Causes of Political Crisis in Nigeria

Journal of Nigeria Studies Volume 1, Number 2, Fall 2012

Political Leadership and Corruption in Nigeria Since 1960: A Socio-economic

Analysis

By

Michael M. Ogbeidi

Associate Professor

Department of History and Strategic Studies,

University of Lagos, Nigeria

michaelogbeidi@yahoo.com

+234-8058335913

BRIEF CV OF THE AUTHOR

Michael M. Ogbeidi, B.A., M. A., M. Phil, Ph.D. (Lagos), is an Associate Professor in the Department

of History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has published articles in several

books and learned journals both locally and abroad. He is the author of Fundamentals of Nigerian

Business History (2007) and the editor of Leadership Challenge: Gani Adams and the Oodua People’s

Congress (2005) and Egypt and Her Neighbours: A Reader (2011). He has also authored two

monographs: Regulation Through Legislation: Government and the Insurance Industry in Nigeria 1961

– 1987 (2009) and Hope Betrayed: A Reflection on the Nigerian Nation and the Challenge of Leadership

Since Independence (2009).

ABSTRACT

Nigeria, a country richly endowed with natural resources and high quality human capital is yet to find its

rightful place among the comity of nations. A major reason that has been responsible for her socioeconomic stagnation is the phenomenon of corruption. The kernel of the paper rest in the fact that

political leadership and corruption were interwoven and it is against this background that it explored the

corrupt tendencies of the political leadership class in Nigeria since 1960 and its implication for socioeconomic development. The paper concludes that for Nigeria to experience sustainable socio-economic

development, responsible and credible leaders must emerge to implant the act of good and selfless

governance in the country.

INTRODUCTION

Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who posses it; and this I know,

my lords: that where laws end, tyranny begins.

...William Pitt

Whereas Robert L. Tignor (1993) in his work...