Beyond Transparency International’s rating

By EBIYE DAGOGO WILCOX

THE global corruption watchdog, Transparency International, TI, has just released its yearly Corruption Perception Index for 2009. And what has made the headlines in the last few days is that Nigeria has slumped in the latest ranking. The country is placed 130 out of the 180 countries covered by the report.

A year ago, the country placed 121, which was arguably the best placement ever by Nigeria. In fact, what I have seen in the last 10 years of this exercise is that Nigeria had, over the past few years, witnessed steady improvement in the TI Corruption Perception Index. And I suppose most Nigerians expected the trend to continue. But TI probably thinks otherwise with the latest drop of 0.2 in our score.

So what does the new rating mean for Nigeria? One could guess from the flood of reactions that have so far trailed the release of the rating. The preponderance of emotions expressed by Nigerians of various political persuasions has been that of shock and discomfort, not in terms of the validity of the report but distress on account of the fact that the nation still has not been able to shake off the stigma of a very corrupt nation. What is evident from these emotions is that Nigerians are truly concerned about what the world thinks about their country. It also means that our people are fed up with the trend of being lumped among the rogue nations of the world.

This is rather comforting and, perhaps, a harbinger that the nation is at the cusp of a moral rebirth. Back to the issue at hand, I won’t dissipate energy talking about the validity of the report. We have to accept that what TI has published reflects the happenings in our country. To argue otherwise would be self-serving. After all, it does not make sense to applaud the report when it favours Nigeria only to cry wolf when it is seemingly negative.

Personally, I don’t see anything intrinsically negative about the 2009 report. Yes, we have slumped on the scale; the new rating may have broken the recent trend of steady progress on the TI index. But, does it mean that the fight against corruption has collapsed in Nigeria? Absolutely not. The seeming retrogression between the 121st position recorded in the 2008 report and 130 in 2009 is merely a difference of 0.2 percent, which is rather negligible. That is not to suggest that it is a welcome development. I would have preferred that the country maintains its steady climb up the ladder of the index. If for nothing else but for the feel good effect that we are actually making progress in eradicating corruption from our public and private lives. But the truth is that we can never run away from reality. There must have been variables that are responsible for this slight slump. Like some officials of government have said, it is not impossible that recent revelations concerning the failure of corporate governance in the financial sector, was a major cause of the slump on the TI index. Perhaps, so.

But beyond that, I believe that this is not the occasion to begin to fabricate excuses for what might have been. Or to begin to fish for scapegoats where there are none. Rather, the import of the new rating is a reminder that the hydra headed monster called corruption is still rampaging and that current efforts at tackling the scourge must be sustained. Instead of being perplexed and demoralized I believe that this should be seen as an impetus to redouble current efforts at fighting corruption.  For a nation like Nigeria that has been hostage to decades of corruption, it will take several years of sustained and vigorous campaign by all Nigerians to change the tide. It is not a flight of fancy. Neither is it a battle for one person or an agency alone.

This is where I also differ from those who are pointing accusing fingers at the anti-graft agencies, especially the EFCC and calling for the head of Mrs. Farida Waziri. Ironically, this is the same woman that has been lionized over the past few months for her proactive intervention in halting the decay in the banking sector and for successfully prosecuting the former deputy national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic  Party, PDP, Chief Bode George. Chief George is perhaps the highest ranking politician to be convicted for corruption in Nigeria in recent years. His case appeared dead and buried until Waziri came on stage, dusted up the files and charged him to court. The rest, as they say, is history. That, to me, is no imprimatur of an anti corruption czar that is not alive to her responsibilities.

It is true that perception matters but I believe that what is germane at the moment is how to ensure that the country consolidates its efforts at fighting corruption. And this calls for concerted effort by all. It demands support for current efforts by the anti graft agencies to institutionalize the fight against corruption. I always empathize with Waziri each time I listen to her talk about the challenges which her agency faces in the battle against corruption in Nigeria . Indeed it is a mind field out there and it takes extreme courage to fight corruption especially in an environment like ours where the malaise has become an industry to which thousands of citizens owe their survival. The situation in the judiciary does not help matter either. Cases of corruption are stalled needlessly in court through one frivolous application or another. These antics are clearly beyond the control of the anti graft agencies. I believe that if Nigeria is going to make steady and sustained progress in the anti graft war, there has to be a resolve by our judges, as priests in the temple of justice, to become soldiers in this battle by ensuring speedy trial of all corruption cases.
 Dagogo-Wilcox, is a Port Harcourt based public affairs analyst.