Gombe Journal of Historical Studies – Vol. 1 No 2 December 2021 13 RELIGIOSITY AND CORRUPTIBILITY: THE PARADOX OF THE NIGERIAN STATE SINCE 1960 EDIBA, Isaac Ogbogo, Ph.D., DEGRI, Halima Usman Department of History, Gombe State University ogbogotansfigure@gmail.com and LAMIDO, John Department Of Political Science Gombe State University, Gombe. Abstract The ranking of Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations in the world by Transparency International is apparently reflective of the deplorable state of affairs in public governance. The structural decay so evident in public institutions is indeed alarming. On the other hand, a recent survey conducted concluded that Nigeria is amongst the most religious countries on earth. These two opposing conditions invariably constitute a paradox in Nigeria in that, they seem to be unabatedly coexisting side by side. While it seem to be generally taken that a country that strongly ascribes to religion ought to be relatively corrupt-free, at least drawing from religious values; the frightening state of corruption in Nigeria defies any logical explanation and inadvertently exposes the actual intent of its religiousity as evident in the wild exhibitions of religious fervor, symbols and zeal. This paper intends to examine this phenomenon from the perspective of historical scholarship, with the view to showing the hypocritical disposition of particularly the political elite and their utilization of religion as a sedative and a potent tool for brazen manipulation of Nigerians in the period since the attainment of political independence. The paper adopts the Marxist theory in its analysis. Introduction This paper is poised to analyze, from the perspective of history, the state of religious consciousness of Nigerians vis-à-vis the lamentable state of corruption so manifestly evident in the entire fabric of national life in the period since the attainment of independence. Religion cannot be safely ignored in public discourses in Nigeria due largely to the fact that, it is one of the most important factor that creates influence in the life of most Nigerians. Its dynamic and creative force emanates from its transformative capacity in the annals of Nigeria which predates colonialism. It is not an overstatement to posit that