Political corruption and the Nigerian civil war

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to describe instances of political corruption in post-independence Nigeria and to relate such instances and its contribution to the outbreak of civil war in 1966. Method: The method of research was mainly library research. The Sam Houston University was used extensively. Other library facilities utilized include the following: Texas Southern University; University of Houston, and the Houston Public Library. Materials were also obtained from the University of Ife and the University of Lagos, both in Nigeria. Personal experience was also utilized. Findings: The fundamental error in post-independence Nigerian politics was that political parties were based on tribes. Because political officials owe their allegiance to the tribal groups, tribalism became a salient factor in the maintenance of politically corrupt relations. At the time under study, it was found that political corruption in Nigeria had attained anarchical dimension. Political officials were elected into office by actually using force and coercion to obtain votes. Because the Judicial System was incapacitated in performing its constitutional obligation of protecting the rights of the public, the civilians consequently lost faith in the rules of law and Nigeria was thrust into a series of bloody crises which later precipitated the civil war