Corruption Index: To redeem Nigeria from systemic collapse now more exigent

Profile of Nigeria’s corruption record has continued to wax worse with distasteful sensations. The phenomenon has grown to spread the wings of its tentacles across the fabric of the entire society. It is one of the featural character which has come to rub off on the definition of what Nigeria is. The perception of Nigeria from all angles of thoughts has  strongly assumed a malodorous conception. The expression of the impacts on the Country’s image within the international realm of thoughthas debilitating effects on her relevance among the committee of nations. Nigerians by this reason has now begun to suffer a generalising perception of character stereotype before nationals of foreign nations of the world.

While the campaign to eradicate corruption was one cardinal pillar that guarded and pushed the campaign promises of the All Progressives Congress (APC) into power at the Federal level, it appears that Nigeria’s corruption profile has further worsened despite the anti-corruption stance that the government claims.  The latest Corruption Perception Index by the Transparency International (TI), revealed Nigeria is sliding deeper into the mire of corruption, as the Country has further dropped to 149 on the Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perception Index. This is the worst ranking of the Country in recent times. Nigeria on the survey report, scored 25 out of a possible 100 points. On a scale of zero to 100 in TI’s ranking, zero represents “Highly Corrupt,” while 100 stands for “Very Clean”. Records of the TI ranking in 2019, placed Nigeria at 146th out of the 180 countries surveyed in the rating. Nigeria had in the 2019 survey scored 26 points out of a possible 100.

The 2019 report showed Nigeria further slipped by two steps, worse than her position in 2018 when she scored 27 points at 144th out of a comparative analysis of 180 countries studied.  The latest 149th ranking indicates Nigeria is now the second most corrupt country in West Africa with Guinea-Bissau the only country more corrupt than Nigeria in the sub-region. In the whole of Africa, the only 12 countries perceived to be more corrupt than Nigeria, are Zimbabwe, Chad, Eritrea, Burundi, Congo, Guinea Bissau, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Somalia and South Sudan.

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, had in a whip on the Presidency on Wednesday, said the Administration’s anti-corruption war had lost steam, amidst low conviction records. The Transparency International had observed that the interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic gave room for corruption to thrive in countries with weak systems. Nigeria in particular, practically falls within the categorical classification of Countries grappling with weak political and administrative systems. The scourge that the lacuna of the Nigerian political system of governance bears on the Country, has resonated far reaching impacts of systemic drawbacks which have continued to frustrate growth and development in the Country. The socio-economic and political effects of these deficiencies have been largely unsavoury.

It is high time the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration changed the drumbeat of the prevailing circumstances in the working patterns of the Country’s political system. It is paramount to note that any considerable and formidable move to fight corruption in the Country, must be driven by systemic approach to address foundational defaults which have been frustrating transparency, openness and accountability. Continuous attempts to fight corruption within the confines of the prevailing structural patterns, may keep ending in futility. Striving to fight corruption under the hostile system will continue to becloud any move made in sincerity.

It is significant that the Presidency commences with epochal strategies, a  move to remodel the political architecture of the Country to develop a  virile system that automatically strengthens political institutions to check against corruption. The traditional model of successive governments, which the present administration has chosen to trail, has only further worsened the corruption profile of the Country. It therefore behooves the Presidency to rethink by subscribing to   the fact that only a pragmatic approach for systemic remodeling that can yield the desired result to really eradicate corruption in the Country. The endemic cankerworm has lamentably eaten deep and is devouring the fabric of the Federation. The posture of Nigeria as the second most corrupt Country in West Africa and one of the worst in the entire continent and the world at large, is demeaning to the Country. Situations, therefore, call for a rethink, when Nigeria which is supposed to be looked up to for modeling of good governance as the leading nation in the African continent, is now the cynosure of corruption. The time to commence the process towards redeeming the image of the Country by rejigging fundamental and foundational working patterns of the Nigerian political system is more alarming than ever. This is essential to salvage the Country from  catastrophic collapse.