IRONY OF NIGERIA’S FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION: AN APPRAISAL OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S FIRST EIGHT MONTHS IN OFFICE

IRONY OF NIGERIA’S FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION: AN APPRAISAL OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S FIRST EIGHT MONTHS IN OFFICE

ABSTRACT

Nigeria as a country is not only popular for its economic and man power potentials but also, for monumental corruption ‘manifestations’ that plagues its government and institutions. The country, in the past decades has been ‘decorated’ with top ten position among the league of corrupt nations by Transparency International and other international watchdog organizations. With anti-graft in his campaign manifesto, it was an ‘easy’ task for Muhammadu Buhari to succeed the government of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan which was famous for corruption ‘manifestations’ and impunity in the 2015 presidential elections .This work appraises Nigeria’s strategy in the fight against corruption under President Muhammadu Buhari’s first eight months in office. The work argues that Buhari’s anti-graft strategy in its first eight months is misguided and misconceived. A theoretical framework is adopted for clear focus and distinction between the blurred edges of corruption and its manifestation. Primary evidences in the form of interviews and official reports are complemented with secondary and tertiary evidences gathered from Newspaper reports, textbooks, publications from journals aswell as internet sources in the course of carrying out this research.