Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Nigeria has dropped in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranking released by Transparency International (TI). The country scored 24 out of 100 points in the 2021 index, ranking 154th out of 180 countries surveyed. CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Ibrahim Musa cited security sector corruption, high level of financial recklessness, abuse of budgetary processes and failure of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to follow due process of appropriation as reasons Nigeria was ranked low in the CPI. He also called for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to ensure that officers appointed are competent and qualified. The NJC should shun nepotism in its appointment of judges and take disciplinary actions against them, while the Auditor General revealed that N49 billion was spent by nine MDAs without appropriation by the National Assembly. The government should also address the shrinking civic space and clampdown on freedom of speech, as well as the arbitrary and illogical decision to ban Twitter for seven months. Finally, systemic corruption in the Nigeria Police Force has continued unabated, putting the country in bad light.

The late Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu warned that corruption was making Nigeria look big for nothing, and successive military rulers led the charge against it. Despite a flurry of administrative policies, none have made a dramatic impact. Corruption has become the basis for the vicious propaganda that pitted military politicians against civilian politicians, defining good and bad Nigerians and making it possible for the country to admit of ambitious men with sinister purposes in government. President Olusegun Obasanjo established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2003, but corruption remains with a smirk on its face, making it the giver of favours and creator of instant wealth with no questions asked.