‘Through a Glass Darkly': Assessing the ‘New' War Against Corruption in Nigeria

Abstract

It is no longer news that corruption is
endemic in Nigeria. Neither is it news that the
‘democratic' government of President Obasanjo
is waging an unprecedented war against
corruption. What is, however, controversial
is the extent to which the ‘new' war has
succeeded in addressing this scourge. This
article engages this crucial question and
submits that while the legal and institutional
anchorages of the war offer a good point of
departure, they remain grossly inadequate. This
largely explains why the war has been underproductive
and caught in a deepening crisis of
legitimacy. What is required is the nourishing
and re-envisioning of such frameworks, coupled
with strong political will, to challenge the
structures of power that currently generate
and sustain the system and establish a
truly democratic developmental state.

African Insight Vol. 36 (3&4) 2006: pp. 214-228