Anti-Corruption Fight In Nigeria Yields Uneven Results – Chatham House Report
Chatham House, a London-based think tank organisation, has declared that efforts to tackle corruption in Nigeria since the end of military rule in the late 1990s have only yielded uneven results.
This was as it called on the federal government to work with the legislative branch to mandate asset declaration and public disclosure of information to citizens and called for legislation to protect whistleblowers, saying that Nigerians should be able to monitor the wealth status of their leaders over time.
Chatham House which held a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja to launch its latest research findings on corruption in Nigeria, noted that the fight against corruption in the country has been hindered by politicisation, weak institutions and double standards among leaders.
According to the Chatham House report, corruption has caused a crisis of trust in Nigeria’s institutions and society, stressing that failure to reduce corruption has led to political clientelism and impunity and created a perception among citizens that there is no accountability for those involved, and higher risks for those who resist.
The report states; “Many Nigerians are also keen to stand up against corruption, but feel resigned, sensing that it is the price for getting things done”.
Drawing on the research by its Social Norms and Accountable Governance project – including its fourth (and most recent) annual national household survey, conducted in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2023, Chatham House called for a change in approach to anti-corruption.
It suggested that the bringing together of reformers across different sectors to help change underlying social norms perpetuating corruption as an enabler of lasting reforms.
The report further said; “Institutions are not self-enforcing. Neither are reforms self-implementing. In corrupted systems, values such as integrity, transparency and public service need credible and competent individuals to demonstrate them”.
Author of the report, Leena Koni Hoffmann, who is an Associate Fellow of the Chatham House Africa Programme, said; “numerous exceptions to corruption rules in Nigeria. Contrary to the perception of corruption’s prevalence in society, not everybody is engaging in it. We have people who resist corruption in our own lives.”
Hoffmann noted that data from the Chatham House survey, revealed that as a community, society, Nigerians have strong values around fairness, civic duty despite the effects of systemic corruption, adding that it showed that the software of society isn’t completely corrupted.
Chatham House said that it is not too difficult to track some of the sharp practices in Nigeria, adding that the annual report of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation revealed some of these issues.
According to the Chatham House report; “Some of the infractions include details of unauthorised deductions from money due to the federation account by revenue collecting agencies, irregularities in payment and expenditure, irregularities in contract award and execution, etc.
“With the audit reports, the link between abuse of, or general disregard for extant rules and corruption cannot be made clearer. Once rules are ignored, as is evident in the annual reports by the auditor general, all other templates for transparency and accountability lose their validity.
It said that unfortunately, Nigerians hardly pay attention to the reports and expressed the hope that the relevant authorities will adopt the report which highlights the role of integrity role models in coordinating actions against corruption in Nigeria.
It said that some of the recommendations include putting in place penalties that are socially meaningful, celebrating good behaviours while disincentivising bad ones.
Representatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and other agencies of government were at the session.
