Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-256) and index.

Ch. 1. "Urgent business relationship" : Nigerian e-mail scams -- Ch. 2. From favoritism to 419 : corruption in everyday life -- Ch. 3. Development scams : donors, dollars, and NGO entrepreneurs -- Ch. 4. "Fair play even among robbers" : democracy, politics, and corruption -- Ch. 5. Rumors, riots, and diabolical rituals -- Ch. 6. "The became the criminals they were supposed to fight" : crime, corruption, and vigilante justice -- Ch. 7. Anticorruption aspirations : Biafrans and born-again Christians.

"A Culture of Corruption is a profound and sympathetic attempt to understand the dilemmas average Nigerians face every day as they try to get ahead - or just survive - in a society riddled with corruption." "Drawing on firsthand experience, Daniel Jordan Smith paints a vivid portrait of Nigerian corruption - of nationwide fuel shortages in Africa's oil-producing giant, Internet cafes where the young launch their e-mail scams, checkpoints where drivers must bribe police, bogus organizations that siphon development aid, and houses painted with the fraud-preventive words "not for sale.""--BOOK JACKET.