Nigeria’s nascent democracy will be undermined if its fundamental principles, including judicial objectivity, rule of law are not adhered to, if you have one set of laws for the elite and another set for the poor, you ultimately undermine the basics of democracy. One of the major principles which Nigeria must also abhor and tackle from the roots and not the surface, if democracy is to survive, is corruption. Corruption makes democracy dysfunctional, especially when it is institutionalized. Democracy is supposed to be a leveller when it concerns dividends of democracy. A situation where only the elites and a favoured few are seen to be enjoying its dividends and the large majority who actually did the voting to elect the leaders continue to wallow in poverty; with lack of infrastructure is an invitation to chaos. The spate of corruption in Nigeria has found expression not only in public offices and institutions but other critical social milieu namely, the family, schools, places of worship, electioneering activities, had had a fair share of corrupt practices bedevilling them. This study is a theoretical analysis of the concept and context of corruption and the survival of democracy in Nigeria.