By Steve Agbota
Transparency International (TI), has ranked Nigeria 154 out of the 180 countries in its latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report for the year 2021.
TI, a global movement working in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption indicated that the CPI measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption.
In the statement accompanying the report, TI acknowledged ’that corruption levels are at a worldwide standstill’ and that ‘31 countries have made no significant progress against corruption in the last decade.
According to TI, two-thirds of countries score below 50, indicating that they have serious corruption problems, while 27 countries are at their lowest score ever.
‘Of the poor performing countries, Nigeria featured prominently scoring 24 out of a possible 100
points and ranking an abysmal 154 out of the 180 countries ranked. A score that has been
described as an historic low. While countries like Kenya which was in the same bracket score with Nigeria in 2016 have progressively improved in its CPI index raking, Nigeria has progressively declined. While Kenya scored 26 points in 2016, it has currently moved up to 30 points in 2021, Nigeria on the other hand has moved from 28 points in 2016 to 24 in 2021. Compared to Ghana that has remained relatively stable at 43 points, Nigeria has continued to lag behind on the CPI and found company among countries such as Myanmar, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan and Guatemala,’ TI report stated.
TI report said despite the usual claim by Nigerian Government officials that the Government is making big stride in its efforts at curtailing corruption, the failure of the Government to take actions on
Government officials indicted in grand corruption such as exposed in the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC) forensic audit as well as other revelations such as the Panama
Papers, Pandora Papers and FinCEN Files reveals a lack of political will to comprehensively tackle
corruption at its very roots.
The report added that the culture of impunity that has emerged as a result of the failure of
successive government to frontally tackle the scourge of corruption in Nigeria has continued to
fuel the negative perception of Nigeria as an endemically corrupt country and this perception is
what is revealed in the CPI ranking of Nigeria.
‘Also true to TI’s assertion that ’that corruption levels are at a worldwide standstill’, Nigeria’s class
of low performers in the CPI remains largely unchanged dispelling any notion of being singled out
as agents of the Nigerian government will have the world believe.
‘While modest and incremental reforms are beginning to gain roots in the maritime sector, where
the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) in collaboration with the Nigeria Shippers Council
(NSC), the Independent Corrupt and Other Related Practices Commission (ICPC) and Technical
Unit on Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR) and other port agencies through the instrumentality
of the Port Service Support Portal (PSSP) housed by the NSC and the Project Steering Committee (PSC), the Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM) which led to the formation of the Port Standing Task
Team (PSTT), such collective action initiative is not replicated in other sectors and such a model
is recommended for anti-corruption reforms in the country.
‘For anti-corruption efforts to be effective and bear results, preventive reforms involving all
relevant stakeholders have shown itself to be more effective in the medium and long term. This
we strongly recommend to the Nigerian Government,’ the report noted.