Nigeria has hit a new low in the 2021 Transparency International Index, ranks 154 out of the 180 countries surveyed under its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
The global anti-corruption body said that the inaction of past disclosures of corruption by “Nigeria’s powerholders” have created a sense of impunity in the country.
With a score of 24/100, Transparency International said in its report released on Tuesday that “in Nigeria (24) – which hit a historic low on the 2021 CPI, more than 100 powerful individuals were exposed as having used anonymous companies to buy properties with a total worth of £350 million in the United Kingdom alone.
“Secretive dealings among Nigeria’s powerholders were previously reported as part of the Panama Papers and FinCEN Files investigations. Inaction over past disclosures has created a sense of impunity, stalling anti-corruption progress in the country.”
Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures the perception of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, found that “increasingly, rights and checks and balances are being undermined not only in countries with systemic corruption and weak institutions, but also among established democracies.”
Among Sub-Saharan African countries, Seychelles tops the 2021 index as the least corrupt nation with a CPI score of 70 while Cabo Verde (58) and Botswana (55) are the distant runners-up.
TI said that “for countries at the bottom of the index, such as Equatorial Guinea (17), Somalia (13) and South Sudan (11), the way out of endemic corruption remains daunting.”
Among the countries that improved most in its ranking in Africa, the top is Angola (29, up 7 points since 2012) with the body saying that this “marks a significant improvement on the CPI following the election of President João Lourenço in 2017, who has taken steps to crack down on corruption. Authorities have pursued high-profile corruption investigations into the former ruling family. Among them was Isabel dos Santos, the former president’s daughter and ex-chief of the state oil company Sonangol.
“Senegal’s (43) performance on the CPI has significantly improved (from 36) in the last decade, gaining 9 points from 2012 to 2016.”
However, the report said that one of the top performers in the region, “Botswana (55) hit a historic low in 2021, recording a significant decline from a score of 65 in 2012.
“Liberia (29), which dropped 12 points (from 41) since 2012, is a significant decliner on the 2021 CPI.”
In explaining its findings, TI says “this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) reveals that corruption levels are at a worldwide standstill. The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The results are given on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
“In Sub-Saharan Africa, armed conflict, violent transitions of power and increasing terrorist threats combined with poor enforcement of anti-corruption commitments rob citizens of their basic rights and services.”
Generally, the report, which ranks countries on a scale from a “highly corrupt” 0 to a “very clean” 100 saw Denmark, New Zealand and Finland tied for first place with 88 points each; the first two were unchanged, while Finland gained three points. Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany completed the top 10. The U.K. was 11th with 78.
The United States, which slipped over recent years to hit 67 points in 2020, held that score this time but slipped a couple of places to 27th. Transparency said it dropped out of the top 25 for the first time “as it faces continuous attacks on free and fair elections and an opaque campaign finance system.”
Canada, which slid three points to 74 and two places to 13th, “is seeing increased risks of bribery and corruption in business,” the group said. It added that the publication of the Pandora Papers showed Canada as “a hub for illicit financial flows, fuelling transnational corruption across the region and the world.”
The index rates 180 countries and territories. South Sudan was bottom with 11 points; Somalia, with which it shared last place in 2020, tied this time with Syria for second-to-last with 13. Venezuela followed with 14 — then Yemen, North Korea and Afghanistan tied with 16 apiece.
Transparency said the control of corruption has stagnated or worsened in 86% of the countries it surveyed in the last 10 years. In that time, 23 countries — including the U.S., Canada, Hungary and Poland — have declined significantly in its index, while 25 have improved significantly. They include Estonia, the Seychelles and Armenia.
Compiled since 1995, the index is calculated using 13 different data sources that provide perceptions of public sector corruption from business people and country experts. Sources include the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and private risk and consulting companies.
