Prominent pro-democracy advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has said that with the adversarial and aggressive anti-immigration policies of developed nations such as the United States of America under the newly inaugurated president Donald John Trump, Nigerian public must take ownership of the war against corruption of all manifestations so as to make Nigeria liveable for the citizens and stop irregular migration.
Besides, HURIWA in a media statement by the National coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the consistent poor global rating of Nigeria as a corruption ridden nation, makes it inevitable that the hydraheaded monster of corruption is decapitated by every means humanly possible by both the anti-graft institutions but strategically by the majority of the citizenry who face the negative consequences of widespread corruption especially political and procurement corruption in government offices.
HURIWA views as a wake-up call, the just released year 2024 Corruption Perception Index, CPI, released by Transparency International, TI, Tuesday, which indicated that Nigeria ranked 140th out of 180 countries.
According to the report presented by the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, during a media briefing, Nigeria’s 2024 CPI score is 26 out of 100, a slight increase from 25 in 2023.
HURIWA recalled that Mr.Rafsanjani also said Nigeria’s CPI score is far from the substantial progress needed to dismantle systemic corruption, while he said Sub-Saharan Africa holds the lowest average score at 33 out of 100 as severe pressures from climate to conflict often hamper progress in the region.
However, the CISLAC boss pointed out that Nigeria’s ranking as 140 out of 180 countries was basically on her increased anti-corruption prosecutions on growing number of high-profile cases; Improvement in asset recovery following cooperation with other countries where the loots where kept; and Civil Society and media advocacy in anti-corruption fight:
He said: “Nigeria’s 2024 CPI score is 26 out of 100, a slight increase from 25 in 2023. Its global ranking improved from 145th to 140th out of 180 countries. While this indicates a marginal positive shift, it is far from the substantial progress needed to dismantle systemic corruption. Sub-Saharan Africa holds the lowest average score at 33 out of 100. Severe pressures- from climate to conflict- often hamper progress in this region. Nonetheless, there is hope, as several countries are showing the way forward with considerable improvements.
HURIWA lamented that pervasive corruption which causes extensive youths unemployment, deterioration in quality of living, spikes in inflationary trends and collapses of basic infrastructural facilities across Nigeria, may get worse if the sophisticated crimes of corruption are not fundamentally defeated through a concerted efforts of the majority of Nigerians who ought to take ownership of the anti-corruption fight.
HURIWA said: “The time has come for all and sundry to kick-out corruption from Nigeria. Now that most advanced nations do not welcome a lot of strangers to settle in their countries in search of greener pastures and improved economic statuses, it is imperative that every Nigerian must become active whistle-blowers against corruption in Nigeria. The government’s whistle-blower’s protection mechanisms and legal frameworks, must be consolidated and strengthened, to adequately assure Nigerians that they won’t be victimised if they see corruption and expose corruption.”
HURIWA expressed grave concern that with the ways most leaders of many advanced nations are blocking migration into their nations, the need to defeat corruption has become a national emergency or else the hydraheaded monster of corruption would lead to the disintegration of Nigeria.
HURIWA alluded to a report presented to the immediate past administration by a leading professional services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) titled Impact of Corruption on Nigeria’s Economy to the then Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in which the professional body predicted imminent doom unless corruption is wrestled to the ground and defeated holistically.
The PwC team was led by Mr. Uyi Akpata, Country and Regional Senior Partner West Market Area, said that the report centered on the ways in which corruption had impacted the Nigerian economy over time adding that PwC believes that the work provides robust evidence and impetus for reducing corruption in Nigeria.
Akpata stated that “the results of the study show that corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37% of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) by 2030 if it’s not dealt with immediately. This cost is equated to around $1,000 per person in 2014 and nearly $2,000 per person by 2030. The boost in average income that we estimate, given the current per capita income, can significantly improve the lives of many in Nigeria”.
Five steps were used in the report to estimate Nigeria’s cost of corruption. The first step was to examine over 30 studies to understand the way that corruption affects GDP in Nigeria. The study was obtained from international organisations including the OECD, IMF, DFID and Transparency International, Nigerian Academics affiliated with Nigerian Universities published by other Academics across mediums such as journals, articles and PhD publications among others as well as in-house studies assessing the health of the Nigerian economy such as the World in 2050 publication. The IMF study was selected to estimate impact of corruption on economic growth.
The Rights group said the current wave of anti-immigration tendencies in the World means that if corruption is not checked in Nigeria so transparency, accountability and integrity become the centrepieces of governance at all levels in Nigeria, then sooner rather than later, the consequences may be catastrophic to Nigeria’s nation state. “The continuous existence of Nigeria is under the gravest threat by corruption and it is incumbent on us to combat corruption and banish corrupt person’s from our midst.”
HURIWA alluded to a recent report in America that disclosed that agents at Immigration and Customs Enforcement are under increasing pressure to boost the number of arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants, as President Donald Trump has expressed anger that the amount of people deported in the first weeks of his administration is not higher, according to three sources familiar with the discussions at ICE and the White House.
A source familiar with Trump’s thinking said the president is getting “angry” that more people are not being deported and that the message is being passed along to “border czar” Tom Homan, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello.
“It’s driving him nuts they’re not deporting more people,” said the person familiar with Trump’s thinking.
“After four years of the Biden administration’s outright incompetence and negligence, the Trump administration has re-established a no-nonsense enforcement of and respect for the immigration laws of the United States,” Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement. “Hundreds of violent, predatory, and gang-affiliated criminal illegal aliens have already been rounded up and deported by ICE since President Trump took office — and the Trump administration is aligned on securing our borders and ensuring that mass deportations are conducted quickly and effectively to put Americans and America First.”
HURIWA recalled that out of the 6,000 refugees that are being flown out of the USA under the new anti-immigration standpoint of President Trump, about 3,000 of those to be deportees are Africans and Nigerians majorly.
HURIWA stated that advanced nations of UK, USA, Canada, Australia and most Western European nations have begun tightening up their respective immigration laws to drastically reduce the migration rates from Africa and Nigeria being the largest black nation in the World, the anti-immigration policies churned out currently by World leaders means that just a few Nigerians could qualify to migrate to these developed societies therefore making it increasingly inevitable that social iniquities, inequalities and social injustice induced by corruption could become the possible triggers for Nigeria’s disintegration.
Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko,
National Coordinator,
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA). February 12th 2025.
