European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online) Vol.5, No.15, 2013 41 Corruption and Public Accountability in the Nigerian Public Sector : Interrogating the Omission. Jide Ibietan, PhD. Depratment of Political Science & International Relations, Covenant University Ota,Ogun State,Nigeria. 07030892277, jidebetan @gmail.com Abstract The main objective of this paper is to interrogate the omission in the system of public accountability in the Nigerian public sector that has made corruption a monster. It is germane to state that corruption heightens wherever systems for ensuring effective accountability are weak. There are internal and external mechanisms for achieving accountability in the Nigerian Public life, but it appears that they are ineffective . This is due mainly to lack of political will in redressing the corruption dilemma. Additionally, the Nigerian penal (code) system or sanctions for weighty crimes such as corruption are weak and serve no deterrence to actual and potential offenders . The paper is segmented into : Abstract, Introduction ; Conceptual clarification ; Corruption and Public Accountability in Nigeria: A Discourse, Conclusion and recommendations . In order to rise above this challenge and make progress, the fallen status of our laws must be addressed through pragmatic implementation and committed leadership anchored on sound values and practice. Keywords: Corruption , Accountability, Transparency, Public Sector 1.Introduction Corruption is a global issue, but it varies in intensity, sophistication and forms from country to country. The deduction or inference from extant literature, public commentaries, analyses , media (print and broadcast) including social networks seem to suggest that corruption is the largest industry with many practitioners in Nigeria. This has a lot of implications for development generally in the country. It is therefore not surprising that Adegbite (2009:33) averred that “ .. .where there is no accountability, development will inevitably be stunted.” The author (Adegbite, 2009) corroborated thus: In human history, no nation ever prospers with perverse values. In fact, no nation can prosper where personal will supplants the general will, where established procedures are observed in the breach, where governance is for self- enrichment rather than public service. Where there exists a yawning gap between leadership and stewardship… virtuous societies are built by leaders who are accountable to the led and are driven by the altruistic desire to improve the lot of the highest number of the people. The latter part of the above averment adds the dimension of elite complicity in the public accountability and corruption dilemma in the country. In an earlier study, Onah and Ibietan (2012: 263-286) under scored this (governing) elite factor in public resource mismanagement and corruption in Nigeria. How do we account for the origin of corruption in Nigeria? Ikejiani-Clark (2001:114) argued stridently that “corruption was more or less introduced in Nigeria by colonialism . Corruption in politics , administration and business. .. has its counterpart in similar tendency by the clerk to extract bribe for a file to be moved through the process to the Administrator”. She explained further that “ government property was not regarded because it was alienated from the population”. It is pertinent to note that the contributions of Ikejiani’s_ Clark (2001) in linking the origin of corruption to colonialism follows the traditional political - economy approach to blaming all the woes of African society on colonial rule. The colonialists departed physically from the Nigerian Political landscape nearly fifty three years ago. Tenable arguments must be sought elsewhere. Some scholars argued that aspects of African cultural and religious practices predisposes one to corruption. To buttress this, Bloom in Egwu (2001: 131) “observed that African societies are characterized by a network of gift - giving and gift taking”. He posited further thus : That our families, ethnic relations, religious groups and cultural societies encourage corruption is amply demonstrated in the demands and expectations placed on people during festivals , ceremonies and other religious feasts, such as Christmas, New Year, Easter and Id-El-fitrs. Egwu (2001) clearly resonated with a Biblical and Quranic allusion that “ it is better to give than to receive, because giving is a token symbolism of superioty and power” With respect to the above cultural explanation for corruption, Kolade (2001:81) countered saying “ this is erroneous on several counts”, as it ignores the prevailing