Thursday’s shocking findings by the NBS and UN have once again, described Nigeria as seemingly, headquarters of embezzlement notoriety. Korede Abdullah, our Southwest Correspondent analyses the report.
The latest damning report by the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS), that Nigerian public officials received a staggering amount of N721bn as bribe in 2023 alone, has further confirmed that corruption has become a pervasive and pernicious plague in Nigeria, infecting every level of society and hindering the country’s progress towards economic development.
From the notorious embezzlement schemes of high-ranking government officials to the petty bribes that grease the wheels of daily life, corruption has become an entrenched culture that stifles innovation, undermines trust, and funnels resources away from essential public services, leaving Nigerians to suffer the consequences of a system that prioritizes personal gain over public good.
The report released on Thursday titled: “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends”, said the N721bn paid in bribes amounts to about 0.35 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
The Bureau based its result on a survey conducted with the United Nations Office on Drugs and according to the survey, the average cash bribe was N8,284, an increase from an average of N5,754 in 2019.
The report stated, “The prevalence of bribe payments to private sector actors (such as doctors in private hospitals and employees of private companies) increased significantly, from 6 per cent of citizens who had at least one contact with a private sector actor in 2019 to 14 per cent in 2023.
“The increase in private sector bribery between 2019 and 2023 was observed across all regions and all types of private employees. Despite this increase, the prevalence of bribery in the public sector remains approximately twice as high as in the private sector.
“Furthermore, the contact rate of citizens with the public sector is also about twice (56 per cent) as high as the contact with private sector actors (28 per cent).”
The report goes further that in 2023, bribes paid in a public official’s office and in the street accounted for around 35 and 36 per cent of all paid briberies, respectively. 11 per cent of bribes were paid in the respondents’ own home, while 7 per cent were paid in public buildings such as restaurants, malls, or stations.
The data as published on the NBS website indicates that about 27 percent of all Nigerian citizens who had dealings with a public official in the year prior to the survey in 2023 reported having paid a bribe to the official.
The figure is symptomatic of a persistent culture of corruption which has eroded the trust of Nigerian citizens in the government’s ability to tame the monster of bribery and other forms of graft.
A study funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), also observed a downward trend in confidence in the government’s anti-corruption measures across regions, reflecting a deepening mistrust in the country’s institutions.
Also, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office also said endemic corruption poses a huge challenge to Nigeria’s development and social contract.
Nigeria is currently infamously ranked 150th out of 180 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. It is estimated that the country loses between $16 billion and $19 billion annually due to illicit financial flows, more than any other African country. These factors have negative impact on the country’s internal ability, international perception and its global influence.
