Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

The Transparency International and Nigeria’s Corruption Perception Index: Implications for Sustainable Transformation

Linus Akor

Corruption constitutes a canker worm that has eaten deep into the entire fabric of Nigeria’s social system. Successive governments have taken diverse steps to nip the scourge in the bud albeit with debatable degrees of success. Despite the celebrated declaration of war against corruption, Nigeria’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) appears to continually go down. For instance, the Transparency International in its Corruption Perception Index, (CPI) ranked Nigeria as the second most corrupt nation in the world for three consecutive years: 2001, 2002 and 2003. In 2006, Nigeria ranked as the 21st most corrupt country, globally. In the 2009 global corruption perception index, Nigeria dropped from its 121st place in 2008 to 130th position, out of the 180 countries surveyed. The report of the 2011 CPI showed that Nigeria emerged 143rd among the 183 nations covered by the survey with a score of 2.4 on a scale of 10 points. In the 2012 report, Nigeria ranked 135th out of the 178 countries polled, scoring 27% out of a possible 100%. This paper examined the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index vis- a-vis Nigeria’s downward slide on the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and its implications for sustainable transformation in Nigeria. It notes that rightly or wrongly, the seeming failure of the war against corruption in Nigeria may not be unconnected with the epileptic nature of political will on the part of the political leadership as well as the weakness of relevant institutions charged with the responsibility of being at the vanguard of the war. This probably explains why skeptical eyebrows are raised whenever the war against corruption is paraded as one of the success stories of the government. This scenario has implications on the country’s sustainable transformation agenda. The paper recommends that the federal government demonstrates appropriate political will to prosecute corrupt persons especially Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) such as governors, ministers and members of the national assembly. Government must also enthrone good governance and accountability to restore public confidence in governance.