Corruption is one of the most intractable problems facing the Nigerian state. It is often understood as a moral failure and/or a conscious misuse of public power, but this paper will examine corruption as a socio-economic phenomenon related to income insecurity, flawed remuneration systems and an income-seeking behavior of the public servants. The main premise is that when primary income is not sufficient to maintain an acceptable standard of living or the minimum standard of social life, people may look for additional income through legitimate or illegitimate means In Nigeria, where poverty, inflation, unemployment, weak institutions and social pressure intersect, secondary income vulnerability becomes a fertile ground for bribery, fraud, embezzlement, inflated contracts, over-invoicing and other corrupt practices. Conceptual and political-economic reflections are used to explore the meaning of corruption, its cultural and institutional complexity, its connection to social inequality, and its presence in public institutions such as education. It also suggests that economic corruption can only be understood if one observes the faulty pattern between wages, cost of living, public expectations and the opportunities available to people in various social positions. The paper concludes by arguing that poverty and income inadequacy are not the excuse for corruption but they provide some understanding of the mechanism of the social reproduction of corruption. To counter corruption, it is not enough, therefore, to condemn it morally and to take legal measures against it, but also to reform the institutions, provide fair wages, protect the social sphere, reorient the civics and reconstruct public morality.

Keywords: corruption, income vulnerability, defective reward system, secondary income, Nigeria, public institutions, social inequality.