Nigeria recorded a marginal improvement in the new Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released recently by the Transparency International. The country added one point to its previous score of 24 to rank 145 out of the 180 countries under review in 2023. However, the marginal improvement is far below the sub-Saharan African average of 33 points. Transparency International has said, “Small fluctuations or changes in a country’s CPI score are not usually significant.”
Nigeria scored 24 marks to rank 150th in the 2022 CPI. In the last 20 years, the country’s CPI ranking hovered between 24 and 28. Since 2016, when the country registered its highest ranking of 28 marks, Nigeria’s CPI ranking has constantly witnessed a slide, until the marginal improvement in the recent ranking.
Nigeria’s performance in the new CPI ranking is not surprising. Despite efforts by the new administration to fight corruption, it is still endemic in ministries, departments and agencies. It also thrives in the private sector. The menace is hampering the capacity of the government to ensure good governance. A good case in point is the recent sleaze in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs involving billions of naira meant to address poverty.
A 2012 report showed that over $400 billion had been lost to corruption since Nigeria’s independence in 1960. Nigeria’s oil sector is the worst hit. Nigeria loses over 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to oil thieves. The government’s inability to stop oil theft is still baffling. While the political elites live in opulence, millions of Nigerians wallow in abject poverty. There is need to change the ugly narrative.
Corruption has seemingly become a way of life in all tiers of government. That is why the media is awash with reports of money laundering, contract fraud, diversion of government’s money and the ghost workers’ syndrome. Politics has become the easiest route to instant stupendous wealth.
While the marginal improvement in CPI index is commendable, it does not in any way call for celebration. Rather, it is a wake-up call on the anti-graft agencies to fight corruption holistically. Therefore, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) should step up the war against graft. The anti-graft agencies must add zest to the fight against corruption. At the same time, the federal government must be committed to the war against corruption.
There is need for more openness and transparency in governance at all levels. Government business should not be shrouded in secrecy anymore. The award of contracts and execution of some projects must be open and transparent. The opaqueness in some government agencies encourages financial malfeasance. It is also time to review the issue of security vote, especially at the state level, where it has apparently become a vehicle to siphon government’s money. We urge state lawmakers to come up with a law to check the excesses of governors on security vote matters as well as the mismanagement of local government allocation by state governors.
The anti-corruption agencies should beam their searchlight on the execution of constituency projects by federal lawmakers. Over time, the execution of constituency projects has become another avenue to shortchange the voters by some lawmakers. In most cases, some of the projects are poorly executed and yet fully paid. At times, some of the projects are even abandoned midway.
Moving forward, the lawmakers should not be involved in the execution of constituency projects, especially the management of the fund. All abandoned constituency projects across the country must be revisited and those responsible sanctioned adequately. Furthermore, efforts should be geared towards investigating and prosecuting high-profile cases of corruption.
There is urgent need to tackle the corruption in the judiciary and the security agencies. The endemic country in the country is fast weakening our nascent democracy. That is why we need more stringent laws to fight corruption. We say so because the extant laws on corruption are not deterrent enough. They may even embolden some people to engage in corrupt practices. We believe that treating corruption with kid gloves has tacitly encouraged more people to toe that evil path. We may borrow a leaf on how to fight corruption from China and other Asian countries.