Corruption and the Nigerian Development Quagmire

One of the most difficult and dangerous issues in Nigeria is corruption. Corruption is so common in Nigeria that there can hardly be any new perspective and approach to it. In fact, corruption is so pervasive in the country that it would be nearly correct to opine that it is a way of life. To this extent, everyone in Nigeria, whether educated or otherwise, knows something about corruption, can cite cases and can attempt some level of analysis. Generally, abundant literature exists on the subject of corruption across the world, especially on the developing countries and on Nigeria particularly. This abundant literature and common perspectives while presenting analytical opportunities, however, also present a challenge. As numerous as the literature, common knowledge and perspectives are, corruption remains high, prevalent, popular, problematic, growing, and still insufficiently understood in corruption infested nations, such as, Nigeria. This thus necessitates fresh and current interrogations of the problematic. It is against this background that this article examined the existing perspectives and offered current interrogations of the contours of corruption in Nigeria. This is to further expand the bourgeoning body of knowledge on the subject matter and offer original and current yet uncovered trajectories of corruption in Nigeria.