Nigeria is among 11 worst governed countries in Africa— Mo Ibrahim Report

Nigeria has been ranked among worst-governed nations in Africa, coming 33rd among 54 countries on the continent.

The rankings is contained in a report published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which cited bad and deteriorating governance in the last 10 years as reasons for ranking Nigeria among 11 other countries in this category.

In the report: “2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG)” published by the foundation, it Nigeria slump three places from 30th on the continent to 33rd, making it one of the worst-ruled states since 2014.

Established in 2006, the foundation said it is dedicated to strengthening the African voice on global challenges, especially by providing data and analysis to assess continental challenges.

Published since 2007, the IIAG assesses the public governance performance of 54 African countries every two years over the last available decade. IIAG data comes from 49 independent sources, some of which are financially supported by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

Overall, the country scored 45.7 per cent, flopping on absence of armed conflict (2.1 per cent) and scoring 39 per cent on security and rule of law and 47.3 per cent on accountability and transparency. On anti-corruption, Nigeria scored 28.9 per cent.

It scored 47 per cent on inclusion; 43 per cent on equality; 59 per cent on women equality; 48.6 per cent on economic opportunity; 41 per cent on infrastructure and 44.6 per cent on health; 51 per cent on education; 44 per cent on social protection and 45 per cent on sustainable environment.

In all, 33 countries in Africa made progress in governance during the last decade while 21 countries became worse in 2023 than it was in 2014.

Nigeria was grouped with Sudan, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Guinea, Mauritius, and Mozambique as those with worst deterioration in governance in the last decade.

It stated that governance progress in Africa was grinding to a halt as security and democracy on the continent deteriorated further, threatening substantial advances in human and economic development.

The 2024 IIAG stated that after four years of almost complete stagnation, Africa’s overall governance progress ground to a halt in 2022 as rising conflict and insecurity, as well as a shrinking democratic space across the continent, undermined critical progress achieved in human and economic development.

“Over the decade 2014-2023, there is progress for just over half (52.1 per cent) of Africa’s population, living in 33 out of 54 countries, but for the remaining half, the level of overall governance reached in 2023 is worse than in 2014,” it said.

Reflecting on the findings of the 2024 IIAG, Mo Ibrahim, the Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, said: “The 2024 IIAG is a sobering reminder of the threat that a deepening security crisis and shrinking participatory environment poses to the continent’s progress. Of course, it also reflects the global crisis.

“Escalating conflicts and deepening mistrust in democratic institutions and values are not specific to Africa; we see it right around the world. But it is specifically concerning in Africa because it threatens our progress in economic and social development, as well as the advancements which we are yet to achieve.”

Collected from 49 independent sources, with some data commissioned by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the IIAG is based on 322 variables clustered in 96 indicators, organised under 16 sub-categories and four main categories: Security & Rule of Law; Participation, Rights & Inclusion; Foundations for Economic Opportunity; and Human Development.

“At country level, 13 countries – including Egypt, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Somalia – managed to follow a successful course of overall governance progress over the decade, even accelerating improvement since 2019.

“The latter four also rank in the top 10 most improved countries between 2014 and 2023, along with Seychelles, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Mauritania and Djibouti. Seychelles, having made striking progress over the decade (+10.0 points), overtakes Mauritius and is the top-ranking country in 2023.

“Following an opposite course, 11 countries are on a concerning decade-long trend of deterioration that even worsens since 2019. Some of them, such as Sudan, grapple with ongoing crises. However, decade-long deteriorations are also seen in high-ranked countries.

“Mauritius (2nd), Botswana (5th), Namibia (6th), and Tunisia (9th), though still ranking in 2023 among the 10 highest-scoring countries, also feature among the most deteriorated countries over 2014-2023, along with Comoros, Mali, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Niger and Eswatini.