Local Elite and Corruption:Revisiting Marginalization of the Niger Delta
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Pan-Afr ican Book Company in association with JIMST Medina New Road. Accra, Ghana
Abstract
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The prevalence of contradictions generated by Nigeria's past colonial e:>..perience
sewrally explains major intra and inter-ethnic bickering that followed the nations'
political independence. The centerpiece of these contradictions lie in the themes of
credible agitations represented in the quest for self-autonomy, resource control, spatial
exploitation and a host of others which do not only pitch several ethnic nationalities
against the state but also threatens the corporate existence among major stake-holders.
At post-independence, the nation's environment witnessed the growth of a particular
segment of her population that became the custodian of power structure, the group that
overtly manipulates same to further their interest. Consequently, the actions ofthis group
appear diametrically opposed to the collective good of the mass, which are continually
displaced through scheming engendered· by corruption. When evaluated from an
institutional perspective, the successful encapsulation of the indigenous elite into the
network of world capitalist system by its nature created a lacuna e.,plicable in the duality
of allegiance. This dual allegiance, to a large extent, is tailored towards satisfYing the
h1terest of the elite class on one hand and at the other extreme glossing over the interest
of the ever rampaging marginalized locales or segment. The Niger-Delta predicament
represents one of such contradictions nurtured by corruption and sustained by allegiance
to the hegemonic power of the state, which create the needed interconnectivity between
the ruling elite at the national, state and local government levels. This interconnectivity
intensifies the continued neglect of the Niger-Delta. It is within this framework that this
paper examines the impact of state and local sponsored corruption on the well-being of
the peoples in the Niger-Delta. It also locates the root of corruption in the philosophical
leaning of oil curse paradigm and concludes by proffering solution to the problems that
beset the Niger-Delta Region.
Keywords
HM Sociology, JA Political science (General), JZ International relations