Contemporary Pleonexia: The Birth Root of Nigeria Corruption and Social Instability

Authors

  • Vitalis Jafla Pontianus Department of Sociology, Taraba State University Jalingo, Nigeria
  • Emeka Daniel Oruonye Department of Geography, Taraba State University, Jalingo, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24203/ajhss.v8i6.6424

Keywords:

Corruption, Community, Greed, Pleonexia and Social Instability

Abstract

Nigeria has been described in recent time as the hub of poverty in the world. This came to many as a surprise because of the human and natural resources Nigeria as a nation has, if well harnessed she can occupy a central stage not only in Africa but the world at large. This article through discursive analysis tried to examine pleonexia, a psychological disposition that encourages people into an insatiable desire to amass wealth or community goods and services at the expenses of others. The findings of the study suggest that greed could be the main reason why corruption has become part of the Nigerian society with all its consequences often felt by the common man. The study recommends that change of lifestyle through education, prosecution of public servants that are found guilty of embezzling public funds and the public mentoring of the younger generation could be the way forward for a better Nigeria.

References

REFERENCES

• Adewunmi, W. (1999). Professionalism and Ethics in Banking. Management in Nigeria, 35(1).

• Agbaje, E. B. A. (2004). Corruption, Accountability and Good Governance – Reflections on Governance in Nigeria’s fourth Republic 1999 – 2003. International Review of Politics and Development, 2(2).

• Alatas. V. (2006). Gender and Corruption: Insight from an Experimental Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.economics.unimelb.edu.au/lcameron/papers/gender/pdf

• All Africa, (2013). Nigeria: The Rise in Federal Recruitment Scandals. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/201301070915.html

• Amundsen, (2010). Good Governance in Nigeria. A Study in Political Economy and Donor Support. Retrieved from http://www.norad.no/en/toolsandpublications/publications/publication?key=203616

• Balot, R. (2001). Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

• Bello, A. (2014). Gift-Giving, Anti-Bribery Laws, and the Nigerian Constitution: Matters Arising. Journal of African Law, 58(2), 278-302. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24735217

• Brown, N. O. (1947). Hermes the Thief: The Evolution of a Myth. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

• Burghart, D. W. (2015). How things fall apart: Pleonexia, parasitic greed, and decline in Greek thought from Thucydides to Polybius (Doctoral thesis, University of Maryland, College Park). Retrieved from https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/16416/Burghart_umd_0117E_15889.pdf

• Coblentz, S. A. (1965). Avarice: A History. Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press.

• Cooey, P. (2004). Christian Perspectives on Overcoming Greed in a Consumeristic Society: Buying Fear as Collusion with Greed versus an Economy of Grace. Buddhist-Christian Studies, 24, 39-46.

• Cushman, P. (1990). Why the self is empty: Toward a historically situated psychology. American Psychologist, 45, 599–611.

• Dike, V. (2002). Corruption in Nigeria: A New Paradigm for Effective Control. Retrieved from ://www.a http fricaneconomicanalysis.org/articles/gen/corruptiondike/htm.html

• Dodd, N. (1994). The Sociology of Money. New York, NY: Continuum.

• Financial Times, (2013). Patronage politics boosts demands for dollars in Nigeria. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/78ce68f4-2f2e-11e3-8cb2- 00144feab7de.htm

• Fromm, E. (1961). Man, for Himself. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

• Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. New York, NY: Basic Books.

• Global Witness, (2012a). Global Witness Submission to International Development Select Committee Inquiry on Tax and Development. Retrieved from http://www.globalwitness.org.

• Global Witness, (2012b). Rigged? The Scramble for Africa’s Oil, Gas and Minerals. Retrieved from https://globalwitness.org.

• Gray, C. W, & Kaufmann, D. (1998). Corruption and Development. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.com/fandd/english/0398/articles/020398/html

• Hugo, A. (2011) The Man who Forgave God: Faces of 419 scam, South Africa, Tsumele Publishers.

• Hunt, G. M. (1990), Philosophy and Politics, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

• Lane, M. (2012). From Greed to Glory: Ancient to Modern Ethics – and Back Again? In Eco-Republic: What the Ancients Can Teach Us about Ethics, Virtue, and Sustainable Living (pp. 29-46). Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1r2df3.7

• Lipset, S. M, & Lenz, G. S. (2000). Corruption, Culture, and Market in Lawrence Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington, eds., Culture Matters. New York: Basic Books.

• Macpherson, C. B. (1962). The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Martini, M. (2014). Nigeria: evidence of corruption and the influence of social norms. Retrieved from https://www.u4.no/publications/nigeria-evidence-of-corruption-and-the-influence-of social-norms.pdf

• Mayhew, R. (1997). Aristotle's criticism of Plato's Republic. Oxford: ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD Publishers. Inc.

• Miller, D. T. (1999). The norm of self-interest. American Psychologist, 54: 1053–1060.

• Ndem, B. (2012). Social Capital, Corruption, and Economic Growth in Nigeria: A Case Study of Some Contracts Awarded by Niger Delta Development Commission in Akwa Ibom and Cross River State. Retrieved from http://pakacademicsearch.com.

• Nikelly, A. G. (1992). The pleonexia personality: a new provisional personality disorder. Individual Psychology, 48, 253–260.

• Nwankwo, N. L. (2014). Corruption, the state, and the challenge of social instability in Nigeria. Unizik Journal of Art and Humanities, 14(3), 45-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ujah.v14i3.4

• Obasanjo, O. (2004). Tackling Corruption and Promoting Transparency and Accountability, Proceedings of National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy. National Planning Commission, Abuja, Nigeria.

• Ogilvy, J. (1999). Greed. In Solomon RC (ed), Wicked Pleasures: Meditations on the Seven ‘Deadly’ Sins. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

• Oliver, M. (1998). History of Philosophy. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble.

• Olujobi A.O. (1999) Employee Theft: A Veritable Threat to Corporate Survival. Management in Nigeria, 35(1).

• Oni, S. (2013), Challenges and Prospects in African Educational system, USA, Trafford Publishing.

• Onyeso, C. B. (n.d.). Greed: the root cause of Nigerian menace. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/19276033/GREED_THE_ROOT_CAUSE_OF_NIGERIA_MENACE

• Page, M. (2018). A NEW TAXONOMY FOR CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA (pp. 3-5, Rep.). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. doi:10.2307/resrep21006.5

• Partnoy, F. (2003). Infectious Greed. New York: Times Books.

• Ritenbaugh, W. J. (1998). The Tenth Commandment. Forerunner, “Personal”. Retrieved August 1, 2020, from https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/library/article/id/301/the-tenth-commandment.htm

• Robertson, A. F. (2001). Greed: Gut Feelings, Growth, and History. Cambridge: Polity Press.

• Sklar, H. (1995). Chaos or Community? Boston, MA: South End Press.

• Smith, D. (2009). The Paradoxes of Popular Participation in Corruption in Nigeria. In Rotberg R. (Ed.), Corruption, Global Security, and World Order (pp. 283-309). Brookings Institution Press. Retrieved September 14, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org.ucc.idm.oclc.org/stable/10.7864/j.ctt6wpgj4.14

• Smith, T. (2016). Love of The Good as The Cure For Spiritedness In Plato's "Republic". The Review of Metaphysics, 70(1), 33-58. Retrieved October 16, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org.ucc.idm.oclc.org/stable/44806894

• Stone, O. (Director). (2010). Wall Street: Money Never Sleep [DVD]. USA: 20th Century Fox Home Video.

• Tanzi, V. (1995). Corruption, Arm’s-Length Relationship and Market in Fiorentian Gianluca and Sam Peltzman, eds, The Economics of Organized Crime, Cambridge: Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press.

• Tanzi, V. (1998). Corruption Around the World: Causes, Consequences, Scope, and Cures. IMF Staff Papers, 45(4). Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/FT/staffp/1998/12-98/pdf/tanzi.pdf

• United States Department of Justice, (2014). U.S. Freezes More Than $458 Million Stolen by Former Nigerian Dictator in Largest Kleptocracy Forfeiture Action Ever Brought in the U.S. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-freezes-more-458-millionstolen-former-nigerian-dictator-largest-kleptocracy-forfeitur

• Vlastos, G. (1973). Platonic Studies. Hartford, CN: Princeton University Press.

• Warf, B. (2016). Global geographies of corruption. GeoJournal, 81(5), 657-669. Retrieved October 17, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44076432

Downloads

Published

2020-12-29

How to Cite

Pontianus, V. J. ., & Oruonye, E. D. (2020). Contemporary Pleonexia: The Birth Root of Nigeria Corruption and Social Instability. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies, 8(6). https://doi.org/10.24203/ajhss.v8i6.6424