Paper long abstract:

This presentation is a situation analysis on Nigeria's anti-corruption drive. Operations of two sister organizations charged with the fight against corruption are assessed; it was found that opinions are diametrically opposed as to the outcomes of their functions.

On one hand, since 2003 when the second term of the Obasanjo's government began, there has been some signs of seriousness in the anti-corruption drive - two government ministers (Education and Works) have been sacked due to corruption allegations which triggered some form of prosecution; a former police chief was convicted of embezzlement, while a Senate president was forced to resign after the discovery of financial malpractices.

On the other hand, despite these successes, the laws establishing the ICPC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is adjudged to give the two organizations limited scope and their operations intentionally skewed to have very limited application thereby protecting some corrupt individuals. This leads to a conclusion that Obasanjo's government is not desirous in its anti-corruption drive, and the partiality with which the two agencies implement their work rather gives room for corruption promotion especially among supporters and cronies.

The extent to which the two commissions can go to sanitize the already corrupt society remains to be seen. The pandemic nature of corruption in Nigeria is recognised and new approaches to tackle the menace of corruption in Nigeria are advocated. These include developing and inserting anti-corruption education in primary and secondary school curricula; exhibition of strong political will to enforce strong codes of ethics in work places in order to reduce malpractices bordering on corruption; and the strengthening of government watch-dog agencies which will identify corruption practices and bring them to public attention.