Nigeria classified as the third worst governed country on earth in latest global survey

NIGERIA has been classified as the third worst governed country in the world behind Zimbabwe and Venezuela in a recent Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) report which looked at the 104 most poorly governed nations on earth.

Despite having a large population of 200m, with over 70% of them being below the age of 30, a plethora of natural resources and an abundance of arable land, Nigeria is grossly under-performing economically. To make matters worse, the country is currently in the midst of an insecurity epidemic with kidnapping, terrorism, rape, banditry and armed robbery all taking place on a daily basis with wanton impunity.

Other clear indications showing that Nigeria is badly managed is the fact that the country manufactures very little from its abundance of raw materials, exporting primary products and then spending scarce foreign exchange to import finished goods at huge mark-ups. Nigeria exports crude oil and imports petrol, exports timber and imports toothpicks, exports cotton and imports clothing and exports rubber but imports tyres.

According to the Chandler Good Government Index which ranked Nigeria very low in governance, leadership and foresight, the country came 102th out of 104 countries reviewed. Nigeria had a low score of 0.319 points, placing it just ahead of Zimbabwe and Venezuela, who were the only two nations to be governed in a worse manner.

Released in Singapore on Monday by the Chandler Institute of Governance, the report noted that the ability to handle corruption properly is the strongest indicator of good governance. This index, which was the first in the series, scored Nigeria 0.44 on leadership and foresight, 0.45 on anti-corruption, 0.47 on long-term vision, 0.41 on strategic prioritisation and 0.4 on innovation.

In addition, the report also ranked Nigeria low in other parameters, scoring the nation 98 in leadership and foresight, 85 in robust laws and policies, 101 in strong institutions, 88 in financial stewardship, 97 in attractive marketplace,72 in global influence and reputation and 98 in helping people rise. Finland ranked number one in the survey, followed by Switzerland, Singapore, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand and Canada.

 Mauritius, which was Africa’s best performer scored 0.5670, placing it at number 38 on the index. According to the CGGI, the ranking came during the Covod-19 pandemic, which exposed the strengths and weaknesses in institutions, laws and leadership in countries as governance decides success.

A CGGGI spokesman said:  “Good governance begins with good leadership. The culture of government leadership varies from country to country but the CGGI’s highest-performing governments are united in three ways - a commitment to integrity, a strong vision and plan for their nation’s future and the ability to make the most of their available resources.”