• Further research be conducted into the reliability and validity of employee selection instruments in the civil/public service. (FCSC and the SCSC) • A public forum be established for citizens to engage with policy makers and government officials on proposals, policies and programmes for improving the public service. (Federal, state and local governments, and civil society) OBJECTIVE 6: i. FIGHT CORRUPTION IN THE POLITICAL SPHERE Summary of the CSAR Fighting corruption in the political sphere 299. Nigeria’s CSAR clearly identifies corruption as a major challenge in the nation’s political life. It is widely perceived to be pervasive. It is at the core of the crisis of governance, and hinders the development of viable democracy, the rule of law and poverty eradication. It damages Nigeria’s international image and stifles the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). Political corruption undermines democratic and economic wellbeing, and reduces accountability and representation in policy making. It leads to corruption in other spheres of life, either by design or by example, or through the failure of elected leaders to implement anticorruption laws and promote transparent practices. Although Nigeria is a resource-rich country, corruption over the years has prevented it from achieving its full potential and has resulted in a large proportion of its 140 million people remaining poor and underdeveloped. 300. The history of corruption goes back as far as the early independence period; some anecdotal accounts even link it to the colonial era. Political corruption has manifold dimensions, such as outright seizure of public funds by elected public officials and the excessive use of money to compromise the sanctity of the electoral process. The CSAR echoes former president Obasanjo when it states that elective offices become mere commodities to be purchased by the highest bidder, and those who literarily invest in such offices merely see them as a means to recoup and make profits. Politics has become a business, and the business of politics has become the diversion of public funds from the crying needs of the people for real development. Unregulated political financing presents serious problems for Nigeria’s nascent democracy in that it fails to provide a level playing field in which candidates and political parties can compete on equal terms. 301. Political corruption has always been a prominent feature of military regimes, despite their vaunted claims of toppling civilian governments so as to eliminate corruption. The CSAR implies that it has perhaps only been the Buhari regime that has expended serious efforts on curbing the scourge of corruption in Nigeria. The infamous Abacha regime is reputed to have taken corruption to its highest despicable level, with the stashing 111