Corruption remains one of Nigeria’s most persistent challenges, eroding trust in institutions and hindering economic development. A recent Chatham House report, ‘Taking Action Against Corruption in Nigeria: Empowering Anti-Corruption Role Models and Coalitions to Change Social Norms’, highlights the deep mistrust Nigerians have in formal institutions. According to the report, 60 per cent of Nigerians distrust President Bola Tinubu’s government, with even greater skepticism toward the police and judiciary.
In this interview with THE WHISTLER’s IKENNA OMEJE, Dr. Leena Koni Hoffmann—Associate Fellow of Chatham House’s Africa Programme, lead researcher for the programme’s Social Norms and Accountable Governance (SNAG) project, and author of the report—discusses the root causes of this distrust, the economic impact of corruption, and the urgent reforms needed to strengthen governance and accountability. The conversation also explores real-life cases of individuals who have resisted corruption, including a court judge who was nearly kidnapped for refusing to rule in a politician’s favour. Excerpts:
Your Report Highlights That 60 Per Cent Of Nigerians Distrust President Bola Tinubu, And Even More Distrust Institutions Like The Police And Judiciary. What Do You See As The Primary Factors Driving This Deep-Seated Mistrust?
Public trust has to do with whether people believe that institutions will behave consistently and reliably in a positive manner.
The survey shows that Nigerians do not believe the country’s formal governing institutions act consistently and reliably in a positive manner. This perception is informed by how people experience institutions like the police and judiciary.
These critical institutions play a powerful role in establishing and nurturing the state’s social contract with its citizens, however, over time critical institutions have been weakened and made ineffective by corruption and impunity; the mismanagement of their resources and the politicization of their functions. Because these institutions have not consistently served the interests of the Nigerian people, they are seen as untrustworthy.
Finally, the trust gap I highlight in the report is very interesting because it is narrower for informal institutions (i.e. religious and traditional leaders/institutions are more trusted) and very wide between the public and formal institutions (i.e. they are more distrusted).
Currently, Nigeria Is Ranked 140 Out Of 180 On Transparency International’s Latest Corruption Perception Index. What Does This Say About Tinubu As A Person And His Government?
Nigeria’s ranking on Transparency International’s CPI has been poor for many years – it has only marginally improved on a few occasions in the past decade. Such a consistently poor ranking is a reflection of the inconsistent implementation of anti-corruption reforms, weak culture and mechanisms of accountability as well as how people perceive and experience institutions in Nigeria.
I note in the report that President Tinubu has acknowledged in a speech delivered by VP Shettima the negative effects of corruption, however, their campaign manifesto mentioned corruption only around 5 times and he is yet to articulate a coherent and comprehensive anti-corruption approach that will be implemented by his administration.
In the report I discuss how corruption can undermine the effectiveness, efficiency and impact economic reforms his administration (including tax reform) says it is prioritising.
In Your View, To What Extent Has Corruption Impacted On Nigeria’s Economic Growth And Development?
Corruption raises the cost of doing business in Nigeria (for example, businesses compete to offer the highest bribes rather than the best services).
It also thrives in opacity and limits competitiveness because corrupted procurement procedures cannot guarantee that the best people will be awarded the job. There are several examples of fraudulent contracts awards as well as bribery cases such as involving Glencore (in the report) and Siemens AG in 2008.
Corruption also creates more inequality in society because only those who can game the system benefit and the poor and vulnerable suffer as they struggle to access dwindling services (e.g. the theft of pension funds in 2014 is example of how corruption deprives the vulnerable in society, in this case retirees).
Despite Over Two Decades Of Anti-Corruption Efforts, Corruption Remains Widespread In Nigeria. What Structural Or Policy Changes Do You Believe Are Necessary To Make These Reforms More Effective?
Anticorruption efforts need to be socially meaningful. This means penalties must exact social costs (for example, public shaming and loss of status) and incentives or rewards must also make anti-corruption socially rewarding (positive recognition and status).
In the report I highlight ways for policy and legal reforms to change negative norms and align with resilient social values of fairness and civic duty. Key efforts such as mandating the declaration of assets by all elected and appointed officials (before and after tenure) and ensure these declarations are made public (through digitisation, for example) allows Nigerians to monitor the wealth status of their leaders over time and facilitates a sense of governance as a shared endeavour and encourages a culture of scrutiny/accountability.
There is also a critical need for whistleblower legislation and for asset recovery to be a tool for compensating victims of corruption in a transparent and accountable manner. This approach to channelling recovered assets will help undermine the notion that corruption is a victimless crime and make more tangible the real costs to communities of corruption (in terms of a loss of public goods and services). Reforms and better enforcement of anticorruption laws can target the status symbols such as foreign assets and travel. Such consequences require support from international partners, and help to raise the costs of corruption on those who engage in it.
The Report Advocates For Promoting Integrity Role Models In Public And Private Sectors. Can You Share Examples Of Individuals Or Initiatives That Have Successfully Resisted Corruption And Made A Tangible Impact?
We spoke with 21 integrity role models for the project. A few of them are publicly known and are happy to be mentioned in the context of this work e.g. Dr Yemi Kale (former statistician general of Nigeria), Tunde Irukera (former head of the FCCPC), Dr Nuzo Eziechie (formerly of the BPE) and Oyeronke Izobo (blood bank specialist at LUTH).
Each of the role models have unique experiences in their distinct fields and navigated corruption “traps” such as attempts of inducements through bribes, intimidation and threats from colleagues who feared being exposed or losing corruption opportunities and political influence.
For example, Mrs. Izobo challenged a system of corruption (involving bribery which undermined screening protocols) in a blood bank she worked with that resulted in infected or insufficient blood being available during emergencies. We also spoke with a court judge who was almost kidnapped for refusing to rule in favour of a politician, a construction company owner who has lost contracts for refusing to pay government officials bribes and so on.
The Survey Found That 59.2 Per Cent Of Respondents Believe Power Is Prioritised Over Integrity In Nigeria. How Can Policymakers And Civil Society Shift This Mindset To Foster A Culture Of Accountability?
This mindset can only be shifted through checks and balances to power so it is exercised with integrity in Nigeria. Power shouldn’t be separated from integrity, this leads to impunity/unaccountability.
Policymakers need to first be positive role models and those who are positive role models need to be more visible than those that aren’t.
Civil society groups, the media and credible religious and traditional leaders can facilitate greater civic engagement by encouraging and equipping citizens to collectively demand accountability and answerability especially from the forms of government closest to the people (that is local and state-level government).
Our survey shows that more people in Nigeria believe it is important and worthwhile to demand accountability from elected officials (around 5 out of 10 Nigerians share this belief). This is a great place to start.
Despite Widespread Distrust, The Report Notes That Many Nigerians Still Value Fairness And Justice. How Can This Sense Of Social Responsibility Be Harnessed To Encourage Civic Engagement And Anti-Corruption Advocacy?
I’ll refer to my answer to question 4. Civic engagement and anti-corruption advocacy can also be encouraged through regular public briefings, including credible community members in oversight bodies and participatory budgetary procedures.
Nigeria’s shared sense of social responsibility can be harnessed through improved answerability. For example, the recent national budgetary process for 2024 was on too short a timeline to allow for the level of public participation that improves accountability and budget performance. This type of approach will not support improvements to Nigeria’s Open Budget Survey ranking.
Chatham House And Transparency International Have Played Key Roles In Researching Corruption In Nigeria. What More Can International Organisations Do To Support Nigeria’s Fight Against Corruption Beyond Research And Advocacy?
International organisations can deepen collaboration with Nigerian counterparts to strengthen global norms of integrity by supporting the enforcement of conventions such as UNCAC and the OECD’s anti-bribery convention as well as being watchdogs to ensure that their jurisdictions aren’t safe havens for illicit financial flows and proceeds of corruption.
Foreign governments such as the UK should also work closely with Nigerian anticorruption bodies on enforcing corruption laws and penalising corrupt actors (through financial sanctions and travel restrictions) and penalising their enablers (i.e. foreign lawyers, banks etc).
Given The Findings Of Your Research, Do You See Any Hope For Significant Improvement In Nigeria’s Governance And Anti-Corruption Efforts In The Near Future? What Key Indicators Should We Watch For Progress?
Nigeria’s governance and anti-corruption trajectory is at a crossroads where improved governance and anti-corruption can be deepened in line with positive societal expectations and evident shared values of a desire for fairness and accountability.
Incremental change has been achieved in some sectors for example in addressing bribery in the maritime sector, so a sector-based approach has been proven to be effective in Nigeria and elsewhere. Key indicators would then vary based on sectors.
The role models highlighted in the study prove that change is possible even in the presence of systemic corruption.
The reform actions championed by anticorruption reformers could be supported and better coordinated to amplify their impact especially through the networked coalitions approach discussed in the report.
I highlight the Ghana anti-corruption coalition in the report as an example of coalition-networking that Nigeria can learn from. Ghana is the only West African country with a whistleblower legislation so there are indeed lessons to be learned.
INTERVIEW: Why Some Nigerians Don’t Trust Tinubu — Chatham House Lead Researcher is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
