Towards the search for an incorrupt Nigeria: the tale of a drifting nation
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Date
2015
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Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin
Abstract
Corruption is one of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s democracy and national development. It has fuelled political violence, inadequate infrastructures, and other human rights violations. Its devastating effects on the nation have manifested in lopsided distribution of wealth, malfunctioned or decayed infrastructure and degrading living conditions among a great proportion of the citizenry. The paper argues that the fight against the scourge can best be described as driftwood without compass or direction. At a point, there may be concrete evidences that the anti-corruption project is moving forward. At another point, events show how confused Nigerian leaders are, in the war on corruption. It submitted that the lack of political will and selective prosecutions are responsible for the woeful tale of the country’s experience. The paper traced the anti-corruption efforts of successive government since 1999 bringing out the achievements and challenges of the anti-graft agencies. The paper applauds the current anti-corruption efforts of the President Buhari but opines that he will not have a smooth ride in the fight against corruption because the corrupt cartels will fight back using subjective criticism, detraction and frustration. The paper suggested that the President must be conscious of his actions and that of his immediate family and staff to avoid a corrupt related action that could be used to frustrate his zeal. The paper recommends the application of all the available mechanisms of the constitution, good governance, political will and international support to uproot corruption. That the legislature should complement the efforts of the executive by further amend the laws that created anti-corruption agencies in a bid to strengthen them and not to whittle down their power to become a toothless bulldog. That the civil society should be active as whistle-blower in case of excesses from the anti-graft agencies as well as to the activities of the government in discouraging the graft war by protecting its cronies.
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Keywords
Corruption, nigeria
Citation
Bakare, A. R. (2015): Towards the search for an incorrupt Nigeria: the tale of a drifting nation. Political Science Review. 6 (2); 171-202, Published by the Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin.