Perhaps the most integral theme of A Man of the People is that of corruption opposed to naivety. In the beginning of the book, Odili thinks it’s possible to run the post-independence government without corruption. He thinks he can unseat corrupt ministers and replace them with men like himself. What he doesn’t realize right away is that he is becoming more and more corrupt as the story continues. Corruption eats away at his naivety, first in his personal life, then politically.

Odili hopes to use Nanga’s invitation and hospitality to seduce Elsie, a woman he knew in college-. He uses Nanga’s limousine to get into the hospital to visit her and invites her to Nanga’s house. Then, he accepts that the C.P.C. must work with a junior minister in the present and corrupt government. While he turns down Nanga’s bribe, he accepts that they must use the much larger bribe Max has received in order to accomplish their goals. He hires bodyguards who want to trash Nanga’s car. Though Odili denies them this, the fact that he allows these other corruptions erodes his ethical foundation.

At the end of the novel, Odili sheds these corruptions, but he can never regain his naivety.