Corruption, Social Justice And Political Instability In Nigeria

Abstract

Since the advent of democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999, hitherto long nurtured but suppressed feelings of neglect, marginalization, discrimination and domination by aggrieved communities, nationalities/sections of the society against the Nigerian state have burst in the open; and the political landscape has been inundated with separatist agitation movements, calls for resource control/true federalism and the restructuring of the polity. This has surreptitiously given vent to emergence of ethnic militia, escalation of youth restiveness, acts of kidnapping and hostage taking which have posed a threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria. This study is a modest contribution to the ongoing national discourse on governance and political instability in Nigeria. The study which is analytical adopts the rentier-state theory as its framework of analysis; it relies on secondary data sources and situates corruption at the epicenter of political instability in the country. The study argues that the clamour for restructuring of the Nigerian polity, separatist agitations and the crisis of governance in the country are a direct response to social injustice and the obstacles imposed on the nation’s development through acts of corruption. The study recommends among other things that corruption should attract severe penalty