Is corruption too deeply ingrained in Nigerian culture to be changed?
Corruption permeates many aspects of life in Nigeria, from a well-placed official taking million-dollar kickbacks on big government contracts to a traffic policeman who supplements a $20 a month salary by encouraging motorists to show some form of consideration. To eliminate corruption altogether will therefore require something akin to a cultural revolution with a high political risk factor. However, a piecemeal approach is doomed to failure. Could the military intervene again? Nigerian generals used corruption as one of the main pretexts for overthrowing the two previous elected civilian regimes in 1966 and 1983. But times have changed. After 15 years of military rule, when the economy collapsed and the army’s reputation and integrity took a battering, popular hostility towards the khaki brigade is now acute. And in the prevailing international climate, military intervention has become distinctly unfashionable. If President Obasanjo is able to deliver a more effective, less corrupt g
