Corrupt Followership versus Corrupt Leadership: A Stereotypical Analysis of Political Corruption in Nigeria

Abstract

Several studies on corruption in Nigeria identify the leadership as the bane of society. The media in its various manifestations often focus on the degree of corruption among the elite, paying little or no attention to the followership. It is the position in this paper, however, that corrupt leadership is the consequence of corrupt followership and vice versa. The paper is an examination of the evolution of corrupt leadership from corrupt followership. The prevalence of corruption in all its ramifications stems largely from the followership because leaders do not just appear. They emerge by elevation from the followership. This work therefore examines the culture of corruption as the foundation for corrupt leader using the Nigerian situation as case study. Using two corruption theories: public choice and bad apple as investigatory tools, this research reveals that faulty morals and the quest for acquisition of material wealth by the generality of the citizenry ( from among whom tomorrow’s leaders will emerge), produce corrupt leadership.