OWIJOPPA VOL.1, No.

1 2017
Oracle of Wisdom Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs 1

KANT AND THE PROBLEM OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

SUNDAY EDOH ODUM

ABSTRACT
The existence of corruption in the national life of Nigeria is far from being a mere conjecture; in fact,
corruption in Nigeria has assumed the status of being a national embarrassment. It constitutes one of the
major challenges of the democratization of the Nigerian political space as well as that of sustainable
development. It is in this context that corruption is here viewed as a problem. Several attempts have been
made to stem the tide of this monster at different times in the history of this nation, however, this monster
seems to have defiled these attempts and can be said to be fighting back. This paper engages analytic
method of data analysis in its bid to answer the question of what will be the postulation and prescription
of Kant if he were to live and respond to this problem at this juncture in the history of our national life. It
concludes that in view of the fact that the various attempts at fighting corruption in Nigeria have yielded
negligible results, for the frontiers and problem of corruption to be pushed back and for Nigeria to
witness a kind of development that is both enduring and sustainable, Nigerians must change her
behaviours and to do that, the prescription of Kant in his Categorical Imperatives which stipulates that
one ought always to act and behave as if ones course of action or line of conduct were to be a universal
or general law is imperative.

Keywords: Corruption, Nigerian, Development, Deontology, Categorical, Imperative.

Introduction
Corruption in anywhere it exists is one of the greatest social ill that Africa have had to grapple with in the post-
colonial era. It is in this regards that Agede posits that “although Africa is a continent comprising roughly 55
countries, none is immune to the problem of corporate corruption; even as it intensity varies from one country to
another” (520). The above leads to the question of why Africa have become the worst hit by corruption or
corporate corruption. While several attempts have been made to answer the question through the postulation of
theories, the attempt of Kwame Gyeke at answering the above questions seems quite plausible. According to him,
the communalistic nature of Africans as well as some of the communitarian social structure can be said to account
for the prevalence of corruption (in this case political corruption) in Africa. These social structures seem to
pressurize Africans into getting involved in acts of corruption. He captures it more succinctly in the following
lines:
In the extended family system of African societies, an individual… bears a dual
responsibility: for himself and for the members of the group. These responsibilities are
naturally onerous. To be able to shoulder them successfully requires an adequate
personal economic position. An individual public official who has access to public
resources may, in the process of striving to achieve that adequate economic position,
takes advantage of his official status and commits acts of official corruption. Second, the
extended family system with its web of relatives, far and near gives rise to patronage:
the public official is expected to find jobs for some members of the extended family
either in his organization or elsewhere. This often leads to nepotism, which is an act of
political corruption (196).
While the above is debatable, it remains to state that greed for the most part amongst others constitutes
the causal fact of corruption in Africa. Again, it returns true to argue for the fact that the effects of corruption on
the corporate social existence of Africa and the tendency of undermining any developmental effort of modern
African nation-states outweighs the benefits of these social structures. Hence, it will only make sense to seek
alternative ways of meeting these needs that are in themselves communal. For certain countries “corruption seems
to have come to stay with no sign of leaving” (Ani 67). Nigeria, properly situated, is one of such countries.
Although not an exclusively a “Nigerian phenomenon, the specter of corruption seems to haunt the nation and has
permeated the entire fabric of the state” (Imhonopi and Ugochukwu 78). It is a cancer that has eaten deeply into
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the fabric of the Nigeria polity. In fact, for Terfa Anjov, “corruption is synonymous to human existence in a
country like Nigeria” (270). It has also “become a household word in the minds of an average Nigerian, because
of its endless and constant spreading and its stability in any government in Nigeria which to finding its solution
has been difficult… it is a living stone, which lives for ages” (Amujiri 133). Thovethin, in his analysis captures
the endemic nature of corruption in Nigeria more succinctly thus:
Nigeria‟s post-independence history had been overshadowed by the depredations of a
series of corrupt, abusive and unaccountable governments. He said that the basic contours
of Nigeria‟s political history is simply wholly and squarely the history of corruption and
corrupt leadership; that Public office, be it political, bureaucratic or judicial, are no longer
held in trust. An occupant of any of these positions is expected to go into it with clean
hands and goes out in a similar manner. But, this becomes impossible in the face of
endemic corruption (101).
The above situation is quite worrisome and undoubtedly culminated into the designation and the ranking
of Nigeria by the Transparency International in her 1997 and 2000 reports as the most corrupt country in the
world. It is in this regards that Okolo and Akpokighe asserted that the
general global perception about graft in Nigeria is that it is generally acknowledged that corrupt
practices are endemic and systemic in both public and private sectors of Nigeria… it undermines
the country‟s integrity and security. It also poses serious developmental challenge being
responsible for the poverty of the populace. Public resources meant for the development of all
ends up in few hands, the nation pays the price. This has resulted to absence of social amenities
such as portable water, electricity and good roads. The populace becomes demoralized and
become willing tools to be used as saboteurs to the state (32).
The effect of corruption on our national life is far reaching. In fact, there seems to be a dialectical relationship
between corruption and the underdevelopment of Nigeria. Corruption has been identified as the major bane of
urgently needed development. On the political front corruption constitutes a major obstacle to democracy and the
rule of law. In a democratic system, offices and institution lose their legitimacy when they are misused for private
advantage. This is harmful to our democracy. Our democracy and political leadership cannot develop in a corrupt
climate. Economically, corruption leads to the depletion of our national wealth. It has led to the use of scarce
public resources to finance uneconomic high profile projects such as power plants pipelines that cost billions
whereas if these were channel towards building schools, hospitals and roads or the supply of electricity and water
to rural areas which are basic needs of life. This has hindered the development of fair market structures which has
led to job losses and also affects investment. On the social ladder, the people have lost their trust in the political
system. In its institutions and leadership, they have developed nonchalant attitude and general apathy towards
government policies resulting in a weak civil society (35-36).
It is against this background that this paper sees corruption as both a national embarrassment as well as a
problem and hence, the imperative of interrogating the problem of corruption in Nigeria under the lenses of the
thoughts of Kant. In fulfilling this requirement, a conceptualization of corruption will be attempted, the problem
of corruption in Nigeria will be historicized and the attempts by successive government at curbing the monster-
corruption accounted for before the prescription of Kant to the problem of corruption in Nigeria will be presented
before the conclusion which in the final analysis sum up the entirety of the discourse.
Understanding the concept “Corruption”
The concept of corruption have been defined and conceptualized variously. According to Ani, the word
“corrupt (Middle English, from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere, to destroy: com-intensive pref. and
rumpere, to break) when used together as an adverb literally means „utterly broken‟” (69). For Lipset and Lenz
“corruption is the abuse or misuse of public or government power for illegitimate private advantage. It is an effort
to secure wealth or power through illegal means for private benefit at public expense” (112). In the same vein,
Sen sees corruption as involving “the violation of established rules for personal gain and profit” (275).
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For Agbese, “corruption is a phenomenon so difficult to define, yet it percolates every structure of the
society. It affects the military as well as it soils the hands of the civilians”. He further captures corruption in the
following lines:
When we use our position in society to secure certain advantages jumping a queue, being
waved off at the checkpoint or making others bend the rules to accommodate our
demands … by whatever means even if it is just „thank you‟ our action however innocent,
however well-intentional, however unthreatening to others, has corrupted a system or a
convention or some rules and regulations in application (quoted in Okolo and Akpokighe
33).
In the thinking of Abdulahi, corruption involves the diversion of resources from the betterment of the community
to the gain of individuals at the expense of the community. Mumullan posits that a public official can be said to be
corrupt “if he accepts money or money‟s worth for doing something that he is under a duty to do or to exercise a
legitimate discretion for improper reason” (quoted in Okolo and Akpokighe 33).
Deducible from the above definitions is the fact that in any event, while the concept of corruption may not be easy
to define in view of its multifaceted, dynamic and flexible nature, it is not difficult to recognize as it requires a
minimum of two people who exchange or promise to exchange money in order to get things done in their favour.
Properly situated, it connotes the misuse of public or governmental resources for private gains. It connotes and
covers multifaceted acts of commission and omission which may range from trivial to monumental. It covers such
phenomenal as kickbacks and commission on government projects and purchases, the creation of ghost workers,
illegal oil sale and auctioning of public properties, and the diversion of moneys meant for the procurement of anti-
retroviral drugs for HIV/AIDs patients. It also covers the use of official stationeries for private personal
correspondence, government labour for private personal work, misuse of government motor vehicles, the demand
of sex from female applicant before giving them employment, examination malpractices, inflation of contract
sums, falsification of receipt and invoice, the misuse of security funds by chief executives of state just to mention
but a few.
Regarding the nature of corruption, it suffices to state that corruption occurs, and is evidential in every
human endeavour and such acts are often shrouded in secrecy because of the fact of its being an immoral act. It is
in this regards that Ani intimated that “corruption is rooted in man‟s nature for morbid pursuit of self interest or
ego drive” (74).

History and Historiography of Corruption in Nigeria

The word corruption has become “a household word in the minds of an average Nigerian, because of its
endless and constant spreading and its stability in any government in Nigeria, which to finding its solution has
been difficult” (Amujiri 133). Okoye corroborated the above when he intimated that corruption is a “phenomenon
that has survived from one historical epoch to another in different forms. Amujiri continued that corruption has
been described as “a living stone, which lives for ages” (6). The above are statements of fact that coheres to the
actual state of affairs as the corruption in Nigeria is both phenomenal and has been historically outstanding.
Thovethin seems to be thinking in the above light when he asserts that:
The basic contours of Nigeria‟s political history is simply wholly and squarely the
history of corruption and corrupt leadership; that public office, be it political,
bureaucratic or judicial, are no longer held in trust. An occupant of any of these
positions is expected to go into it with clean hands and goes out in a similar manner.
But, this becomes impossible in the face of endemic corruption (101).
Ukwaba as cited in Ani traced the history of corruption in Nigeria to the preparation to take over the
mantle of leadership from the colonial masters by the Nigerian Petty Bourgeois. Quoting Ukwaba, Ani asserted
that:
It is observed that the colonial masters may have exploited natural resources, but are
accustomed to responsible government, leaving behind national total assets of 243.7
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million pounds when the Nigerian petty bourgeois assumed position of authority in the
region in 1954. By 1960, the treasury had fallen to 174.2 million pounds and by 1964 it
had fallen to 76.8 million pounds (70).
What can be deduced from the above is that soon after taking over the reins of power, the Nigerian petty
bourgeois soon demonstrated their quintessential corruption tendencies and capacity and the fact that they are
unrivaled and put differently, second to none in political corruption. According to Imhonopi and Ugochukwu
“the intensity of allegations of corrupt behavior in the public sector led to the establishment of the first corruption-
related commission of inquiry to probe allegations of abuse of office levied against Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who
was by then the leader and head of government business, and was later elected as the first premier of what was
then Nigeria‟s Eastern Region” (82). They further asserted that
He had been accused by the Chief Whip of that region‟s House of Assembly of using his
position to transfer government funds to support the African Continental Bank, in which
he allegedly had substantial personal interest. The same report mentioned that one of the
most orchestrated cases of corruption investigation was a probe of ministers and other
public functionaries in the old Western Region. The probe was instituted by the
military‟s sole administrator, appointed in 1962 and found most of these functionaries
guilty of corrupt self-enrichment during their tenures (82).
Contributing to discourse on the history of corruption in Nigeria, Dudley intimated that to secure the
resources the Action Group needed to contest the 1959 general elections under the headship of Awolowo, the
party channeled funds from the National Investment and Property Company (NIPC), a company controlled wholly
by the top Action Group (AG) functionaries, the Western Regional Development Corporation, and the Western
Regional Marketing Board, to the coffers of the group (47-48). Further quoting Dudley, Ani asserted that
“between 1958 and 1960, some six and a half million pounds of public funds found it way through the NIPC to
the action Group treasury” (48).

Still in the First Republic, “the cry against corrupt practices in Nigeria became disturbing under the Gowon
administration as a result of the alarming rate of different forms of corrupt scandals” (Lawal 645). Lending his
voice to the status of corruption during the Gowon regime Maduagwu asserted that “Gowon‟s regime was
unashamedly corrupt to the macro; that everyone knew it and did not hide it from public gaze. His pledge to enact
an anti-corruption decree like other promises was never fulfilled. And when an attempt was made to expose these
evils, he suppressed the attempts with the very weight of his high office” (20).
The high-handedness and corruption of the Gowon administration was made bare only after the assumption of
office by Murtala Mohammed. Joseph seems to be thinking in this line when he posits that Murtala‟s regime came
to power as anti-corruption government, which set up Assets Investigation Panel to probe the Governors that
served under Gowon. The panel indicted ten (10) of the twelve (12) governors and subsequently had their
certificates confiscated. The anti-corruption crusade of Murtala also spread to the entire public service. The purge
of the public service led to the retirement/dismissal of over 10,000 public servants nationwide (quoted in Azom
254). However, Murtala succeeded in instilling some measures of discipline, and ensured accountability in
government; one wonders and in fact, doubts as it were, his sincerity considering his antecedent and the role he
played during the civil war.
During the General Olusegun Obasanjo‟s regime, the situation was no better. Obasanjo provided enabling
environment for corruption to thrive. In the words of Ikpe:
In an effort at expanding state capacity and development through such white elephant
projects, activities and policies as Universal Primary Education Scheme (UPE),
Festival of Black and African Arts (FESTAC 77), First Lagos International Trade Fair,
Construction of Permanent Barracks for Soldiers and the new Federal Capital Territory
at Abuja. All these were avenues for private accumulation of wealth; and this revives
the conception of policies as “An unremitting and unconstrained struggle for
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possession and access to state offices with the chief aim of procuring direct material
benefited only his cabinet members (250).
During the Second Republic, politicians as it were, could not separate and distance themselves from
corruption and the national embarrassment that their predecessors have plunged Nigeria into. What they rather
elected to do was to fuel the embers of corruption in all fronts and it is in response to the high-handedness and
institutional corruption in the Alhaji Shehu Shagari‟s administration that Achebe clearly intimated that
“corruption in Nigeria has passed the alarming and entered the fatal stage; and Nigeria will die if we keep
pretending that she is only slightly indisposed” (47). Maduagwu succinctly captured the status of Corruption in
Shagari‟s administration thus:
Ministers, Governors, party officials, supporters of all the political parties, business
associates, all rallied round to share the booty. Shagari‟s regime raped public wealth. But
parties were also evolved in the scramble for the national cake. The parties made sure that
in the states where they were in charge public funds were diverted to the parties and
private accounts as subsequently revealed by panels of enquires after the overthrow of the
politicians (19).
While it is argued in some fronts that Shagari‟s administration should not have been that corrupt because
of the establishment of the Ethical Revolution Commission by the administration, it remains to say that such
argument does not follow logic as the mere establishment of such commission does not guarantee transparency
and hence, the exoneration of any administration as it were of corruption and its practices. In fact, Obianyo avers,
in regards to the Shagari led administration that “the profligacy of that regime was an antithesis of the ethical
revolution it put in place” (58).
While the Buhari/Idiagbon administration sought to rid Nigeria of corruption, that administration as it
were, was not last long as it was toppled by General Babangida in 1985. According to the International Crisis
Group report, Babangida was widely accused of institutionalizing corruption as a tool of political control and as
much as US$12.2 billion in oil revenues simply “disappeared” under his watch (12). General Babangida‟s delay
or refusal to hand over power gave rise to local resistance and foreign pressure, especially in the wake of the
annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. According to Imhonopi and Ugochukwu, as events unfolded
in the administration,
The spate and magnitude of corruption under this regime made all preceding corruption
in the country look like child‟s play. This was facilitated by two major factors: the long,
nine-year tenure of the regime, and the huge surge in oil revenue, including the famous
oil windfall occasioned by the Iraq War in 1991. A whopping sum of US$12.67 billion
earned during the war could not be accounted for (82).
They further intimated that another spectacular role of the Babangida regime was its release of the
properties seized from the indicted military governors who served in Yakubu Gowon‟s regime. The regime also
restored to them their lost military ranks, in addition to tendering a national apology to the indicted officers. This
single episode sent the wrong signal to all public officials that corruption in the public sector was a forgivable
offence (82). In the finding of Ukwuaba, Babangida is said to have deposited about N 2462.35 billion in banks in
USA, London, Germany and Switzerland (105). Deducible from the above lines of thought is the fact that
corruption as it were during the administration of Ibrahim Babangida was a phenomenon that was both celebrated
and institutionalized.
While the Shonekon led interim government lasted for only three months, and handed over to General Abacha,
Lawal alluded the fact “judging from the theoretical framework at which Abacha launched out for war against
corruption, one would, without equivocation; commend him for his good intensions. He set up the National
Orientation Agency (NOA) and the War Against Indiscipline and Corruption (WAIC). However, for Chuta,
despite all that General Abacha set forth as his blueprint to dealing with corruption, his regime was noted to have
erected the worst palace of corruption in the history of Nigerian. The record of corruption which surrounded him,
his family connection, and his supporters submerged whatever returns corruption may have accumulated in the
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wider society (33). Agbroko succinctly presented a chronicle of that depicts the state of affair during General
Abacha‟s regime. In his words:
In Abuja seven choices property…along with a high raised building in Victoria Island,
Lagos. The cash recovered from him included US$625, 263, 187.19, £75,306,886.93 and
N100, 000,000, together with 30 percent shares of the West African Refinery in Sierra
Leone, worth $420,000 US dollars. Between Abacha‟s son, Mohammed and his brother,
Abdulkabir, the government recovered up to N346 million. As for Abacha‟s Security
Adviser, Ismaila Gwarzo, the Federal Government took possession of 13 properties
located in Abuja, Kano and Zaria as well as cash worth almost N400 million and
$2million (Agbroko quoted in Chuta 33).
While it is accepted as true, the fact that at that time in the history of Nigeria, there was no and there was
likely any public office holder that can match the outstanding and seemingly intractable exploits of Abacha as
regards corruption, it remains to say that it is the mode of his exit from power that provided the latitude for the
revelation of the fact that he was an epitome of corruption. Before the fourth republic, General Abubakar‟s
administration which handed over power to a democratically elected administration according to Lawal and Tobi
“cannot be absorbed from the mass looting of the public treasury” (646). This according to them is demonstrated
in the findings of the Christopher panel set up to review contracts; incenses and appointments made under the
Abdusalam administration came out with shocking revelation. The panel found beyond imaginable proportions
that though Nigeria was already neck deep in corrupt practices, the Abdusalam administration made mockery of
any sense of discipline and probity and a scale that practically made saints of his predecessors. The panel‟s report
revealed that 4072 contracts cost N635.62 billion as against the N88 billion budgeted for it 1998. The panel also
revealed the depletion of the foreign reserve which as at the end of 1998 stood at $7.6 billion but shrank to a $3.8
billion by May 1999 (646).
Hence, one can say without mincing words that despite the short stay of General Abubakar in office, he
did proved that he would have sure excelled his predecessor and done better in the destruction of the Nigerian
economy should he had stay a little longer.
At the beginning of the fourth republic, President Olusegun Obasanjo upon his ascension into office gave
speeches that were undoubtedly pointers to the fact that the fight against corruption would be fought and won in
no distance time. However, despite the sycophantic and hypocritical posture of Obasanjo on corruption, it became
a popular belief that Obasanjo‟s anti-corruption crusade is mere rhetoric as his government and people indicted
for one form of corruption or the other populated cabinet. For instance, during the first year of his first tenure, the
Senate President, Chuba Okadigbo was indicted to have received N22.95m as Sallah and Christmas welfare
packages in excess of approved allocation for furnishing of the Senate President‟s house (Obianyo 62-63).
During the Yar‟adua and Goodluck administration, the rising tide of corruption was also felt. In fact it
was reported that “…both the late President Umaru Yar‟Adua and his successor, Good-luck Jonathan‟s combined
regimes squandered $67 billion, (about N11 trillion) Oil money left in two separate accounts by the Obasanjo
administration. Ezekwesili said that the two administrations squandered $45 Billion (N7.065 Trillion), left in the
Foreign Reserve and another $22 Billion (about N3.454 Trillion) left in the Excess Crude Account, bringing the
total amount of money squandered to about $67 Billion or N10.619 Trillion (Edike, & Uzoh, 2013). The trillion
of naira stolen from the oil Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) that was introduced shortly after the
removal of oil subsidy in 2011 remains to be mentioned. According to Banwon, “in the space of less than two
years, several of our own citizens ranging from the highly respected people we know, to totally unknown
shadowy figures, have been quietly sharing the money earmarked for subsidy to alleviate the cost of petrol to our
suffering citizens” (2).
The fact that corruption was perpetuated at it peak in the Goodluck Jonathan led administration is evident
in the fact that he does not as it were, or put differently does not know what corruption entails. This was clearly
demonstrated in his media chat at the wake of the general elections in 2015 where he alluded the fact that what
people call corruption (in its highest point in the history of Nigeria as it were at that time) was ordinary stealing.
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Agede seems to be thinking in that light when he alluded the fact that “under Jonathan Goodluck, corruption has
gone through the roof and the level of impunity heightened… sadly, president Jonathan Goodluck has a flawed
conception of corruption and what it takes to fight it, he distinguishes between stealing and corruption, and claims
that they are one and the same” (64-65). The President Mohammadu Buhari led administration as it stands is
overwhelmed by the fight against this monster, the question of whether it will be exonerated from contributing to
the history of corruption in Nigeria cannot be answered as this point in history but it remains to say that the
presentation of the history of corruption in Nigeria here attempted, covers at best political and economic
corruption. That notwithstanding, the conceptualization of corruption in its totality and in all the forms it
manifests itself reveals that from the pre-colonial era till present, corruption has moved beyond being a menace to
the level of being an existential attribute of Nigeria as a nation.

In the civil service, the transfer of files from one office to another for the most part becomes problematic as one
might need to grease the officer‟s palms for that to be done or risk the file being missing. In the military and para-
military check points on the nation‟s highways, the story is no better; in the house, we find wives defrauding their
unsuspecting husbands, children shortchanging their parents and guidance by inflating tuition fees, prices of
commodities amongst others. In the schools and in the streets, in the market place, one finds situations where
receipts are falsified by procurement officers with the aid of the traders with the intent of defrauding the
government and private employers.

The National Assembly is filled with politicians whose involvement in graft is crystal clear to everyone as they
have issues and cases to answer in the courts; these “lawmakers”, as have been argued elsewhere, lacks the moral
probity to make laws. Even in the judicial system, the emergence of billionaire judges, some of who were arrested
recently are indicative of the extent of corruption in the system and is indeed worrisome. The high point of the
corruption of judges implies that culprits are no longer brought to book as they bribe their ways out for the most
part and it is in this light that Iredia avers that “a corrupt judge is more harmful to the society than a man who runs
amok with a dagger in a crowded street” (6). The recent indictment of 205 personals of the Independent National
Electoral Commission for allegedly receiving part of the N23 billion alleged to have been disbursed by a former
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Maduake ahead of the 2015 general elections and accordingly
subverting the elections where possible is again worrisome; a national assembly with its head and a good number
of senators and representatives in the radars and under the investigation of the EFCC is undoubtedly a national
assembly that lacks the moral probity to make laws and hence, a demonstration of the fact that Nigeria is in
trouble.
The Nigerian State and the fight Against Corruption
Several attempts have been made since independence by almost every successive administration to fight
the monster- corruption. The very first attempt was made as a result of the intensity of the allegations leveled
against Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe- the first premier of the Nigerian eastern region. According to Imhonopi and
Ugochukwu “In accordance with the recommendations of the probe panel, the identifiable fixed and movable
assets of those found guilty were seized and sold by the government as a means of recovering some of the losses.
This was also meant to serve as a deterrent against such practices in the future” (82).
During the Gowon administration, The Corrupt Practice Decree of 1975 was enacted in its bid to fight
corruption. Imhonopi and Ugochukwu further asserted that “the first attempt by the military to purge itself of its
corrupt elements occurred when the Murtala Mohammed led military regime instituted a probe of all the military
governors who served in Yakubu Gowon‟s administration. All but two were found guilty of corrupt self-
enrichment. In addition to seizure of some of their known properties, the officers also lost their military ranks”
(82). Mention must be made of the efforts of such leaders as Murtala Mohammed and Olusegun Obasanjo in their
respective regimes which led to the sanitisation of the public service through the sacking of over 10,000 civil
servants in the fight against corruption and also the setting up of the Public Compliant Commission.
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The civilian regime of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, which governed from 1979 to 1983, was judged one of the
most corrupt in the country up to the time of its abrupt termination by the military coup that brought Mohammed
Buhari to power in December 1983. In fact, the alleged unprecedented level of corruption was the main reason
adduced by the military for terminating the civilian regime. The Buhari regime tried to address the problem of
corruption and attempted to promote a positive reorientation of national values through the introduction and
enforcement of draconian military decrees (82). In fact he was determine to bring sanity into the system and
sustain same through its policy of the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) but this efforts meet brick walls and fizzled
out with the toppling of the administration by General Ibrahim Babangida.
Mention must also be made of the attempts at curbing corruption in Nigeria, though in principle by
General Ibrahim Babangida. The Babangida led administration resuscitated the dying Code of Conduct Bureau
and the Code of Conduct Tribunal established in 1879 and 1989 respectively to handle corruption. The Kayode
Esho Comission of Inquiry (KECI) and the National Committee on Corruption and other Economic Crimes as
well as the Corrupt Practices and Economic Decree were all attempt by Babangida between (1985-1993) at
fighting corruption. The question that is however left unanswered is that as concerns the sincerity of the
administration‟s efforts at curbing corruption. Agbu in his response to the above alluded the fact that the
administration did not take the issue of corruption seriously. The following lines capture his thoughts more
succinctly:
This decree (the Corrupt Practices and Economic Crime Decree) expanded the definition
of corruption to encompass the private sector. It also avoided unnecessary technicalities
and provided stiffer penalties. However, that government did not really take issue of
corruption seriously. It could actually be argued that corruption in Nigeria became
institutionalised during this period (3).
In the fourth republic, President Obasanjo in his inaugural speech alluded the fact that his administration
was going to tackle and fight the hydra-headed monster called corruption. This resolve was followed up as it were
with the introduction of the anti-corruption bill which was signed into law on the 13 th of June, 2000. It is
consequent upon the above that the Independent Corrupt practices and Other Related Offences Commission
(ICPC) was set up in June 2000 with Justice Mustapha Akanbi as it chairman. The government also set up the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the September of 2004 with Nuhu Ribadu as it chairman.
These commissions recorded considerable successes with the conviction of a handful of culprit. However,
these commissions from the Obasanjo through the Yar‟ Adua Administration to the Goodluck Jonathan and the
current Buhari led administration have functioned with much clogs in their wheel of progress. The chairmen of
these commissions at different times in history have intimated the general public of the fact that minister,
governors and other highly placed political personages are the major hindrance to the success of the fight against
corruption. Be that as it may, the institutions of government saddled with the responsibility of prosecuting the war
against corruption have for the most part and in some cases become culpable and perpetrators of acts of
corruption. This is evident in the activities of the Nigerian police, the judiciary and other sister commissions.
While it remains to say that “Jonathan Goodluck lacked the moral courage to fight corruption if the same
is his reward for those he paid to look the other way when he subverted the zoning arrangement of his Peoples
Democratic Party to vie for the presidency when it was zoned to the north and …the fact that he was weakened by
his intension to retain the presidency at all cost in 2015” (Agede 65), it remains to say that the vehemence with
which President Muhammadu Buhari is prosecuting the war against corruption is quite commendation. The
whistle blowing policy that was introduced on December 20, 2016 by the Buhari led administration have led to
startling revelations and the recovery of looted funds to the tune of a whooping 17 billion Naira in a space of four
months . The impacts of the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) which have led to the closure of
leakages to the country‟s financial earnings, the arraignment of a sitting Nigerian Senate President and the
suspension of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir David Lawal and the
Director General of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA). Amb. Ayodele Oke over graft related offence by the
Presidency among others have demonstrated the fact that it is no more business as usual. The above
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notwithstanding, this hydra-headed monster which have become a national embarrassment seems to be fighting
back.
The above is evidential in the fact that corruption of the judiciary which have led to the arrest and
indictment of judges at different times and the refusal of the Nigerian Senate to confirm the appointment of
Ibrahim Magu as the chairman of the EFCC. This act will not be surprising to anyone who is abreast with the
desperation of the political dramatists personal in the Nigerian political space. Rather, a smooth confirmation of
Magu by a Senate that is led by Bukola Saraki and filled with ex-governors and corrupt politicians who have
taken refuge and immunity in the red chambers is what will have been surprising. The thinking of Agede on the
culture of impunity is worthy of mention. According to him:
Nigeria has firmly entrenched a culture of impunity that may require a radical approach to uproot.
The unwillingness of Nigeria to attend to this issue (the problem of corruption) is suggested by a
certain ambiguity inherent in her approach to the matter. For instance, apart from already existing
law, anti-graft agencies- Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent
Corrupt and Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have been charged with
the investigation and prosecution of financial crimes. But this mandate is obscured by the facility
of immunity that is granted political office holders, which shields them from criminal prosecution
while their tenure last (52-53).
The above statement reveals a double standard in the fight against corruption by all the administrations in
the recent past. It is consequent upon the above that this study seeks to answer the question of what will be the
response as well as the prescription of Immanuel Kant, an eighteenth-century German philosopher of
encyclopedic standing to the problem of corruption in Nigeria if he were to be living in this period in the history
of Nigeria.
Kant and the Problem of Corruption in Nigeria
In answering the question of what will be the response as well as the prescription of Immanuel Kant to the
problem of corruption if he were to be living at this time in the history of Nigeria, this paper will here concern
itself with and will here draw its impetus from the moral thinking of Kant. Morality in any event for Kant “is
therefore, an aspect of rationality and has to do with our consciousness of rules or “laws” of behavior, which we
consider both universal and necessary. The qualities of universality and necessity are the marks of a priori
judgments, and this further confirms Kant‟s view that the principles of behavior are derived by the practical
reason a priori. Instead of searching for the quality of “goodness” in the effects of our actions, Kant focuses on the
rational aspect of our behavior” (Fieser J and Stumpf S.E. 310).
What can be deciphered from the above is that, in Kantian thoughts, morality cannot be divorced from
rationality.The aggregate of Kant‟s position, properly situated is that the essence of the morally good act is the
principle that a person affirms when he wills an act: “The good will is good not because of what it causes or
accomplishes, not because of its usefulness in the attainment of some set purpose, but alone because of the
willing, that is to say, it is good of itself” (8).

A rational being strives to do what he or she ought to do, and this Kant distinguishes from an act that a person
does either from inclination or from self-interest. We can all compare the differences in these motives, for to act
from either inclination or self-interest appears to us to be on a different level morally from acting out of duty to
the moral law. Kant makes the rather startling statement that the “good will is good not because of what it
accomplishes”. He says this as a way of emphasizing the dominant role of the will in morality. It is not enough for
the effects or consequences of our behavior to agree with the moral law; the truly moral act is done for the sake of
the moral law, “for all these effects, even the promotion of the happiness of others, could have been also brought
about by other causes, so that for this there would have been no need of the will of a rational being.” The seat of
moral worth is in the will, and the good will is one that acts out of a sense of duty. And “an action done from duty
must wholly exclude the influence of inclination, and with it every object of the will, so that nothing remains
which can determine the will except objectively the law and subjective pure respect for this practical law” (311).
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Duty, itself means the necessity of performing an action out of respect for law. But how does the moral man find
the law that is to govern every action of his life? how does a man of goodwill recognize his duty? It is at this point
that Kant invented and introduced the “phrase, the categorical imperative”(Popkin and Stroll 41). According to
Kant “all imperatives command either hypothetically or categorically. The former represent the practical necessity
of a possible action as means to something else that is willed (or at least which one might possibly will). The
categorical imperative would be that which represented an action as necessary of itself without reference to
another end, i.e., as objectively necessary” (24). Deducible from the above is the fact that a hypothetical
imperative connotes following a stipulated line of action to achieve a particular end and as captured by Popkin
and Stroll deals with “prudential action” (41) while the categorical imperative “enjoins actions without any if.
Hence, he (Kant) concludes that “there is therefore but one categorical imperative, namely, this: Act only on that
maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universal law” (30).

Commenting on the above Harsner alluded the fact that “Kant‟s criterion for the good will proves to be
universalisation,…Kant‟s criterion requires a man on the point of acting to ask himself whether the maxim
governing his intended action (for example, “the greatness of my need justifies this departure from honesty”)
could become a universal law of action for all men without destroying the acts itself” (590).
Kant gives at least four duties with which to prove the workability of the categorical imperative. However, this
paper adopts the second of the four because of its appropriateness for the subject matter under discourse. The
second reads thus:
Another finds himself forced by necessity to borrow money. He knows that he will not be
able to repay it, but sees also that nothing will be lent to him unless he promises stoutly to
repay it in a definite time. He desires to make this promise, but he has still so much
conscience as to ask himself: "Is it not unlawful and inconsistent with duty to get out of a
difficulty in this way?" Suppose however that he resolves to do so: then the maxim of his
action would be expressed thus: "When I think myself in want of money, I will borrow
money and promise to repay it, although I know that I never can do so." Now this
principle of self-love or of one's own advantage may perhaps be consistent with my
whole future welfare; but the question now is, "Is it right?" I change then the suggestion
of self-love into a universal law, and state the question thus: "How would it be if my
maxim were a universal law?" Then I see at once that it could never hold as a universal
law of nature, but would necessarily contradict itself. For supposing it to be a universal
law that everyone when he thinks himself in a difficulty should be able to promise
whatever he pleases, with the purpose of not keeping his promise, the promise itself
would become impossible, as well as the end that one might have in view in it, since no
one would consider that anything was promised to him, but would ridicule all such
statements as vain pretences (31-32).
The above lines of thought as put forward by Kant upon a critical examination is quite revealing and
instructive. Following from the fact that the categorical imperative lays down a rule which when followed and
adhered to will ensure that the person, behaving in accordance with such rule is behaving morally, one can posit
that no one should steal as if every were to steal and hence, stealing becomes a universal law then “moral relations
based on the possession of private property will be impossible.

Yet another foundation of the categorical imperative that remains to be mentioned in this section is that as
concerns acting and viewing other humans as an end and not a means to an end. In the words of Kant in the
Foundational Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals,
Man and generally any rational being exists as an end in himself, not merely as a means to
be arbitrarily used by this or that will, but in all his actions, whether they concern himself
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Oracle of Wisdom Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs

or other rational beings, must be always regarded at the same time as an end. All objects of
the inclinations have only a conditional worth, for if the inclinations and the wants
founded on them did not exist, then their object would be without value….Thus the worth
of any object which is to be acquired by our action is always conditional. Beings whose
existence depends not on our will but on nature's, have nevertheless, if they are irrational
beings, only a relative value as means, and are therefore called things; rational beings, on
the contrary, are called persons, because their very nature points them out as ends in
themselves, that is as something which must not be used merely as means, and so far
therefore restricts freedom of action (and is an object of respect). These, therefore, are not
merely subjective ends whose existence has a worth for us as an effect of our action, but
objective ends, that is, things whose existence is an end in itself; an end moreover for
which no other can be substituted (36).

Deducible from the above quotation is the fact that the human person should not be view as a means to an
end. Kant further alluded that “if then there is a supreme practical principle or, in respect of the human will, a
categorical imperative, it must be one which, being drawn from the conception of that which is necessarily an end
for everyone because it is an end in itself, constitutes an objective principle of will, and can therefore serve as a
universal practical law. The foundation of this principle is: rational nature exists as an end in itself” (40).
Discourse on the basic tenets of Kant‟s deontological ethics is here stayed in order to provide a little latitude for
the discourse on what will be the prescription of Kant to the problem of corruption in Nigeria.
The reaction of Kant to the problem of corruption in Nigeria would be that of distaste and dislike for
people of a corrupt stock who are “not adorned with a single feature of pure and good will enjoying unbroken
prosperity” (7) which of course are proceeds from corrupt practices and graft related practices as it were and as it
is at the detriment of their fellow countrymen who in their estimation are nothing but means to an end- achieving
their goals. This thinking is based on the fact that for the most part, Nigerians take advantage of each other and
any political or leadership position as opportunities to enrich themselves and to amass a kind of wealth that they
will probably never be able to expend in their life time. In this way, such Nigerians conceives of, and treats his
fellow countrymen and any office they so occupy as means of achieving what they want and not a rational beings
in Kantian terms.
The prescription of Kant to the problem of corruption in Nigeria, simply put are the implications as well
as the lessons that are derivable from the Kantian categorical imperative which as we have argued in the
preceding section of this paper stipulates that we should act according to the maxim that we will at the same time
will that it becomes a universal law. In this regards, Nigerians must change her behaviors. This thinking is based
on the fact that the war against corruption cannot be successfully prosecuted without changing people‟s
behaviours. This behavioral change, in the opinion of this paper should be anchored on the Kantian ethics of duty
which properly situated, culminates into the Kantian categorical imperative because of the tendency and
propensity of same at engendering a self-conscious efforts at deviating from graft.
For instance, when one is in a conundrum or put differently, faced with the task of deciding as to whether
to engage in graft or not, to embezzle funds meant for the provision of public social amenities or meant for the
payment of salaries or pension fund, the exhortation and prescription of Kant would be: will it be just fine if that
line of action or conduct will be made a national law in Nigeria? An awareness of the prescription of Kant and the
behavioral change that it elicits will help such an one, through a self-conscious effort to deviate from such line of
conduct in view of the fact that life would be undoubtedly difficult if such were to be made a universal or national
law.
The deontological ethics of Kant as argued earlier is the ethics of duty. Properly situated, this can be
extrapolated to the Nigerian public service. Here, people should not expect and should not be gratified before they
do or render the services that they have been hired and are paid to render. In any event, the behavioral change that
come with the articulation of the Kantian categorical imperative will affect the perception of citizens about people
that engage in graft. In this regards, the culture of celebrating criminality and people who are neck deep in graft or
whose sources of income are questionable through the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees by universities
who should be in the fore front of the fight against corruption, the conferment of chieftaincy titles, and national
OWIJOPPA VOL.1, No.1 2017 12
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honours will stop. This to quote Patrice Lumumba, will lead to their not been given the oxygen to breath so that
they can be allowed to suffocate in their iniquities.
The above will no doubt lead to the elevation of the virtues of integrity and the dignity of labour and at
the same lead to the reformulation or better still, the disabusal of the minds of the younger generation of Nigerians
from the idea and thinking of wanting to get rich at all cost not minding whether they will have to engage in graft
to achieve their dreams.
The prescription of Kant in the Nigerian quest for the successful prosecution of the fight against this
monster that have become a national problem can also be deduced from the equally famous formulation of the
categorical imperative by Kant which adjures people to act so as to treat humanity in every case as an end in itself
and not as means only. In this regards, the consciousness of the fact that we share the same humanity and that it
can and should have been the other way round will serve to regulate our existential lives as Nigerians and will
undoubtedly lead to the successful prosecution of the war against graft. To this end, the sufferings of the people,
who for the most part are ravaged by and are wallowing in a kind of poverty that is ridiculously unimaginable,
will not be cashed into as a means of amassing public wealth and becoming rich through the embezzlement of
funds released to prosecute security issues and the provision of basic social amenities like roads, pipe borne water,
electricity etc that will alleviate the sufferings of the people.

Conclusion
In the foregoing, attempts have been made to explicate on the problem of corruption in Nigeria and the
possible prescriptions of Kant in the bid to pushing back the frontiers of this monster whose hold on Nigerian
have become unimaginably strong. As I draw to the conclusion of this discourse, a number of positions have been
raised in this paper and a rehearsal of a few of them is here considered necessary. One, that corruption have
become synonymous to human existence and constitutes a national embarrassment to Nigeria, is no conjecture but
a statement of fact that coheres to the actual state of affairs. Two, the monster of corruption, properly situated is a
historical problem that have endured in all successive administrations, military or civilian from the first republic
to the present political dispensation. While it remains true that there no shortage of attempts at curbing this
monster, these attempts, particularly that as presently driven and prosecuted by the President Mohammadu Buhari
led administration is yielding results that are commendable; historically, the most part of the fight have been more
rhetorical than a concerted fight. This position is hinged on the fact that there seems to exist a double standard in
the prosecution of the war against corruption considering the immunity granted the most part of the public
political office holders till the expiration of their tenure of office.
Despite the fight against this monster, corruption as it is, seems to be fighting back through whatever
means it can. This is evident in the continual refusal of the 8 th National Assembly to confirm the appointment of a
substantive chairman of the nation‟s highest anti-graft body, the EFCC for obvious reasons amongst others which
are built upon personal interest to the negligence of the public interest. It is in this regards that this paper holds as
true and hence concludes that for the successful prosecution of the war against the monster of corruption which
have constituted a national problem, have left the nation bereaved of good governance and have constituted a clog
in the wheel of the nation‟s collective development, Nigerians must change her behaviors. This behavioural
change that will alter the trajectory and tapestry of our thinking can be made possible through the adoption of the
prescriptions that are derivable from the Kantian categorical imperative which stipulates that we act according to
the maxim that we will at the same time will and sanction that our lines of actions and conducts be made universal
laws.
It is the thinking of this paper that in the above sense, such national ethical values as discipline, integrity,
the dignity of labour just to mention but a few that are embedded in the nation‟s 1999 constitution as amended
will be elevated with citizens seeing their fellow countrymen and the office that they hold as ends in Kantian
thoughts and not as a means to an end. In this regards and drawing from the thoughts of Kant, Nigerians will then
consider their lines of conduct and realise that should such corrupt tendencies and behaviours be made universal
or national laws, human existence will undoubtedly be impossible. Hence, it is the opinion of this paper that it is
only at this point that Nigeria can win the war against this monster, walk towards the path of a kind of
development that is sustainable, redeem her image in the global community and then become a force to be
reckoned with in the committee of nations of the world.
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