Rule of law?

Abstract

The underlying mechanism of social relations and processes in the Nigerian polity has come to be defined more by political and economic power, rather than the rule of law, enshrined in the constitution and other relevant international conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory. There is arguably a vivid symbiotic relationship between the erosion of normative social values and the breakdown of a social contract between citizens and the state for the achievement of social wellbeing. We have witnessed a seeming shift from African communitarianism to liberal democracy, in which festered unguided individualism. Corruption and development in Nigeria are interrogated in this chapter using the Mertonian idea of strain and anomie within a political economy theoretical framework. Corruption has reached an endemic proportion, which permeates and continues to define daily social existence, with leverage on political and economic power as enablers which also grant impunity. Often manifested through political and bureaucratic corruption, the prevailing value of corruption in Nigeria has led to the wanton compromise of socio-economic development to foster encompassing social wellbeing.