Are Cultural Dimensions Indicators of Corrupt Practices? Insights from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease and Anthills of the Savannah

Abstract

SummaryThe abuse of power and corruption as the bane of the African continent, are major themes in many postcolonial novels. In Nigeria, Achebe’s first, second and last novels, Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, and Anthills of the Savannah respectively, reflect the pre and post-colonial life in Igboland and the fictional Kangan nation. In these novels, Achebe explores how social disintegration has caused and fuelled the abuse of power and corruption. Based on an analysis of the three novels and against the background of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, this article argues that leadership and the struggle for and abuse of power before and after colonialisation, while a consequence of culture, has changed over time.