Leadership and Proliferation of Crime: Implications on Moral Culture and Development in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines constructs of a theoretical model that explains the social learning process responsible for the emergence of criminal socialization. The Author applies Sutherland’s differential association theory and Gabriel de Tarde’s law of imitation to investigate the role of leadership and proliferation of crime and the implication on moral culture in Nigeria. The author argued that nexus exist between leaders who criminally enrich themselves and the proliferation of crime as the followers in the larger society seek to imitate them. As followers imitate the behaviours of their leaders, they either act individually or in association with others to adopt definitions favorable to crime. The consequences of this on moral culture and development are noted. Drawing from the 2004 “Mombasa Declaration on Leadership” in Africa, the author suggests ethical principles that may help to curb the culture of criminality by leaders and pave the way for meaningful development in Nigeria.