Anti-social financial practices in Nigeria

Purpose - – The purpose of the paper is to examine the problem of anti-social financial practices which seems to be a taken-for-granted reality in many parts of the world and particularly in developing countries. The paper locates the role of actors within the theory of transformational model of social activity proposed by Bhaskar (1989) and advocates radical reform to minimise attendant problems created by these antisocial financial practices. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper proposed Bhaskar’s (1989) theory of transformational model of social activity which suggests that the society provides the necessary conditions for intentional human activity and that intentional human action is a necessary condition for it. This is because it is difficult to separate people’s perception from the wider social context in which the phenomena arise and the way and manner in which the practices are constructed. To help understand why antisocial financial practices have become so deeply embedded in the Nigerian sociopolitical and economic systems, the views of significant others (professionals, tax officials, non-governmental organisations, media and regulators) were solicited about the structures that influence the activities of the social actor involved in these antisocial financial practices in Nigeria. Findings - – Using results from 24 interviews, the paper argues that social structures, such as globalisation, history, politics and social networks, have influenced and [re]shaped the attitudes and behaviours of actors towards committing antisocial financial practices. Practical implications - – The paper, therefore, advocates a radical reform that could minimise the attendant problems created by these antisocial financial practices of actors and the enabling structures. Social implications - – Where antisocial financial practices are embedded in the society, they become part of the daily routines and in that process are normalised. Originality/value - – The paper is a general review of the literature and evidence on contemporary issues.