A Culture of Corruption: Everyday Deception and Popular Discontent in Nigeria (Paperback)

by Daniel Jordan Smith (Author)
Key Phrases: okada drivers, scam writers, scam letters, Bakassi Boys, Imo State, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
The heart of the book concerns how Nigerians cope daily with the need to 'settle' with those who hold power, but are also experiencing a breakdown of the system that at least allowed for survival.
(Nina C. Ayoub Chronicle of Higher Education )

[Smith's] book offers a sophisticated and deeply troubling portrait of a contemporary Nigeria.
(Nicolas van de Walle Foreign Affairs )

Smith has written a sharply critical, yet finely judged, book that every student of African politics should pay heed to.
(Ebenezer Obadare International Affairs )

[Smith's] primary concern is with the perception of corruption amongst Nigerians and the impact this perception has on the behavior of Nigerians. Anyone who is concerned with the discussion of corruption and how it relates to the development of African economies should read Smith's book. The notion that corruption causes poverty is accepted by Western development banks and their critics alike. Smith demonstrates better than any opponent of this idea could that this assumption is rooted in the perception of African's behavior rather than in an analysis of the economic of development.
(Stuart Simpson Culture Wars )

Smith examines e-mail schemes as cultural texts, analyzing their structure and what they say about the culture of corruption in Nigeria.
(Susan Cotts Watkins Population and Development Review )

Corruption may be found everywhere. However, its particular pervasiveness in Nigeria is sometimes referred to as 'the Nigerian factor' by Nigerians themselves. Anthropologist Smith examines this corruption from the perspective of ordinary Nigerians in their everyday lives...This clearly written volume is for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of the dynamics of corruption in contemporary Nigeria.
(E.P. Renne Choice )

This is a very good book that is relevant far beyond Nigeria. . . . Daniel Jordan Smith has written a book that enlightens and entertains: a great achievement.
(Jan Kees Van Donge Modern African Studies )

Review
By all measurements Nigeria, richly endowed with natural and human resources and the United States' fifth largest source of imported oil, should be one of the most prosperous of the world's developing countries. Instead it is one of the poorest. No one has done a better job than Daniel Jordan Smith of showing how and why the cancer of corruption has hobbled the giant of Africa. A Culture of Corruption is an absorbing cultural study by an anthropologist who deeply cares about the society into which he has married.
(Walter Carrington, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (February 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691136475
• ISBN-13: 978-0691136479
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #283,290 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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