Paper long abstract:

This paper highlights the main conclusions of doctoral research on corruption in Nigeria and suggests their relevance for how we might understand and interpret discourses on corruption in that society and elsewhere. Dominant and popular discourses in and about Nigeria, suggest that corruption in Nigeria is not only pervasive but largely to account for the nation's underdevelopment. Using Christian development NGOs as case studies, a picture of the moral economy and the importance of cultural factors in shaping local understandings of corruption emerges. Whereas the impact of corruption particularly on developing societies is considered wholly negative, not much will improve until the significance of amana (trust) both as a cultural and religious concept is understood and employed in social dealings in Nigeria. I will argue that although the Church is part of society and may not therefore be immune to issues confronting society, it nevertheless has both a mandate, and in the case of Africa in general and Nigeria in particular, the unique opportunity to serve as a moral agency against what many regard as an intransigent problem.