How did Nigeria perform in the 2011 Corruption Perception Index?

The Corruption Perception Index is produced by Transparency International, a global civil society organisation focused on fighting corruption. It ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. The index is measured on a scale of 0 to 10 with a score of 0 being "highly corrupt" and 10 being "very clean". 

Nigeria ranked 143 out of 183 countries with a score of 2.4.  Though its position changed to 143 from 134 in 2010 (probably due to an increase in the number of countries assessed this year), its CPI score (2.4) remained the same as last year.  In the last five years, Nigeria has performed badly in the Corruption Perception Index. In 2009, Nigeria ranked 130 with a CPI score of 2.5. In 2008, it ranked 121 with a CPI score of 2.7. See below a summary of Nigeria’s performance since 2007:

Year	Rank	Score
2007	147 (out of 179 countries)	2.2
2008	121 (out of 180 countries)	2.7
2009	130 (out of 180 countries)	2.5
2010	134 (out f 178 countries)	2.4
2011	143 (out of 183 countries)	2.4

In Sub-Sahara Africa, Botswana ranked the best at 32 with a CPI score of 6.1, while Cape Verde ranked the best in the West African region with a position of 41 and a CPI score of 5.5. Ghana ranked 69 with a CPI score of 3.9 making it the ‘second best’ ranking country in West Africa. Guinea was the worst ranked West African country at 164 with a CPI score of 2.1.

Performance of West African Countries in the 2011 Corruption Perception Index

Country	Rank	Score
Cape Verde	41	5.5
Ghana	69	3.9
Gambia	77	3.5
Liberia	91	3.2
Benin	100	3
Burkina Faso	100	3
Senegal	112	2.9
Mali	118	2.8
Niger	134	2.5
Sierra Leone	134	2.5
Mauritania	143	2.4
Nigeria	143	2.4
Togo	143	2.4
Cote d’Ivoire	154	2.2
Guinea Bissau	154	2.2
Guinea	164	2.1

http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/

Should ICPC and EFCC be merged?

 Merging of ICPC and EFCC is not a magic bullet to making the anti-corruption agencies more effective. Political will is vital to ensuring the success of the anti-corruption agencies. Although the EFCC is perceived to be more effective than the ICPC due to its arrest and prosecution of high profile individuals in both the public and private sector, both anti-corruption agencies face challenges which hinder them from operating effectively. Some of the problems facing the anti-corruption agencies include weak legal framework, lack of adequate funding, delay in trials of corruption cases and lack of adequate investigative capacity. Merging does not address these issues.

What should be done? The anti-corruption agencies should be strengthened and be allowed to operate independently from each other rather than merging. Though some of their functions overlap sometimes (as they both deal with corruption in the public and private sector), they still have different areas of focus. Based on their mandates, the EFCC is focused on combating all forms of economic and financial crimes which includes advance fee fraud (commonly known as 419), money laundering, and bank fraud while the ICPC deals with curbing corruption in the public sector.

How can they be strengthened? The laws establishing these agencies should be made stronger in order to make them more independent and effective. This should include ensuring that the agencies have financial autonomy which will make them independent from government. They should be allowed to retain a certain percentage of proceeds received from crime. The agencies need to be adequately funded in order to effectively discharge their duties.

The fight against corruption should be a holistic approach involving both citizens and governments. The government should do its part of strengthening these agencies rather than breaking them. The agencies should be allowed to operate independently without any interference. The anti-corruption agencies should not be merged; rather the government should strengthen them. Merging these agencies does not make them more effective or address the challenges facing the agencies.