Keeping up appearance? Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade and image dilemma in the global arena
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-02-2022-0039 |
| Published date | 13 April 2022 |
| Date | 13 April 2022 |
| Pages | 813-827 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial crime |
| Author | Agaptus Nwozor,Oladiran Afolabi |
Keeping up appearance? Nigeria’s
anti-corruption crusade and image
dilemma in the global arena
Agaptus Nwozor and Oladiran Afolabi
Department of Political Science and Diplomatic Studies, Bowen University,
Iwo, Nigeria
Abstract
Purpose –Corruption is a long-standing challengein Nigeria. The country’s development crises, including
widespread povertyand insecurity, have direct and indirect linksto corruption. The paradox of corruption in
Nigeria is that political elites have politicisedits elimination: while preaching anti-corruption, they are still
neck-deep in corrupt practices.The purpose of this study centres on Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade in the
context of its effectiveness in attractingglobal support for external loot recovery. A related preoccupation of
this study is to unravel the extent to which Nigeria’s anti-corruption accomplishments or otherwise have
shaped internationalperception.
Design/methodology/approach –This study adopts a qualitative research design. It draws from
primary data generated from 25 key informant interviews and complemented with secondary data from
archival materials to examineNigeria’s anti-corruption crusade, especially global perceptionand its overall
implication in motorising the country’s quest for external loot recovery. It deploys unstructured interview
guide to generatedata from the key informants.
Findings –This study unveils three interrelatedissues: since 1999, the promise of eliminating corruption
from Nigeria’s body politic has been a recurring campaign theme without corresponding credible action
against it. Although anti-corruption agencies exist in Nigeria, the country’s corruption profile is high, an
indication of their ineffectiveness. The persistence of corruptionhas resulted in poor national image, thereby
shaping negative international perception about Nigeria. The politicisation of Nigeria’s anti-corruption
crusade has underminedinternational support and createduncertainty in the country’s quest for the recovery
of its looted nationalfunds.
Practical implications –The negative perceptionof the international community about the commitment
of the Nigerian Government in fighting corruption has negative implications on the strategic partnership
necessaryfor loot recovery across the globe.
Social implications –The overall socialimplication is loss of global support for Nigeria’santi-corruption
drive, including its quest to recoverits stolen national assets and other forms of international assistancefor
nationaldevelopment.
Originality/value –The value of this study is two-fold, one, its recency and originality in terms of
interrogating the interconnections between domestic effortsat anti-corruption and global perception of such
efforts; and two, the contextualisation of the compromisedefficiency of Nigeria’s anti-graft agenda and its
overall implicationsin securing global support for external loot recovery.
Keywords Nigeria, Anti-corruption crusade, External loot recovery,
Negative international perception, Poor national image
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
It is estimated that corruption, in the form of bribes and stolen money, costs the global
economy a staggering US$36 trillion yearly (Johnson, 2018). The universal character of
corruption as well as its enormity led the United Nations to classify it as one of the biggest
Anti-
corruption
crusade
813
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.30 No. 3, 2023
pp. 813-827
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-02-2022-0039
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