Emmanuel Addeh, reporting from Abuja

In a recent evaluation, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has identified Nigeria as one of eleven African nations experiencing significant governance decline over the past decade. The newly released “2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG)” highlights Nigeria’s drop from 30th to 33rd position on the continent, marking it as one of the least well-governed states since 2014. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, established in 2006, is committed to amplifying Africa’s voice on global issues by providing comprehensive data and analysis to address challenges on the continent.

Since 2007, the IIAG has annually assessed the public governance performance of 54 African countries, utilizing data from 49 independent sources, some of which receive financial support from the foundation. Nigeria’s overall score stands at 45.7 percent, with particularly low figures for the absence of armed conflict (2.1 percent), security and rule of law (39 percent), accountability and transparency (47.3 percent), and anti-corruption measures (28.9 percent).

The report reveals a range of other scores for Nigeria: 47 percent on inclusion, 43 percent on equality, 59 percent on women’s equality, 48.6 percent on economic opportunities, 41 percent on infrastructure, 44.6 percent on health, 51 percent on education, 44 percent on social protection, and 45 percent on sustainable environmental practices. Over the past decade, while 33 African countries have seen improvements in governance, 21 countries, including Nigeria, have worsened since 2014. Nigeria is grouped with nations such as Sudan, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Guinea, Mauritius, and Mozambique—each marked by notable governance decline.

The report emphasizes that progress in governance across Africa is stalling, with declining security and democratic practices threatening the significant advancements made in human and economic development. The 2024 IIAG states that after four years of stagnation, overall governance progress in Africa halted in 2022 due to rising conflict and insecurity, coupled with a shrinking democratic space, which undermines crucial progress in human and economic development.

Reflecting on these findings, Mo Ibrahim, the founder and chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, remarked, “The 2024 IIAG serves as a stark reminder of the risks posed by a worsening security crisis and diminishing participatory environments to the continent’s advancement. It’s a reflection of a global crisis as well.”

He added, “Escalating conflicts and growing distrust in democratic institutions are not exclusive to Africa; we see this trend worldwide. However, the implications in Africa are particularly concerning as they jeopardize our economic and social development achievements, as well as the advancements we have yet to realize.”

Based on data collected from 49 independent sources, the IIAG utilizes 322 variables organized into 96 indicators across four main categories: Security & Rule of Law; Participation, Rights & Inclusion; Foundations for Economic Opportunity; and Human Development.

At the individual country level, 13 nations—such as Egypt, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Somalia—showed positive trends in overall governance, with some accelerating improvements since 2019. Notably, Seychelles emerged as the top-ranked country in 2023, having made remarkable progress over the decade.

Conversely, 11 countries—including Sudan—exhibit a troubling trend of deterioration, worsening since 2019. Even high-ranking nations like Mauritius, Botswana, Namibia, and Tunisia have shown declines over the past decade, despite still holding top 10 positions in 2023 alongside countries facing significant governance challenges like Comoros, Mali, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Niger, and Eswatini.

The report signals an increasing improvement in 13 countries while noting the deterioration in 11 others including Nigeria, and it lists countries like Algeria, Cabo Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Zimbabwe as experiencing warning signs.