Tonic or Toxin? The State, Neopatrimonialism, and Anticorruption Efforts in Nigeria

Nigeria is mired in corruption although it has many anticorruption laws, commissions, and agencies. This article, based on secondary data sources, examines the effect of the state and neopatrimonialism on anticorruption efforts in Nigeria. It argues that the contradictions in the character of the Nigerian state and the logic of neopatrimonialism hinder Nigeria’s anticorruption efforts, and recommends a redesigning of the state and reorientation of the mindsets of Nigerians to better enable anticorruption efforts to succeed.