How did Nigeria Perform in the 2014 Transparency International Corruption Index?

Yet again, Nigeria retained its position of being the 3rd most corrupt country in the West African Region. This was highlighted in the 2014 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index released today. Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. The measurement is based on a scale of 0 to 100 with a score of 0 perceived as "highly corrupt" and 100 "very clean". Nigeria’s performance on the 2014 ranking is slightly better than its 2013 ranking. It ranked 136 out of 175 countries with a score of 27 compared to 2013 when it ranked 144 out of 176 countries with a score of 25.

In Sub-Sahara Africa, Botswana ranked the best at 31 with a CPI score of 63. Cape Verde retained its number one position in the West African region being the best with a rank of 42 and CPI score of 57.Ghana ranked 61 with a CPI score of 48. Please see table below showing Nigeria’s performance in comparison with other West African countries.

Position	Country	Rank	2014 Score	2013 Rank	2013 Score
1	Cape Verde	42	57	41	58
2	Ghana	61	48	63	46
3	Senegal	69	43	77	41
4	Benin	80	39	94	36
5	Burkina Faso	85	38	83	38
6	Liberia	94	37	83	38
7	Niger	103	35	106	34
8	Mali	115	32	127	28
9	Cote d'ivoire	115	32	136	27
10	Sierra Leone	119	31	119	30
11	Togo	126	29	123	29
12	Gambia	126	29	127	28
13	Nigeria	136	27	144	25
14	Guinea	145	25	150	24
15	Guinea Bissau	161	19	163	19

An Urgent Call for Transparency and Accountability in Nigeria’s Security Sector

 ‘Daddy, Boko Haram is here… they are taking us away. Please tell mummy I may never see her again. Tell her to pray for me,”( Abducted Chibok girl- CNN May 9, 2014  )- This is the trauma that many Nigerians have been exposed to as a result of the activities of the local terrorist group called Boko Haram. The recent abduction of almost 300 girls in Chibok, Maiduguri has generated global attention to terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria. Bomb attacks and unrest have become a daily occurrence in the Northern part of the country. Let’s not forget random kidnappings and armed robbery that occur regularly in other parts of Nigeria.

Considerable resources are allocated to the security sector yet there appears to be no improvement in security. In the past three years, about N2.8 trillion naira ($17 billion dollars) have been allocated to security, 3.5 times the size of Nigeria’s Federal Health Budget, 2 times the Federal Education budget and 12 times the Federal Agriculture budget. 

Despite these resources, some soldiers deployed to fight the terrorists claim that of the N30, 000 ($200) of allowances that theyare entitled to they only receive N15, 000 ($100). Basic equipment and camp provisions are inadequate for fighting the terrorists. The 2013 Transparency International Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI) ranks Nigeria alongside countries like Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq as countries with a very high risk of corruption in the defence sector, with limited transparency and legislative oversight on expenditures in this area.  

The Coordinator of the Procurement Monitoring Group in Nigeria, Ms Seember Nyager recently emphasized the need for the security contracts to be made publicly available.I agree with her and join the call for more transparency in this area. Nigerians need to demand for more transparency in the expenditure of the security budget and more accountability for those entrusted with security spending. Not only should this be an election issue for 2015 but arguably action should be taken now, with the anti-graft agencies getting more involved in investigating any alleged cases of corruption in the sector with prosecutions and convictions. If the Nigerian Government is serious in providing security to the nation, political appointees should be sacked if soldiers, police etc. are not receiving their rightful allowances.  There needs to be more accountability in this area.

Politicians running for office in 2015 should commit to increasing transparency in the expenditure of the security budget. Leaders need to take action where there is evidence of budgeted funds not being used appropriately.  Nigerians should ask parliamentarians representing their constituencies to commit to ensuring proper legislative oversight in this area. The largest chunk of the country’s budget is spent on security. Lives are being lost on a daily basis as a result of violence. We need better security outcomes. Please let’s demand for more transparency and accountability in this area to avoid more deaths and people sleeping in bushes as is currently the case in the Chibok community.

The missing Chibok girls: What the Nigerian government should have done

It has been three weeks (23 days) since over 200 young secondary school girls were abducted in Chibok, Borno state.The government’s response has been disappointing resulting in nationwide protests.There are many immediate actions that the Nigerian government should have taken to demonstrate its commitment as well as help in bringing back the girls home.They include the following:

• A nationwide presidential broadcast should have been given immediately after receiving the news of the abducted girls.
• No time ought to have been wasted. The military should have been mobilized immediately to go into the Sambisa forest (where it is believed that the girls were initially taken) rather than allowing parents with no military training to do so.
• The  government should have urgently requested for help from the international community to join forces with its military.
• A counselling center should have been set up for the families of the abducted girls.
• The government should have briefed Nigerians daily on progress being made to bring back the girls.
• The government should have worked with the school and families of the abducted girls to determine the names and numbers of the missing girls and not blame traumatized parents for being uncooperative.

Immediate responses like these are what Nigerians expect from its government. Setting up a committee weeks after the girls had been abducted is not the solution. In addition, arresting protesters fighting for the release of the girls is unacceptable and insensitive.

The Nigerian government needs to improve its intelligence gathering and the military’s capacity to handle terrorism issues. One of the main functions of government is to provide security for its people.  It is the right of every Nigerian to have good security. Nigerians need proper action now from its government. Please bring back our girls home.

The Nigeria I Dream Of……………….

 A number of disturbing events have occurred in Nigeria in the first quarter of this year. The most notable ones are the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment stampede which led to the death of over 20 young Nigerians, the Abuja bomb blast at the Nyanya bus station where 75 people lost their lives and several others injured as well as the kidnapping incidence of over 200 young female students by Boko Haram. Let us not forget the daily killings that occur in the North East as a result of terrorist attacks, communal clashes in different parts of the country, the controversial missing $20 billion and the suspension of the CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Despite being the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest number of people living in extreme poverty. It has the largest population of children not enrolled in school and accounts for one tenth of neo-natal deaths in the world. Reversing these negative trends requires an effective government genuinely committed to serving the people.

I dream of a Nigeria where:

• Citizens have access to good health care, education, constant electricity supply and good roads
• Accident victims will not be refused medical treatment in hospitals due to the non-availability of a police report
• Students can be educated without fear of being killed or kidnapped by terrorists
• Lecturers don’t go on strike
• Road accidents are rare
• Air travel is safe
• Nigerians can sleep without fear of boko haram, armed robbers or kidnappers
• Jobs are readily available
• The Public sector is not the main source of formal employment
• Recruitment process in both public and private organisations are fair, transparent and based on merit
• Corruption is not celebrated or tolerated
• Government leaders are responsible and resign voluntarily when they have failed the people
• Sanctions /punishment are given to erring public officials
• Awards are given to those who truly deserve it
• Elections are free and fair
• Citizens are able to vote based on well-presented manifestos which they can hold politicians accountable to and not by sentiments of tribe or religion

Finally I pray for a Nigeria with good leaders genuinely committed to transforming Nigeria.

This is my dream and I hope it is a reality some day!

Job Creation & Nigeria's Political Elite

Nigeria’s National Conference: An opportunity to empower citizens?

Back in the mid 1990s, the Ugandan central government provided grants to improve primary school enrollment and learning.  An initiative to track the way funds were being spent revealed that the average school received only 20% of the grants, the bulk of the grants were captured by politicians and local government officials. The government responded to the problem in an innovative way. They published information in newspapers on each school grant, so the parents could see what the schools were supposed to receive and hold their local government to account. A study carried out by Ritva Reinikka and Jakob Svensson in April 2005 showed that both enrollment and test scores improved in areas where the information was published. Empowering parents with the right information to monitor local government officials handling public funds led to better outcomes for their children.

In Nigeria, this type of accountability is more difficult to achieve. Like Uganda in the mid-1990s, we know that much of public funds have not translated into services for the people. It’s not enough to publish your Federal Budget or State Allocations and expect transformation. Citizens need information they can relate to on issues that directly touch on their lives. The current Federal system makes this more challenging. The National Conference provides an opportunity to look again at ways to empower Nigerians in the fight against corruption and pursuit of public service delivery.

Below are three suggestions for the National Conference :

1. More autonomy for local governments and higher expectations from citizens: statutory allocations should be given directly from the Federation Account to local governments rather than through States. This information should be transparent and local governments should be compelled to publish detailed budgets. For example, if citizens know how much is allocated for road maintenance which is never delivered they will know who to hold accountable. This may also help to improve citizen participation in governance.
2. State Governments to be responsible for policing at the state level: the current situation of Federally appointed police commissioners in charge of policing within States blurs the lines of accountability. If security is out of control in a State, it will be good for citizens to know who to hold accountable.
3. Remove the immunity clause from the constitution: leaders should at least be held to the same standards as their citizens. There is no reason why criminality should be accepted at any level in Nigeria. 

The Job Interview from Hell! Nigeria Immigration Service Recruitment Exercise

The death toll is still unfolding from the mass recruitment exercise organised by the Nigeria Immigration Service. Disturbing news through-out the day on the horrible experience that unemployed Nigerians suffered. I just spoke to one of the Abuja candidates and you can listen to his harrowing account below:

The Federal Government should not allow poor Nigerians to suffer this fate. There are many questions for Nigeria Immigration Service to answer, and the people responsible should be held to account.

Institutions vs Leadership in Nigeria's fight against corruption

At least two perspectives on fighting corruption have emerged this week from key Nigerian reformers that served together during the Obasanjo era.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, during a BBC interview with Will Ross, passionately emphasized the need for strong institutions and systems to tackle corruption.  To the extent that she was dismissive of the role of whistle-blowers “It is not very sexy to build systems and institutions. It takes time and nobody wants to discuss it. All they want to do is talk about personalities and who blew the whistle…”

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu on the other hand, in his speech at the Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum, stressed the need for leadership by example and sanctioning corrupt officials.  Premium times quoted him as saying  “The money coming to us is ending up in extremely few hands. Corruption must be made unattractive and difficult to commit. When there is transparency, there is less room for direct stealing…where there are sanctions, there will be no impunity. Impunity means failure to punish.”  He urged the State Governors to lead by example.

You can understand why the emphasis is different between the two. One currently has a role in government and the other is in opposition. Yet for Nigeria to effectively tackle corruption it will need to build institutions and have leaders that lead by good example, with no room for impunity. Nigeria needs both good leaders and institutions.  

A Model Manifesto for Tackling Nigeria’s Corruption

Nigeria’s main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) recently presented their draft road map on fighting corruption as part of their manifesto. APC has identified some entry points for tackling corruption in Nigeria- in particular ensuring the independence of anti-corruption agencies through funding them directly from the consolidated revenue fund, speedy trials of corruption cases and placing the burden on person with inexplicable wealth to prove their innocence in corruption cases. Yet the draft APC road map did not go far enough and missed some key areas. Below is my proposed manifesto for tackling corruption in Nigeria:  

1. Tackling Corruption in Oil Industry

Reclaiming Missing Revenues

• Conduct an independent forensic audit of unaccounted oil revenues potentially owed to Federation Account. Make the findings of the report publicly available and establish a repayment plan for any outstanding revenues from NNPC.

Tackling Oil Theft

• Government will put in place three pronged approach to tackle oil theft, addressing security of pipelines, tackling organised crime, and ensuring alternative livelihoods of the poor.

Controlling Fuel Subsidies

• Payments for petrol or kerosene subsidies will only be paid if there is verification that the product has been imported and there is adequate provision for funds in the Federal Budget.

Improving Transparency

• All oil bloc allocations should go through transparent and credible licensing rounds (with no exceptions for “strategic national interest”)
• No more confusion over oil production or revenues. Establish system for metering oil production and oil exports, making data publicly available.
• Terms and conditions of oil contracts to be made publically available.

Improving Accountability

• National oil company (NNPC) and key oil sector institutions to become accountable to all Nigerians. It will be compelled to publish full independently audited accounts annually and required to answer questions from its shareholders the Nigerian People.
• Increase the representation on the board of NNPC and key oil sector institutions (DPR, PPPRA etc) to include a broader range of Nigerians including key oversight institutions (CBN, NEITI, Ministry of Finance, Federal Inland Revenue Service), and representatives of credible CSOs.
• NNPC fast tracked toward commercialisation, with clear governance and oversight established.

2. Tackling Corruption in Public Service

Merit based Recruitment, Promotions and Postings

• While respecting Federal Character principles all public service recruitments, promotions and postings shall be driven solely by merit and not by connections to influential individuals.

Tackling the Ghosts in the System

• Remove all ghost workers and ghost pensioners from public service payrolls and prosecute all perpetrators.

Public Service Conduct and Protection

• Ensure full implementation of asset declaration. All public officials who have not complied with existing rules will be compelled to leave public office.
• Ensure appropriate legislation in place to protect whistle-blowers and encourage culture of reporting corruption.

Transparency in Contract Awards

• Improve transparency in contract awards. Ensuring contracts over N500,000 and the names of companies winning the bids are published transparently on the relevant public agency websites.

3. Tackling Corruption in Political parties

• Clean up political party financing and expenditure. Publish list of all political party donors that donate over N500,000 with exact details of how much was provided. Political parties and candidates will be required to publish all their campaign expenditures.
• All Political Parties will be expected to publish independently audited accounts every year or risk being de-registered.
• Free broadcasting airtime will be provided to political parties to help reduce cost of financing campaigns.
• Empowering INEC to ensure strict adherence to the spending limits for political parties and candidates as stated in the electoral act 2010.

 4. Anti-corruption agencies

• Help guarantee independence of key anti-corruption agencies they will be allowed to retain a percentage of the proceeds of crime to boost their funding and incentivise asset recovery.

5. Empowering citizens in the fight against corruption

• Enforce the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and take action

6. Presidential Powers

• Presidential pardons will no longer be granted to people convicted of corruption charges.

These are my reflections on what a substantial manifesto for tackling corruption should include. I hope the APC will do some further work on their own draft and that PDP will also consider a comprehensive response as they put together their own. I urge Nigeria’s leaders not to miss the opportunity to make this a key election issue. 2015 needs to be about clear policies not personalities and empty words.

What are Nigerians saying about taxation?

Afrobarometer has just released a report capturing Africans view on taxation. See below some of the views expressed by Nigerians as captured in the report:

82% of Nigerians state that it is very difficult to know how government uses tax revenues.
69% of Nigerians find it difficult to know what taxes are owed to government.
59% of Nigerians say that most tax officials are corrupt while 37% perceive some of them as corrupt.
51% of Nigerians prefer paying higher taxes and receiving more services.
73% of Nigerians say that it is very difficult to avoid paying taxes owed to government.

Link to the full report

Sanusi points to the elephant in the room

Sanusi has done Nigeria a great service by highlighting the unaccounted oil revenues from NNPC. What does the missing $20 billion mean for Nigeria’s 100 million poorest?  Suppose by magic this money could be shared equally by all of Nigeria’s 100 million poor people. The poor would get an additional $200 each. So for those earning less than $1.25 per day (yes these people exist!), it would increase their incomes by 40% for a whole year. Will we continue to allow this elephant in the room to be so careless with our God-given resources?

Sanusi suspended, whistle-blower law urgently needed in Nigeria!

The suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria is yet another example of the challenges of whistle blowing in Nigeria. The CBN governor alleged that there was US$20 billion missing from the federation account. It is not surprising that a few weeks after the allegations; he has been suspended from office for blowing the whistle on Nigeria’s missing billions. This shows the need to have a whistle-blower protection law in Nigeria[see previous blog post]. A whistle blower protection law will protect whistle-blowers like the CBN governor from being victimized for speaking out on corruption issues. 

Nigeria's $10.8 billion

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala recently joined the call for NNPC to give an account on the $10.8 billion it owed the government. NNPC owes Nigerians more explanation than just stating that it was used for operational costs. They should be more transparent and accountable. It should give a detailed breakdown of the ‘operational costs’ and widely disseminate this information for Nigerians to know. NNPC should start being accountable to Nigerians.  

Nigeria’s performance in governance 2013

Nigeria’s performance in governance was not impressive in 2013. This was reflected in many international governance rankings where Nigeria performed poorly. Below is Nigeria’s performance in comparison with some of its West African neighbours:

   3 things government must do to improve governance in 2014:

1.  Tackle corruption seriously:  Corruption is a major obstacle to effective governance in Nigeria. 94% of Nigerians believe that corruption is a problem in the Public Sector (Transparency International, Global Corruption Barometer 2013).The Nigerian government has said that it is serious in tackling corruption but this has not been demonstrated.There should be sanctions for public officials found guilty of corrupt practices. 67% of Nigerians state that many officials always or often go unpunished for crimes committed (Afrobarometer Survey 2013). The government must ensure that the culture of impunity stops. Government officials should abide by the code of conduct set out for Public Officials in the Constitution (Fifth Schedule, Part I of the 1999 Constitution)  as well as the Public Service Rules. If this is done, the Nigerian Public Sector will have more positive impact on the lives of Nigerians.
2.  Manage oil resources effectively: The Nigerian government should implement the recommendations made in the NEITI Audit Report (see blog post) and the Ribadu Report on petroleum revenues. It should also look into the underlying causes of the oil theft and genuinely try to address them (see Chatham House andSDN reports). Implementing these will enable the government to effectively manage its oil resources. It will curb corruption in this sector as well as help the government in translating its oil revenues to something beneficial to Nigerians.
3.  Improve service delivery:  The Nigerian government should engage citizens more in governance. It should set and publish clear standards on what services citizens should expect from government. MDAs at both the Federal and State levels should publish at least 3 things that they will accomplish in their various agencies to improve the lives of Nigerians.  This will be used to hold them accountable. The heads of the agencies should be sacked if these are not met.

I conclude with a quote from the governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank: We must recognize that at the heart of the problem of Nigeria, at the heart of ninety percent of our issues – from Boko Haram, to religious crisis, to ethnic crisis to unemployment, to the lack of education, to the lack of health care – is that there are people who profit from the poverty and underdevelopment of this country. And these people are called Vested Interests. And so long as they remain entrenched, and so long as we do not overcome our fear of them and dislodge them, we are not going to find a solution to this problem and we are not going to reach true potentials’