Stifled Press, Activism Cause Of High Corruption Rate In Nigeria —Transparency Int’l

Transparency International [TI] has declared that stifled press and activism are the causes of the higher rates of corruption in Nigeria and other countries where such is the case.

The global anti-corruption organisation stated this in an email chat with ElombahNews on Friday.

According to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2017 launched earlier this week by the organisation, countries across the world are making little to no progress in ending corruption.

Chief among them is the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Nigerian government which lost 12 places from the previous rating.

Speaking, TI cited its in-depth research analysis of the results, which finds higher rates of corruption in countries where activists and journalists struggle to speak out.

It, therefore, recommended that a “free press and civil society are vital for exposing corruption and holding governments to account”.

In the mail subtitled “Digging deeper into corruption, violence against journalists and active civil society”, TI stated:

“To mark the release of the CPI 2017, we analysed corruption levels around the world and looked at how they relate to civil liberties – specifically, the ability of citizens to speak out in defence of their interests and the wider public good.”

Redefining the moment for Africa, the CPI 2017 provides a good baseline for the African Union (AU) anti-corruption efforts in 2018.

This year’s theme for the AU is “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.”

As the AU rolls out its plan, TI says “this is an important moment for Africa to take stock of the current situation”, especially Nigeria.

It could be recalled that AU, during its recently concluded summit, voted President Muhammadu Buhari to champion the course of anti-corruption fight in the continent.

With this current status, however, some concerned Nigerians are already calling that the responsibility be stripped of Buhari immediately, having failed to fight corruption in his own country.