Corruption and the Crisis of Institutional Reforms in Nigeria: A Forensic Accounting Perspective

It is eloquently clear that corruption impedes economic development and that it is a major obstacle constraining the process of change currently taking place in Nigeria. Institutions are important to the macroeconomic performance of a nation. The lack of well-designed rules and effective institutions such as an independent judiciary, a police force worth the name, or a professional civil service to enforce compliance and maintain law and order in Nigeria will retard target growth expectations. This paper traces corruption, among other factors, to the development model of statism adopted by many African countries after independence, but which failed to reconstruct the neo-colonial state as a tool for development. It highlights the role of the forensic accounting expert in bringing about a lasting solution to the endemic/socio-economic malaise of corruption still bedevilling the Nigerian institutional reforms process. It argues that the engagement of forensic accounting is the most critical determinant in curbing the involvement of individuals in corruption and that the attempt to deal effectively with corruption in Nigeria must begin with institutional reforms which aim at altering the existing incentive structure. It recommends a clear and forceful demonstration of the government’s political will in fighting the scourge of corruption via crafting of effective constitutional provisions, rules and institutions. These, it posits, will avert the futility of the variety of traditional anti-corruption techniques already in use