Treatment of corruption in Festus Iyayi's "The Contract"

Academic Paper from the year 2008 in the subject Literature - Africa, , language: English, abstract: Corruption has been considered endemic to Nigeria. How do Nigerian literary artists depict this social illness in their literary works? This article examines the treatment of corruption in Iyayi¿s "The Contract". The discourse focuses on the social levels at which corruption is manifested and the effects of corruption on individuals and the society as depicted in the novel.

The results will indicate that the novel exposes some identified social ills which become endemic when political and institutional leaders put aside their responsibilities of nation building and succumb to the lure of lucre. Specifically, the leaders depicted in this novel use the awards of contracts ostensibly for nation building as blinds for corrupt self-enrichment and embezzlements of public funds.