Daniel Jordan Smith presents an outstanding work full of insight and appreciation of Nigerian culture. The content is enriched by his years spent working there, his marriage to a Nigerian woman and his obvious affinity for the Nigerian people. Smith’s primary aim is to reflect upon popular Nigerian sentiment toward corruption but also to explore just how entrenched corrupt practices have become in society. The book focuses on two main elements; how Nigeria is as much a ‘culture of corruption’ as it is ‘against corruption’ (p. 6).
The standard discourse that exists between Nigerians themselves as well as the rest of the world is that Nigeria has a history of debilitating corruption. Smith’s work is therefore appealing to a variety of audiences. The portrayal of this corruption in the media is fundamentally flawed; primarily because the roots of the term originate from a western conceptualisation that has too long been improperly applied, thus preserving stereotype and generalisation. To counter this representation of Nigerians, Smith gives a delicate account of the complicated system they find themselves having to navigate each day. He uses a substantial amount of stories, anecdotes and interviews from his time spent in Nigeria which creates an accessible narrative for the reader.
Chapters one through five introduce different forms of corruption within all levels of society, with the remaining two chapters focused on radical social attempts to combat corruption such as vigilante justice. The well-known email-scam is the first introduction to corruption – the common expression for it being 419, originating from its reference to fraud in the Nigerian penal code. 419 evolved to signify all corrupt activity in society; at the communi...
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... change for the better. The future is something left up to the imagination of the reader. Another lacking feature was of greater interaction between Smith’s insightful studies along with other literature in the field. To someone who is unfamiliar with corruption in Nigeria this was a fantastic introduction to its concepts but it also meant that the readers is left unsure of where Smiths arguments about Nigerian’s culture of corruption lies within the rest of the academic literature. This notwithstanding, overall Smith has accomplished creating a thought provoking and educational read.
Works Cited
Olivier de Sardan, Jean-Pierre. 1999. A moral economy of corruption in Africa? Journal of Modern African Studies 37 (1): 25-52.
Smith, Daniel J. 2008. A Culture of Corruption: Everyday Deception and Popular Discontent in Nigeria. Princeton University Press, New Jersey.
Abubakar, A. (2013, April 29). Deepening democracy in Nigeria: Implications for Africa. . Retrieved July 16, 2014, from http://theeagleonline.com.ng/deepening-democracy-in-nigeria-implications-for-africa-by-atiku-abubakar/
... Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 8(3), 77-88. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2349548361).
...’s depictions of both traditional and modern beliefs in varying degrees illustrate the importance of both in contemporary Nigerian culture, as well as the greater Africa as a whole, and how both are intertwined and cannot exist without the other. In effect, she skillfully subverts stereotypes or single perceptions of Africa as backward and traditional, proving instead, the multifaceted culture of Africa. She further illustrates that neither traditional African nor western culture is necessarily detrimental. It is the stark contrast of the fundamental cultures that inevitably leads to clashes and disagreements. In the end, what holds African countries such as Nigeria together is their shared pride. Modern, western influences can bring positive changes to society, but new cultures cannot completely eradicate the foundational cultures to which a society is founded on.
Osaghae, O.E. (1998). Crippled Giant: Nigeria since Independence. London: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd. Reviewed by Akinyetun Tope Shola (M.Sc. Comparative Politics & Development Studies)
Rose-Ackerman, Susan. Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and Reform. N.p.: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.
Prenzler, T, Ransley, J 2002, Corruption and Reform: Global Trends and Theoretical Perspectives, Hawkins Press, Annandale.
Nigeria’s origins and history never cease to amaze me. The British invaded Niger in the 16th century, by a process called colonization. Colonization is simply the conquering of one culture by another’s. They did so in order to obtain raw materials and precious riches that were not available in Europe. They also wanted a market for manufactured goods that they wouldn’t otherwise been afforded. The British deemed this sort of action acceptable because they regarded themselves as the “most advanced civilization in the world”, being superior than any other beings ever created. They failed to realize the true value of the royal African people.
Bray, J. (2005). The use of intermediaries and other alternatives to bribery. The New Institutional Economics of Corruption, London und New York, 93-111.
Dibua, Jeremiah I. . Modernization and the Crisis of Development in Africa: The Nigerian Experience. USA: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2006. Print.
Throughout Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah, there are several thematic elements used to express the corruption of the government in post-colonial Nigeria. Nigeria has been culturally changed due to colonial British rule. Colonial Britain has changed the way Nigerians govern, which has resulted in many coups throughout the timeline of Nigeria. The way and life now for Nigerians is very different than it would be without interference from outsiders. Anthills of the Savannah demonstrates the hardships that the people of Nigeria faced due to colonial British rule and corruption of their own government by using symbolism, foreshadowing, and, motifs throughout the novel.
The two factors interlinks and deplete Africa’s natural resources through exploitation and destruction. The legacy of colonialism plays an important role in the explanation of the emergence of corruption and conflict within Africa seen throughout this essay. This essay will start by looking into the question of poverty. What is it actually? I will then move on to look at corruption, more specifically what it is, how it came emerged in Africa through neo-patrimonialism; Presidentialism and Cliental-ism. Then exploring how this can help answer Maathai’s question. A case study of Sierra Leone is used to look at examples of how corruption can contribute to poverty. The second half of the essay will focus on conflict. Again I will begin with two theories of conflict, Col-lier and Hoeffler’s greed and grievance theory and Jackson’s explanation to explore why conflict occurs. Then an exploration of the case of Somalia is used to show, through exam-ples how conflict can
...ld help improve the economy of the nation. The pocketing of profits by corrupt government officials shows characteristics of patrimonialism, which not only hinders the economy because these profits are the sole source of revenue for the nation, but also harms the democratic stability of the nation and can to some extent cause the regime changes of the nation. The civic conflicts of the nation are not handled by the government and not only do these conflicts drain revenue from the government, but shows the lack of mobilization in the government, possibly due to a lack of taxation, due to the resource curse. These claims show that the resource curse has affected the government and economy of Nigeria greatly as it leads to ineffective and corrupt government with a hindered chance of democratization, with civic conflict that cannot be controlled by the civic government.
In chapter 7 of Tradition and Modernity, Gyekye argues that political corruption is a moral problem, and that a “moral revolution” is needed for public officials to “steel their moral wills to avoid involving themselves in acts of political corruption.” Gyekye begins by defining political corruption as “the illegal, unethical, and unauthorized exploitation of one’s political or official position for personal gain or advantage,” followed by a review of common acts of political corruption, which includes taking a bribe, graft, fraud, kickbacks, the misappropriation of public funds, favoritism, and nepotism. The discussion then turns to the root causes of political corruption, which is the central point of contention for Gyekye. He acknowledged that weak political leadership, certain types of social structures (he mentions communitarianism in African societies), poor economic circumstances, and the lack of adequate legal and institutional frame...
Nigeria was first colonized by the British in the late nineteenth century who, set up an administrative structure and law while still recognizing the traditional morals. By 1960, Nigeria became an independent country and officially became known as the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria is located in West Africa and consists of 36 states with over 500 different ethnic groups. The country recognizes itself as a federal constitutional republic and has an open to the public type government. Since it was originally established by Britain, the Nigerian legal system is very traceable to them and originated its laws from common law. This paper will examine the culture of Nigeria, the fundamentals of its’ legal system and how laws are passed, legal actors that are part of the Nigerian criminal justice system, and will compare Nigeria to America.
SANDU, A., & NIŢU, M. (2013). CORRUPTION AND ORGANIZED CRIME. Contemporary Readings In Law & Social Justice, 5(2), 454-460.