Elite's Brinkmanship and the Politicization of Anti-corruption Project in Nigeria: An Overview of the Anti-corruption War under the Buhari Administration

Abstract

Nigeria appears to be under siege from the cankerworm of corruption that has continued to retard the fabric of its development. While it appears that the worst hit by the problem of corruption are the ordinary people, the under privileged class; the institutional weaknesses induced by corruption have worked to ensure that the privileged class also suffer from its consequences. Fast rewinds into pre 2015, two issues were at the centre as far as the current anti-corruption effort is concerned. Firstly, there was the attempt to redefine the boundaries of corruption as contained in a remark by President Goodluck Jonathan that stealing is not corruption. Secondly, the gang-up by the opposition outside and within the ruling PDP, which coalesced to form the APC to, among others, fight corruption. Now that the 'chips' are 'down', the body language of some of the political elites towards the fight against corruption appears to have changed. This study distillated these various discordant tunes and concluded, amongst others that the fight against corruption has rekindled public perception on the phenomenon of corruption and is likely to further shape political events especially in the build up to the country's 2019 election.