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

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.” 

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.

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.