Nigeria ranked among 11 African countries with highest deterioration in governance since 2014 – Report 

Nigeria is now part of eleven African countries that have seen worsening governance levels in the last ten years dating back to 2014.

A new report titled, “2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance” published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation saw Nigeria fall three places from 30th on the continent to 33rd.

According to the report, 33 countries in Africa have made progress in overall governance during the last decade while 21 countries have seen overall governance become worse in 2023 than it was in 2014.

Of these 21 countries, Nigeria is part of a special 11 countries including Sudan, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Guinea, Mauritius, and Mozambique that have witnessed the worst deterioration in governance in the last decade especially in the last half of the past decade.

The report states, “Over the decade, 33 countries, hosting just over half (52.1%) of the continent’s population, have made progress in Overall Governance. For 13 of them – Congo Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Somalia, Togo, and Zambia – hosting over 1/5th (20.5%) of the continent’s population, progress is even accelerating over the second half of the period.” 

“But for the remaining 21 countries, hosting 47.9% of the population, the Overall Governance level is worse in 2023 than in 2014. For 11 of those – Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Guinea, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda – home to almost 1/3 (29.3%) of the population, deterioration is even worsening over the second part of the decade.” 

Africa’s performance in general 

According to the report, nearly half of Africa’s population resides in countries where governance has declined over the past decade, with deteriorating security undermining progress. Coups in West Africa, the conflict in Sudan, and poor governance have further contributed to violence and instability across the continent.

• The report revealed that infrastructure, including mobile phone access and energy, as well as women’s equality, improved in 2023 for about 95% of Africans.
• Metrics for health, education, and the business environment also saw gains across the continent.
• However, public perceptions of progress remained bleak, despite advancements in governance. Most perception indicators, except those related to women’s leadership, declined. The sharpest declines were in views on economic opportunities and safety.
• The foundation suggested that these negative perceptions might stem from rising expectations in countries showing progress and a tendency to focus on challenges rather than achievements.

Declines across various category metrics 

According to the report, Nigeria experienced declines in 10 out of 16 sub-categories, with five showing drops greater than 5 points.

The most significant decline was in Security and Safety, which fell by 11 points, placing Nigeria among the 10 most declined countries over the past decade and in the bottom five for 2023.

At the indicator level, the Absence of Armed Conflict recorded a steep decline of 49.8 points, ranking Nigeria as the fifth most declined country in this category and the lowest-ranked in 2023, positioned 54th.