59.2 per cent of survey respondents believed (‘agree somewhat’ or ‘agree completely’) that power was more important than honesty in their community, and 61.5 per cent believed that others in the community would be willing to compromise their ethical values for control of scarce resources. Many individuals see their communities and Nigerian society at large as places where honesty and integrity are valued less than power and the control of resources, and an environment in which compromising one’s values is tolerated and deemed acceptable or even essential.
These self-interested values are reflected in Nigerian public life. Many powerful individuals know citizens want better governance and a fairer society, and rhetorically embrace good governance, ethical leadership, and self-sacrifice. Indeed, they gain much of their status from participation in civic life, including involvement in religious, ethnic, or professional communities, the justice system and the media. But corruption continues unimpeded. For many Nigerians, fraud reports reinforce the perception that corruption is both ubiquitous and inevitable, inspiring little confidence that those responsible will be held accountable.
Survey findings suggest that cultural norms of empathy and social responsibility are resilient in Nigeria, and that there is a shared desire among Nigerians for fair treatment.
Yet public opinion regarding personal and institutional conduct still matters in Nigeria. In some instances, public criticism has been effective in forcing contrition or a reversal of abusive official conduct. Significantly, the survey findings suggest that cultural norms of empathy and social responsibility are resilient in Nigeria, and that there is a shared desire among Nigerians for fair treatment. While as many as 68.3 per cent of respondents agreed that most people’s ‘primary concern was their own personal benefit’ (suggesting a belief that many individuals prioritize personal advancement over the community’s welfare), 73.4 per cent respondents agreed that most people in their community ‘feel bad when someone is being taken advantage of’.
These conflicting views demonstrate the complicated and ambivalent relationship most Nigerians have with corrupt practices. Many recognize corruption as a real problem but feel resigned to its prevalence. At the same time, its persistence creates room for justification of corrupt practices, public apathy and scepticism about the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures. With widespread corruption, people tend to doubt the sincerity or potential success of government reforms and initiatives. Yet these views also indicate that Nigeria is at a critical juncture, facing a choice between the persistent deepening of corruption or the possibility of socially meaningful, joined-up reform.
The survey findings point to a disconnection between the public’s aspirations and the reality of Nigeria’s governance systems, and between engagement in corrupt practices and moral beliefs. These gaps offer a way to reframe anti-corruption reform efforts. Anti-corruption strategies can harness and amplify collective sentiments of civic duty, empathy, and the desire for fairness to mobilize citizens against the abuse of power. Better mobilization can build demand for greater accountability from leaders in their exercise of power and resource management.
While public ambivalence can serve as a starting point for collective action against corruption, it is not sustainable or effective alone. Other factors play a critical role in facilitating effective collective action, including material benefits or practical incentives, such as economic gains, social recognition, community identity, and strategic planning with clear goals and organized efforts. Additionally, external pressures, including political, economic, and social contexts – such as government regulations, policy changes and public sentiment – profoundly affect collective action.
Effective leadership and organizational structures are crucial for channelling group motivations, ensuring coordination and sustaining engagement.
Building on a legacy of successful coalition-building
In light of these findings, Nigeria is faced with a fundamental question of how to reduce the cost to government officials, businesspeople and ordinary citizens of being honest in an environment where trust in formal institutions has been eroded by decades of broken promises, impunity and failed reform, and the political system has been so compromised by entrenched corruption that top–down reform is superficial, resisted or blocked.
The answers to this question can be found in Nigeria. The first of these answers lies in the country’s track record in building and sustaining successful civic coalitions. Coalition-building has proven successful in driving key sociopolitical changes in the past, most significantly the transition from military rule in 1999. The establishment of the Electoral Reform Committee in the late 2000s and the passing of the Freedom of Information Act in 2011 also came about through the sustained activism of coordinated groups of diverse stakeholders, including ordinary citizens, working together with large-scale civil society organizations such as the Transition Monitoring Group, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and Freedom of Information Coalition. These movements managed to generate multi-dimensional pressure on political actors which led to real, if incremental, change.
While this level of long-term citizen engagement in advocacy efforts is often rare, successful mobilization in the above cases was the result of a combination of contextual factors. In the case of ending military rule, factors included political resistance and protests against oppressive events such as the annulment of the June 1993 elections and the execution of the environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni leaders in 1995. A series of other factors also helped create the opening for democratic transition, including activism among labour, professional and student associations against economic hardship and mismanagement under structural adjustment policies; the activities of pro-democracy groups; international pressure and sanctions; the role of independent and underground media (e.g. pirate radio stations such as Radio Kudirat); and, finally, the sudden deaths of the former military head of state (1985–93), General Sani Abacha, and Chief Moshood Abiola – widely believed to have won the 1993 presidential elections – in 1998. The combination of conditions – some deliberate and others incidental – collectively fuelled resistance and pro-democratic advocacy, eventually propelling Nigeria towards the end of military dictatorship.
Research shows that dynamic coalitions and civic resistance can create political will and empower civil society.
Research also shows that dynamic coalitions and civic resistance can create political will and empower civil society. Groups that have previously mobilized are also shown to possess the organizational infrastructure, norms, interpersonal trust and experience that lowers the cost for future actions and these benefits from past mobilization can be extended across different organizations – having a catalytic effect. In recent years, civic organizations that have drawn on the lessons from these coalition-building successes have led investigations, publicized corruption scandals, mobilized public awareness and proved successful in attracting and leveraging international resources and cooperation. The efforts of organizations like the Civil Society Network Against Corruption, Socio-Economics Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), BudgIT, EiE Nigeria, Agora Policy, Connected Development, as well as online media platforms like Premium Times, Dataphyte, the International Center for Investigative Reporting, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism and the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity have contributed to expanding transparency advocacy in Nigeria. Social norms and movement experts emphasize the powerful role of media as a tool for shaping public discourse and changing norms. Elites are aware of the media’s influence in shaping narratives, leading to various attempts at censorship and control over Nigerian journalists and media assets, including radio stations, newspaper outlets and social media platforms.
Community cooperation
A second important asset in the fight against corruption in Nigeria is the untapped willingness at the grassroots level to cooperate for greater accountability. As the results of the fourth Chatham House household survey (and previous surveys) show, the potential exists within Nigerian communities to collaborate on demanding increased accountability from government. Survey questions explored the likelihood of respondents engaging in collective action against corruption – specifically, their willingness to cooperate with others in the community to contact an elected official about publicly funded projects. Almost half of respondents (4.85 out of 10) thought that members of their community would be willing to participate in community-based monitoring initiatives. (See Figure 3.)
