CPI: Nigeria’s 154th ranking, addressing the informing weaknesses
No doubt, corruption has become an household name for Nigeria. The concept feature too loudly in the discourse of the socio-economic cum political fabrics of the Country that beyond the shore, corruption is closely remembered when Nigeria is measured in strength. The menace has been a eyesore which has formed a rendition of lamentation in the mouth of Nigerians. As Nigerians have been made to believe that central to their plight of ‘suffering amidst plenty’ is corruption, the present President Muhammadu Buhari-led Government was able to pull the crowd to power, having promised to eliminate corruption – a frontal pillar of his campaign thrusts. However, it appears that against the expectations, Nigeria’s ranking in corruption index have not experienced any meaningful changes.
2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released on Tuesday by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and the Transparency International (TI) indicated that Nigeria ranked 154 out of 180 countries. In the country’s comparison for 2021, Nigeria ranked 154 out of 180 countries – five places down compared to the 2020 CPI results. This was made known by the Executive Director, CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Rafsanjani, during a press conference in Abuja. According to Rafsanjani, the index revealed that Nigeria scored 24 out of 100 points in the 2021 CPI. The seven parameters used for the ranking called “weaknesses” as highlighted in the report include: “Weakness 1: The Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses Issues in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs); Weakness 2: Security Sector Corruption; Weakness 3: Failure to Investigate High Profile Corruption Cases and prevent Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs); Weakness 4: Absence of asset recovery, protection of whistle-blowers, and other key anti-corruption legal frameworks; Weakness 5: Judicial Challenges; There is a need for the Nigerian judiciary to speed up its delivery of judgment; Weakness 6: Corruption in the COVID-19 Response; and Weakness 7: Twitter ban, shrinking civic space and intimidation of human rights defenders.”
He was quoted: “Released exclusively in Nigeria by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the National Chapter of TI, the index reveals that Nigeria scored 24 out of 100 points in the 2021 CPI, falling back one point compared to the 2020 CPI. The CPI aggregates data from 8 (eight) different sources that provide perceptions by country experts and business people on the level of corruption in the public sector. While the index does not show specific incidences of corruption in the country, it indicates the perception of corruption in Nigeria. The index is completely impartial, objective and globally acknowledged as the most widely used cross-country parameter for measuring corruption. This CPI result comes at a point when Nigeria as a country is battling with rising nation-wide insecurity, high unemployment rate and damning revelations around public finance management by the auditor general and investigative journalists, amongst others.”
“It is important to stress that this is not an assessment of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies who are making commendable efforts in reducing (in the fight against) corruption in Nigeria despite the political interference they face. Rather, the CPI goes beyond the anti-graft agencies. In October last year, we received the report of the committee set up by the government in March 2021 to review Nigeria’s rating on the 2020 CPI shortly after CISLAC/TI-2. Nigeria released the 2020 CPI. CISLAC/TI-Nigeria sees this move as a good step and would like to call on the government to further examine the weaknesses listed below and consider actions which will tackle systemic corruption and salvage Nigeria’s deteriorating image when it comes to corruption. Accordingly, CISLAC/TI-Nigeria has listed key weaknesses to explain why Nigeria may not have improved in the fight against corruption. We feel that these areas require immediate improvement for the sake of the well-being of ordinary Nigerians and the economy.”
As observed, weaknesses that led Nigeria dropping five places in the 2021 CPI reads: “The Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses Issues in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)” report for 2019 published by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation in November 2021, have left Nigerians in awe. Recent revelations made on the 17th of January 2022 by BudgIT on the duplication of projects in the 2022 budget do less to palliate the pandemic corruption currently experienced despite a rising unemployment rate of 33%.
Weakness 2: “Security Sector Corruption: The systemic corruption in the Nigeria Police Force has sadly continued unabated and with the police at the frontline of Nigeria’s criminal justice system with enormous powers to investigate and prosecute crimes. This weakness puts the country in bad light. As a matter of fact, the Police was indicted by the Auditor General’s report on the “NonCompliance/ Internal Control Weaknesses Issues in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) published in November 2021” and Nigerians are still struggling to understand how 178,459 arms and ammunition were missing from the armoury of the Nigeria Police without trace. Of this figure, 88, 078 were AK 47 assault rifles and 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols. For context, these arms are enough to arm a force equivalent to about 25% of the current strength of the Nigeria Police at 370,000 which gives an explanation on the level of insecurity in the country.
“Findings from TheCable Index and the Council of Foreign Relations show that 5,067 Nigerians were killed owing to insecurity in 2021, and an average of 14 Nigerians were killed daily. According to these findings, this shows a 52.3% rise in reported killings when compared to 2020. In addition to the above, the Auditor general’s report showed that over 17,000 police officers had future dates of employment with hundreds employed before their date of birth.
Weakness 3: “Failure to Investigate High Profile Corruption Cases and prevent Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs). Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies have made commendable progress in their efforts to combat corruption in 2021 with an increase in convictions. However, high profile convictions of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) across political, regional and any other form of divide have fallen short of public expectations. While we commend the arrest of cyber criminals and call on the anti-graft agencies to do more, there is a need to investigate high profile political cases including those of individuals who have switched political affiliations.”
Weakness 4: “Absence of asset recovery, protection of whistle-blowers, and other key anti-corruption legal frameworks. When it comes to asset recovery, Nigerian anti-graft agencies have made progress in recoveries, specifically those that have been finally forfeited. Sadly, the repeated failure to enact the Proceeds of Crime Act as a legal framework for the management and utilisation of recovered assets in Nigeria which is one of the key pillars of this administration’s anti-corruption strategy is inexplicable! While Nigerians read about these recoveries by the numerous agencies with mandates to recover assets, Nigerians are in the dark as to the status of these recoveries.”
Weakness 5: “Judicial Challenges; there is a need for the Nigerian judiciary to speed up its delivery of judgment. The delay in treating high profile cases of corruption dampens the morale of anti-graft agencies. It is also important for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to ensure that judicial officers appointed are competent and qualified. The NJC should shun nepotism in its appointment of Judges and also when it undertakes disciplinary actions against Judges.”
Weakness 6: “Corruption in the COVID-19 Response; there have been reports of diversion of funds earmarked for Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, Nigerians are yet to see any high-profile convictions.”
Weakness 7: “Twitter ban, shrinking civic space and intimidation of human rights defenders. The final weakness which is very important relates to the shrinking Civic Space and clampdown on freedom of speech. The theme of the 2021 CPI by TI beams the searchlight on human rights and democracy under attack. The arbitrary and illogical decision of the Nigerian government to ban Twitter on the 5th of June 2021 for about seven months stands condemned. While this ban has been lifted just recently, Nigeria is still suffering from the consequences of the ban. According to the CIVICUS monitor, Nigeria’s civic space is repressed. On the Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2021 report, Nigeria recorded a decline with a score of 45 out of 100 from a score of 47 in 2020 and 50 in 2019 (with 0 being not free and 100 being very free). The tale is further gloomy when one considers the World Press Freedom Index released in 2021 by Reporters Without Borders which describes Nigeria as “one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists.”
That corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of the Country is no gainsay. The ravaging effects have only subjected Nigerians to the paradox of ‘suffering amidst plenty’. Amidst the recent drop in the County’s ranking to reflect worsening spate of corrupt inclinations, it behooves the Government to retrace its steps. While it is known for the Government to be inclined to the disposition of discarding such report by challenging its modalities in a bid to discredit same, it behooves the Government at this time to fairly give sincere consideration to the matters of concern and weaknesses raised in the report. Aspersions to discredit the report may not yield any meaning result, rather, the Government should fasten its belt to address, by systemic responses, the salient points of weaknesses informing the deepening profile of the threshold of corruption in the Country.
