Corruption and Democratisation Hurdles in Nigeria: An Overview of the Fourth Republic

Abstract

May 29, 1999 marked the beginning of Nigeria’s fourth republic after several years of military dictatorships in the country. However, no meaningful development to commensurate the Nigeria’s civil rule. This is in spite the fact that the nascent democracy in country is over a decade. Corruption has eaten deep into the country’s socio-economic and political system and which serves as a major threat to Nigeria’s democracy. Public office holders use their power to undermine basic human rights and enrich themselves at the expense of Nigeria’s impoverished populace. This makes it imperative in this study to examine corruption as one of the hurdles of Nigerian democracy. The paper infers that socio-economic and political developments can be enhanced, if the fight against corruption is genuinely tackled and Nigerians at all strata of the polity imbibe the culture of transparency and accountability in public office.

Keywords: Corruption, Democratization, Hurdles, Nascent, Transparency