How did Nigeria perform in the 2011 Failed States Index?

The Failed States Index is produced by the Fund for Peace; an independent Washington based non-profit research and educational organisation. The index highlights key issues affecting weak and failing states as well as normal pressures that all states experience. The index scores are interpreted as the lower the score the better. High scores show greater instability.

Nigeria ranked 14th position out of the 177 countries in the 2011 Failed States Index. It retained the same position as 2010 with a score of 99.9 (maximum and worst score being 120) which was a 'slight improvement'  from the score of 100.2 in 2010.

[http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/17/2011_failed_states_index_interactive_map_and_rankings]

There are 12 indicators (Social, Economic and Political/Military) on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the least stable/most at risk of collapse & violence and 1 being the most stable. Nigeria scored badly under the following;

• Group grievance (9.6): When tension and violence exists between groups, it undermines the state’s ability to provide security. When security is not guaranteed, violence and fear may ensue;
• Uneven development (9.0); When there are ethnic, religious, or regional disparities, the governed tend to be uneven in their commitment to the social contract;
• Legitimacy of the state(9.0); Corruption and a lack of representativeness in the government directly undermine the social contract;
• Public services (9.0): Progressive deterioration of public services, the provision of health, education, and sanitation services are a key aspect of the social contract; 
• Security apparatus (9.1);  The security apparatus should have a monopoly on the use of legitimate force. When the security apparatus is fractured or when competing or parallel groups exist, this weakens the social contract and;
• Factionalised elites (9.5): When local and national leaders engage in deadlock and brinksmanship for political gain, this undermines the social contract.

Nigeria’s performed best in the massive movement of refugees indicator with a score of 6 (which is still on the high side). Not surprisingly, Nigeria was ranked the second worst performer under the group grievance indicator as a result of the violence in the Niger Delta and the North. In the Western and Central Africa Region, Ghana had the best regional score (67.7) while Guinea had the worst score (102.5).

The Nigerian government should aim to be among the best performers in the Western and Central Africa region by tackling the weak areas identified in the index.  It should focus on achieving poverty reducing growth which would involve tackling corruption and improving security in the country. Nigeria needs to create an enabling environment for private sector development that would generate jobs for its people and boost the economy. The government should reduce the cost of governance and focus more on effectively delivering public services to the people. This would improve the lives of Nigerians and help to address issues such as group grievances and deteriorating public services mentioned in the index.

http://www.fundforpeace.org/global/library/cr-11-14-fs-failedstatesindex2011-1106p.pdf (The report of the 2011 Failed States Index)