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Abstract
Nigeria’s entire post colonial history has been marked with struggles for good governance.
Thus, since the return to democratic rule in 1999, various steps have been taken to address the
problems of corruption and bad governance in the country. These measures include public
service transformation, establishment of Anti-corruption Enforcement agencies, and the
ongoing war against corruption and sanitation of the financial sector by President
Mohammadu Buhari, which has exposed disturbing phenomena of misappropriation and
embezzlement in Nigeria’s public sector. Notwithstanding the successes achieved by these
measures, the situation remains unchanged as corruption persists in Nigeria. This problem
calls for an all-encompassing approach. This paper avers that it is high time women are
actively involved in governance to fight this canker worm. Women are a major stakeholder in
the development project of any society. But, more worrying is the fact that, globally, the issue
of women marginalisation and low participation in political leadership and decision making is
prevalent. This paper argues that although women and men have different biological and
physiological make-up, they share common features with men in terms of education, socio-
economic status and profession among others; hence they are equally capable of leadership if
given the opportunity. Religiously, the Genesis creation accounts show that both men and
women were made in the image of God, and that both were given the mandate to fill and take
responsibility for the rest of the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). This paper therefore, adapts
phenomenological method of research and proposed gender equality as an antidote for
corruption and solution for good governance in Nigeria.
1
Introduction
transparency, accountability, fairness, social justice, and the rule of law. Thus, the desire for
good governance has been the major motivating force behind the emergence of several
political, social and economic ideologies over the long history of man. The priority of any
good leadership is to ensure fair representation of the subjects or the masses under which
Good governance in the 21st century particularly with the underdeveloped nations has become
an optical illusion due to leadership corruption. Corruption on the other hand has become a
global phenomenon operating in a diversity of ways and terminating many thoughts and
attempts towards good governance. Thus, the phrase “War against Corruption” has become a
global slogan perpetuating speeches of world leaders, intellectual debates, and even streets
discussions. Ironically, most leaders perpetuate the act and yet claim to be fighting against its
persistence. This to a certain extent explained why this plague persists in spite of the so called
Thus, the development of the international anti-corruption regime since the late 1990s has not
been without its critiques. Consequently, a study shows that the international aid and
development community cannot show one single country/case where a donor led good
to say that there are no countries that have improved their control of corruption but these
changes have not been achieved through any international aid and development policy. 1
In Nigeria, corruption continues to permeate every facade of national life despite the various
measures (eg EFCC, ICPC etc) taken to avert it. Categorically, Taiye avers that Corruption is
one of the destructive banes behind the underdevelopment of the Nigerian society. The abuse
of positions and privileges has become features of Nigeria’s economic and political
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landscape. 2 The coming of a democratic regime with all resources and policy in place to curb
this scourge has produced no positive result. Describing the Nigerian situation Chukwuma
remarked:
What is more worrying is that in spite of popular anger against corruption and
bad governance, which have robbed the collective well being of the people of
Nigeria, there remains a lack of national consensus on repulsion against the
perpetrators (irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, class and gender) and
emergence of a popular movement that is capable of galvanizing the palpable
rage of the people and channel it to series of actions and outcomes that
challenge the status quo. 3
Indeed, it is apparent that anti-corruption reforms in Nigeria have so far yielded fewer results
than necessary. All attempts to inaugurate good governance in the country are geared towards
reformation and transformation in the public sector. Academic debates are more focused on
political ideology, while in the field of religion, emphasis is more on dialogue. Little
in the country. The fact is that many people (anti feminists) still believe that women are less
The central argument in this paper is that the incessant domination and discrimination against
women in the political and leadership process is liable to negatively and continuously affect
good governance and democratic sustainability in the country. From a religious (Christian)
perspective, this paper seeks to disprove, refute and challenge the basis for gender inequality
in the first place. It argues that Biblically, women are equally charged to subdue the earth and
to take responsibility. The base line is that the men’s government on its own alone cannot
Thus, appointment of more women into leadership positions in the country is more likely to
enhance improved public policy formulation and implementation for good governance in
Nigeria.
3
Conceptual clarification
Gender equality
Gender refers ones’ sex, either feminine or masculine. Although, what comes to mind almost
immediately at the mention of the concept ‘gender’ is not just the biological nature of the
human person but also a mentality of superiority of one over the other. Donna Haraway says
that gender has become a concept developed to contest the naturalization of sexual
Gender equality means both men and women, are free to develop their personal abilities and
make choices without the limitations set by negative stereotype, rigid gender roles and
prejudices. It means fairness of treatment of both women and men, according to their
respective needs. Gender equality does not mean that women and men have to become the
same, but that their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they
are born male or female. Gender equality is commonly used in reference to human resources
and equal participation of women and men in all areas of work, and is achieved when women
and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including
economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviours, aspirations
and needs of women and men are equally valued and favoured. 5
Thus, the concept gender inequality refers to any view that discriminates against the female
as been inferior to their male counterpart and as such unfit for certain privileges in the society
Good governance
Good Governance is multifaceted concept and has been diversely perceived. Generally, it
entails transparency, accountability, responsibility and the rule of law in the government
processes. Good governance is the view that leaders are disposed to discharge their duties for
the overall benefit of the nation and her citizens. Odinkalu summarizes that good government
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is founded on a tripod of three values namely; legitimacy, accountability, and capacity. 6 He
accountability and the rule of law is an obvious opposite of good government and hence, bad.
The quest for good governance in this context is a search for that delegated responsibilities
where the masses in various institutions of development would freely work to achieve growth
and development.
Asoo sees good governance as a system of government that guarantees a reasonable degree of
fairness, equality, transparency in government business, rule of law, and human dignity. It is
translated to mean a system that places premium on the development of basic infrastructure
such as roads, health care facilities, and equality before the law, quality education,
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employment opportunities, good security and adequate shelter to the citizens. Similarly,
United Nations Commission for Human Rights viewed good governance as a process
whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manages public resources and guarantee
In Nigeria for instance, Odinkalu submits that the essential elements of good government had
been destroyed by the end of the decade of the 1980s, with the result that those who
between public and personal resources, get away with this, and preclude the possibility of
5
ever being held accountable whether through the legal process of investigations and
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prosecutions, or through the political process of competitive elections. As such, to ensure
Results from a BBC poll in 2010, surveying 13,353 respondents in 26 countries shows that,
corruption is the most talked about issue globally, surpassing issues such as climate change,
poverty and unemployment. 10 The President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, once stated
in his speech of 19th December 2013, that “in the developing world, corruption is public
before justifying its prevalence. The act is too glaring such that no one doubts if it has
become a bane on Nigeria’s nascent democracy. It is constitutes a major challenge for good
governance and sustainable development. Since the exit of colonialism, the country has been
Igwe attests that “since the attainment of flag independence in 1960, Nigeria has been
embarking upon the gargantuan task of nation-building to launch the country into
socioeconomic security and prosperity, which has not been possible due to combined factors
of long military dominance in power, poor economic planning and irresponsible democratic
leadership”. 12 It seems that the more the efforts, the worst the situation becomes. Day in day
out, people in leadership positions device ‘improved’ looting strategies and how escape
Odinkalu decries that “Nigeria faces an existential crisis located at the nexus of governance
and corruption”. 13
Similarly, Taiye emphasizes that Corruption has become a social disease
plaguing almost every nation of the world. However, it has become so endemic in Nigeria
that some people seek public offices to make money through dishonest means rather than
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serving the people who appointed or elected them into such positions. 14
Nigeria’s former
As I surveyed the canvas of our national life, I saw little more than confusion,
greed, corruption in high and low places, selfishness, pervasive lawlessness
and cynicism. The very state itself to which we are all required to be loyal, had
become a state full of malice and meanness. Public officials appeared to have
forgotten what selfless service meant. Private Citizens felt a profound distrust
of it not hatred for the state. 15
The above statement implies that, although this phenomenon is prevalent in other countries
too, the degree of its prevalence in Nigerian polity is too monumental and frightening. What
then is corruption?
The United Nations Global Programme against Corruption (GPAC) defines it as “abuse of
power for private gain”. Transparency International has chosen a clear and focused definition
of the term as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”. It can also be defined simply
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as a perversion or change from the general accepted rules or laws for selfish gain. The
World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) define corruption as an abuse of public
office for private gain. Correspondingly, Akanbi sees corruption as the abuse of public or
entrusted power for personal gain or for the benefit of a group to which one owes allegiance.
misappropriation, and diversion of public funds for personal aggrandizement. This also
consists in primitive acquisition of wealth through awful and illegal means at the expense of
public interest. 17 In Nigeria, media reports of suspected loots of the country’s wealth always
live one bewildered and bemused especially when one observes the scourging reality of
poverty in the land. This only proves that corruption is indeed an impediment to good
governance.
Furthermore, Taiye indicates that corruption in Nigeria is problematic on three main fronts.
First, corruption has destroyed the institutional capacity of the state by eroding public
confidence and promoting inefficiency. Secondly, it has caused severe distortion of the
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efficient allocation of resources towards meaningful development. Thirdly, it deepens
constitutional rights and turns the rule of law to a rule of individuals pursing their own self-
The following behaviours indicate or are red flags for corruption in Nigeria:
embezzlement, conflict of Interests e.g the award of contracts by public office
holders to cronies and personally held companies, bribery, fraud, political
corruption e.g nepotism or favouritism, ethnicity, rigging of elections,
misappropriation and conversion of public funds for personal gains,
bureaucratic corruption, extortion, manipulation of procurement processes e.g
by over-inflation of contracts, leaking tender information to friends and
relations etc., corporate corruption e.g diversion and misappropriation of
funds through manipulation or falsification of financial records. 19
The above is a justification that there can neither be fair representation nor meaningful
development in the dare of corruption. Hence, corruption is indeed an impediment for good
In the mist of Nigeria’s corruption tittle-tattle lays a problem of gender inequality. At its core
is a chauvinistic attitude that women lack the buoyancy to represent or bring about
both men and women are co-partners in the human development process. For instance,
Genesis 1:26-28 says that “men and women are created in the image of God and given
The heart of this theological argument is perception that “humans are equal in God's sight,
although Adam was ‘Eve's’ source but she was created to be his partner. With some
qualifications, men and women equally bear the image of God. For the scripture tells us that
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“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female
He created them”. 21
Advocating for gender equality is guided by an understanding that men and women must not
be divided by social inequity and injustice according to gender, but both should have equal
value and rights as beloved creatures of God made for His kingdom. The fact remains that,
everyone affirms and celebrate the biological, social and political diversity that both women
and men express in various cultures, and do not suggest that gender equality imply or should
should not be discriminated and deprived of their prospects to serve humanity based merely
on biological differences.
From this religious (Christian – Biblical) perspective therefore, this paper further argues that
gender equality is not only enshrined right from the word go, but is capable of social,
economic, political and religious transformation, and hence capable to enthrone good
governance in Nigeria.
First and foremost, gender based prejudice in leadership and political participation has been
(and to a large degree still is) massive in Nigeria. This paper proposes that drifting away from
personae, which can provoke elite competition and control. With a renewed spirit of
patriotism and nationalism, this new turn will ignite the torch for social justice and augment a
1979, adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), referred to as the “International Bill of Rights for Women.” By October
2004, 179 of the 191 UN member nations were party to CEDAW, and an additional nation
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had bound itself to do “nothing in contravention of its terms” (UNDAW, 2004). The year
1995, witnessed the representatives of 171 governments at the UN 4th world conference on
Research have shown that development in any society requires greater gender balance
in power sharing between male and female in the political process for it to be achieved. 23
The responsible and responsive governance that make for sustainable development places
political decisions and activities in the hands of the populace without gender discrimination.
He argues that what is required includes: the sincere participation of every one in society
irrespective of gender, and the social cooperation of everyone in making decisions with
regard to the values that concern the life of the people for the common good. 24
On the other hand, Maguire, Morgan and Reiner indicate that men are grossly
overrepresented when it comes to committing serious crimes. The standard figure according
to this research is that more than ninety percent of persons convicted of serious crimes are
men. 25 In line with the above observation, Bo Rothstein emphasizes that “following this
quite extreme difference in gendered behaviour, it should not come as a surprise that, if
women are given more positions of power in leadership and political system, corruption
would become less common, since all forms of corruption are illegal”. 26
Historically, research on the relationship between gender and corruption took off in early
2000s, after two World Bank connected research groups showed that countries with a high
even when controlling for the level of democracy, economic development, and a number of
additional factors. 27 Since after these researches, there have been attempts to establish a
relationship between high levels of women in politics and less corruption resulting from their
10
These researches have documented systematic gender difference in behaviour.
They gave evidences that suggest that women may be more relationship-
oriented, may have higher standard of ethical behaviour and may be more
concerned with the common good than men are. These studies observed that
gender differences might be attributed to socialization, or to differences in
access to networks of corruption, or in knowledge of how to engage in corrupt
practices, or to other factors. Their analysis of country-level data indicated that
higher levels of women’s participation in public life are associated with
lower levels of corruption. 28
With these conclusions, gender balance (which encapsulates equal participation and equal
Furthermore, with the observation that corruption has become a major impediment against
good governance, this requires an all embracive and wholistic approach i.e all hands on deck
approach, women should be given equal opportunity to contribute their quota. After all, they
A study by Grimes and Wangnerud has shown that sub-national regions with high level of
female politicians exhibit lower level of corruption. Moreover, regions with large shares of
female politicians saw the perceived levels of corruption reduced from 2001 to 2010,
indicating that female politicians not only contribute to containing corruption levels but may
In the Nigerian situation, in spite of the high corruption silhouette, there are instances of
women in position of governance who have acted as drivers of change. For example, Mrs.
Ngozi Okonjo – Iweale (former Nigerian Minister of Finance from July 2003 to June 2006);
during her term of office as the Minister, she facilitated the formation of the Economic
Reform Team and formed the platform for negotiating for debt reduction for Nigeria. Mrs.
two-times Minister of Solid Minerals and Minister of Education). She became foundation
member of Transparency, International and served on the board of the foremost global
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Professor (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili became the Director General of National Agency for Food,
Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), in April 2001. Her character of workings at
NAFDAC has earned the country Local and International accolades. 32 Also, NAFDAC under
the leadership of Professor Akunyili was able to monitor salt iodization in Nigeria to the
extent that UNICEF was able to rate Nigeria as the first country in Africa to achieve universal
salt iodization. For the good job done as head of NAFDAC, Akunyili received two hundred
and fifty awards both from local and international institutions for her commitment to the
values of honesty and transparency in the eradication of fake and counterfeit drugs in
Nigeria. 33
The above are just few of the prominent examples of exemplary leadership quality exhibited
by women in Nigeria. This also implies that women are capable of good governance.
However, it does not mean that women are not or cannot be corrupt, the cases of women
involved in corruption scandal in the country just as elsewhere is relatively little comparable
Furthermore, when talking about gender equality emphasis is on the percentage of women
who are ready to stick out their necks into governance and have the required
qualification to meet up with the challenges of the great task but are denied. This calls
for a meticulous re-assessment of the cultural, religious and political setting of our society to
categorize and separate factors against women’s participation in governance. There is need to
break the barriers of culture and religion in order to pave way for gender balance and for
Recommendations
Based on the discussion and findings of the study, the following are recommended;
i. Gender equality support groups should push hard on the government at all levels and
the general public on the need to support women for political participation.
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ii. There should be public awareness or on the need to eliminate negative cultural and
religious influences that see women as inferior beings rather than as partners in nation
iii. There should be sustained efforts in Civic education from the grass root level to
inspire the youths on the need to contribute to the nation’s development through hard-
in governance.
iv. Political parties too should persuade gender equality by advocating for women
Conclusion
antidote to corruption and good governance in Nigeria. It has argued that, there is no basis for
gender imbalance in the first place, hence both man and woman were originally charged with
the mandate to subdue the earth and develop it (the book of Genesis). If man and woman
were given the same charge and created by the same God, the paper argues, there is no need
why the female folk should be relegated to the background, discriminated and denied full and
equal opportunity with the male counterpart to develop the earth. The paper also identified
factors that hider women’s participation in leadership to include: cultural and religious
practices. The paper further observed that for as long as the problem of gender inequality
remain unsettled, the nation’s war against corruption currently under President Muhammadu
Buhari and others may neither have a meaningful victory nor can it be easy going. The
implication here is that the non- vigorous participation of women in governance and political
process is first of all, a negation of true democratic system and values and secondly, an
impediment for national development. This is particularly true since development in any
13
Endnotes
14
23. Daniel Eseme Gberevbie, and Faith Osasumwen Oviasogie “ Women in
Governance and Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria, 1999-2012”, Economics and
Sociology, Vol. 6, No 1, 2013), p.92.
24. Onyeghalaji (2008), 93
25. Maguire, Mike, Ron Morgan, and Robert Reiner (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of
Criminology. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
26. Rothstein, Bo, and Ayshia Varraich. Making Sense of Corruption. (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2016), p.11.
27. Bo Rothstein, Making Sense of Corruption, p.10.
28. Taiye Agbalajobi, D. “Gender and Corruption: Insights from Nigeria Democracy
1999 – 2008”. An International Multi-Disciplinary Journal, Ethiopia Vol. 3 (4),
(July, 2009). p.3.
29. Maguire, Mike, Ron Morgan, and Robert Reiner (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of
Criminology, p.12.
30. Wangnerud, Lena. “Why Women Are Less Corrupt than Men” in Good
Government: The Relevance of Political Science, edited by Soren Holmberg
and Bo Rothstein. (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2012), p.
31. Agbalajobi, D. Taiye. “Gender and Corruption: Insights from Nigeria Democracy
1999 – 2008”. (July, 2009. p.6).
32. Agbalajobi, D. Taiye. “Gender and Corruption: Insights from Nigeria Democracy
1999 – 2008”. p.12).
33. Nnabuife, E.K.N. (2010), Defining and Enforcing Ethical Leadership in Nigeria,
African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. 1, no.1, 2010. (p.25-41).
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