Nigeria listed among Africa’s worst governed countries in 2024 Mo Ibrahim report
Nigeria has been ranked among Africa’s worst-governed countries in the 2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
The report shows that Nigeria has dropped three places, now sitting at 33rd out of 54 African nations.
This decline reflects a troubling deterioration in governance over the past decade, positioning Nigeria among 11 African countries with the most significant governance decline since 2014.
The IIAG, published since 2007, assesses governance across the continent based on various metrics, including security, rule of law, economic opportunities, human development, and democratic participation.
Data is sourced from 49 independent entities to evaluate how effectively African countries have managed governance over the years.
The 2024 report specifically points out Nigeria’s governance failures, with poor scores in key areas: security and rule of law (39%), accountability and transparency (47.3%), and anti-corruption efforts, where the country received a particularly low score of 28.9%.
The report also indicated that Nigeria’s performance in social protection, inclusion, equality, and infrastructure remained low, further contributing to its poor governance rating.
Additionally, the governance crisis in Africa reflects a broader continental trend, with security challenges and diminishing democratic spaces hindering progress.
Mo Ibrahim, chair of the foundation, emphasized that the governance decline in countries like Nigeria jeopardizes recent economic and social development gains.
He noted that while these challenges are global, they are particularly acute for Africa, where longstanding developmental issues are worsened by governance failures.
Despite these concerning trends, the report identified some success stories across the continent. Countries such as Seychelles, Gambia, and Sierra Leone demonstrated improvements in governance. Notably, Seychelles has surpassed Mauritius as the best-governed nation in Africa, illustrating that progress is achievable even amid widespread challenges.
In contrast, Nigeria is now grouped with countries like Sudan, Mozambique, and Senegal, all of which have experienced significant governance deterioration over the past decade.
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