Nigeria Needs a Fearsome Electorate
Courtesy Tope Asokere

Nigeria Needs a Fearsome Electorate

Nigeria Needs a Fearsome Electorate

Nigerians have, with habitual ease, allowed corrupt leaders and kakistocrats to enter positions of power and govern them. Either through coup d’état or fraudulent ballots. Then the resultant dissatisfaction they leave for even worse leaders to manage next time around. The cycle of corrupt leader to bad leader to worse leader has thus become a solid and stable equilibrium in the nation. Escaping, it seems unlikely. Most Nigerians wonder without end how to break the habit. Or bad elections end in order for good leaders to come into power. Then leaeders can foster best governance possible in the society. All by itself, this is a very mistaken expectation. (more…)

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Nations Trapped by the Guilty Accuser Syndrome
The cycle of corruption is fed by putting guilty but covered up people in power

Trapped by the Guilty Accuser Syndrome

Nations Trapped by the Guilty Accuser Syndrome

Numerous factors are acutely responsible for the persistence and worsening of the phenomenon of corruption in many democracies. These factors include regulatory capture, lack of transparency, inappropriate political systems, vertical policy transplantations, the weak rule of law, harsh economic conditions, the absence of political legitimacy, etc. All these factors are invisible to the public and require scandal to be known. Another critical factor in the growth of corruption is the much less discussed, the “guilty accuser syndrome”.

The guilty accuser syndrome is a sophisticated political selection strategy that ensures that only politicians with “dirty hands” can get into positions of power that are both strategic and lucrative. Such a syndrome is more associated with new and transition democracies than the mature liberal version. The guilty accuser syndrome is a significant weapon of corrupt political patrons since it can ruin strong institutions and render institutional reform useless. (more…)

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Reflections on the May Elections

Reflections on the May Elections: The Relevance of Voters?

Never underestimate the wisdom of the old saying, “what Britain needs is another good war”. Peace, jobs, wages, NHS are boring and appear to be responsible for the national malaise in British politics. Or are they? The May 5th local elections are over, and the June 8th general election is on its way.

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When Proper Democratic Process Fails Us: The Saraki Crisis

The “Saraki crisis” is making Nigerians and some foreign spectators of the three arms of government to rethink their understanding of the design and processes of democracy in the real-world, particularly the legislature. Surely, democracy is not a dirty word in Nigeria… yet. (more…)

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