
fictitious recurrent billing weekly, fortnightly or monthly for things you did not
willingly subscribe.
10) Over Invoice
This happens in the market place and government establishments are usually the
worst hit. These companies who have contracts to supply goods and services do so
and write a list of them in an invoice to present for processing and payment.
Ordinarily, this is harmless but in most cases the companies who offer these goods
and services connive with staff of Federal or State government establishments, to
inflate figures and put what they did not supply in their invoices.
Companies usually send these inflated bills through this corrupt staff for
processing and payment. Upon receipt of approval and payment, these companies
would give agreed percentages to their partners in crime.
11) Breaking the Law by making False Returns to Regulatory Authorities
This is part of recurring dishonest business practices in Nigeria. The perpetrators of
this wrong doing are mainly in the financial sectors of the nation’s economy. These
companies break the law fearlessly and when they catch them, pay a fixed fine
without batting an eye.
12) Delays in Making Returns to Regulatory Authorities
The insurance companies quoted in the Nigeria stock exchange are notorious for
this wrong practice.
For example, the rendering of quarterly and year-end audited accounts of
companies quoted in the stock exchange to the Securities and Exchange
Commission and the Nigeria Stock Exchange suffer a lot of delays.
These companies break this law every year and are ready to pay the fine and refuse
to change. The regulatory authorities should find tougher punishment for errant
companies to make them comply with global best practices.