Corruption not only undermines the potential for sustainable change in the Niger Delta it maintains the political patronage system that prevents it. Until there is a fundamental shift in political will to root out this evil then the domination of corruption and failure to invest in legitimate business opportunities will continue to destabilise the Niger Delta.

Successive political failings and the dominance of corruption is repeatedly highlighted as the central driver of conflict in the Niger Delta. The outcome is the domination of a corrupt, murky and unaccountable political and economic system that benefits a minority at the expense of the majority. Corruption kills in the Niger Delta.

In 1999 and the return to democracy it was recognised by President Obasanjo that fighting corruption was going to have to be a central part of reforming Nigeria political landscape. Unfortunately, only recently has a drive to tackle corruption been launched, six years after Obasanjo's initial election. The citizens of the Niger Delta believe this process is too little to late, the perception has all ready been created both locally and internationally that corruption is still the dominating force in Nigeria and especially the Niger Delta. The benefits of political corruption are visible to all on the streets of Port Harcourt. The rich elites and their associates drive around in large 4x4 and are largely ignored by the police. In comparison the average citizen, who has to travel by motorbike 'okada', is daily faced with the necessity to pay bribes to the police, just in order to continue on their journey. There is also an arrogance associated with the limited spending of state and local government money. A classic example being, the building of a bridge over the river in Yenegoa, just for the political elite's use, whilst the locals are still forced to cross by canoe. Placing the bridge 500 meters outside of the government compound would have created a desperately needed transport link for hundreds if not thousands of people.

The citizens of the Delta have come not to expect democracy and the politicians in office to deliver anything to them. The general feeling is that those in political power have always and will continue to be corrupt and unaccountable. There has been a miniscule amount of spending at the local level and therefore the desperate communities have received very little of note. It is presumed that the majority of the money, generated via the oil industry, has gone into the private bank accounts of the political elites, on a direct correlation with the vertical scale of power.

This corruption has to have been on a very large scale, the revenues generated by the state through oil wealth have been significantly larger than expected due to the internationally high oil price and many of the states in the Niger Delta are believed to be receiving in excess of N10 billion a month. The potential developments that this sort of income could bring to the Niger Delta would go a long way in reversing the conflict dynamic. The short term selfish interests and corrupt practices that have become a norm in the Niger Delta for men of power are seriously threatening the livelihoods of all stakeholders in the Niger Delta. Instead of playing 'Father Christmas' to those willing to support their respective election campaigns the politicians should focus on getting elected on the back of popular mandate of success. The failings of the politicians elected in 2003 to deliver anything back to the communities they represent and thus gain a popular electoral mandate, means that a self replicating cycle of corruption and patronage politics will continue as the current kings become king makers. The rewards are so high that those who have power will do anything to keep it.

Corruption stems from the top and has trickled down throughout society in the Niger Delta to become the norm; it is an everyday part of existence. The impunity granted to the political and military elites and their business associates combined with the impunity surrounding the growing militias is fuelling the impression that corruption pays. The recent anti-corruption drive launched by the President and Nuhu Ribadu is deemed very much as a cosmetic exercise to appease concerns raised in the West. It was perceived that this anti-corruption drive was selectively targeting potentially non conformists and political minnows. If the government was serious about tackling corruption the opinion was repeatedly expressed that it should start at the top. The President could demonstrate his seriousness and recreate the moral high ground needed to achieve this, by returning to the people the chicken farms he now owns, that were created in operation 'feed the nation'. Although it would be very difficult to prove that these farms were secured through corrupt practices, what is important here is that the majority of the population perceive this to be the truth.

No one believed that the current anti-corruption drive is the start of a tide change that will witness corruption being stamped out. Many are willing to comply and live non-corrupt lives, yet those who gain the most social mobility and have the most voice can not operate legally. The illegal, murky and unaccountable avenues are the ones accepted by all, as the way to get things done. These dealings need to be stopped and a few shock arrests, of individuals at the top, need to be made and full judicial proceeding carried out. This would be significant in helping to recreate the ideology that those who steal, especially from the desperate masses, are accountable and will be punished. Only if this happens will the people begin to support and trust the current anti-corruption operation. This transition might also result in a few brave souls standing up in the House of Representatives to challenge the current corrupt political system and increase the pressures of creating a system that is both accountable and transparent. If they were to do this without the above change they will be hounded out of parliament. Again the root-causes as well as the solutions to corruption in the Niger Delta are to be found within the political system of Nigeria. The oil companies should do all they can to help reverse and condemn the current corrupt and un-transparent image of Nigeria and the Niger Delta. The oil majors' taxes and revenue allocations could be used positively to help create a social licence to operate and a social contract for the state, saving hundreds of billions of US dollars that will be lost in the forthcoming violence. Corruption will no longer continue to benefit anybody in the short term. The long term problems associated with corruption are finally catching up with the murky world of Niger Delta oil politics. The untouchables are going to feel the full force of their decades of neglect.

The corrupt system needs to be addressed not only at the political level but local level as well. This change in attitude will not be created through internationally supported efforts such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The very few who knew about this process grouped it alongside the cosmetic attempts underway to address corruption and appease the West. The point was raised that what is the point of knowing something when you do not have the capacity or desire, if you value your life, to use the figures released under the EITI. Without a concerted effort by the Nigerian elite to transform the current political system alongside such long term important efforts as the EITI, then the short term conflict dynamic will undermine any programmes already embarked upon.

The international community and especially the British government could do a lot to reverse the corruption in the Niger Delta. It must call for an immediate end to corrupt practises and delivery of the wealth to the people. It can no longer be fooled into thinking that democracy will take a long time to deliver. The situation in the Niger Delta is not one of democracy taking time to deliver, it is outright theft and politics via the gun therefore can no longer go unnoticed. Everything possible to help deliver free and fair elections should be undertaken by the UK government. These efforts would be widely welcomed by the vast majority of the citizens of the Niger Delta and a large proportion of the political elite, who accept that things have to change, but are yet to have a vehicle to help achieve this. The Commonwealth was mentioned as a well respected institution which had some legitimacy in the Niger Delta by condemning the elections in 2003. The run-up to the 2007 elections could be the platform that finally begins to addresses the Niger Delta's corrupt and non-transparent past. Corruption can only hold a state together for so long and the British government should act before it becomes too late.

A relatively simple and effective mechanism through which the British government could signal its intent and gain the moral high ground in supporting a dramatic reduction of the corruption in the Niger Delta would be to freeze all the stolen Nigerian state assets held in London bank accounts. If this was to occur then it was widely felt that a trust fund to be held in kind for the Nigerian people would be the best place to ensure this money did not go straight back into other politicians pockets. Once this moral high ground is attained then the real pressure can begin to be applied to the Nigerian political system to reform. Failure to act on corruption will only go to further the belief held by many that the British government's interest is more slanted towards the securing of oil than delivering democracy and basic human rights to the population of the Niger Delta. It must be noted that a stable Niger Delta would be the most conducive to an increase in oil security and can only be achieved if corruption and its negative impacts are properly addressed; short term half measure will result in continued insecurities in the Niger Delta.