The country’s main opposition parties have publicly accused President Bola Tinubu and his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, of poor governance standards and consistent violations of people’s rights over the past decade.
Opponents vented their anger in separate interviews with The Punch.
However, the ruling All Progressives Congress said Nigeria is gradually moving towards full recovery following reforms implemented by the current government.
The exchange of brickbats comes after a report on Wednesday by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation ranked Nigeria as one of 11 African countries with the worst bad governance record since 2014.
Nigeria, once touted as the continent’s giant, has dropped three places from 30th to 33rd place on the continent, according to the foundation’s 2024 African Governance Ibrahim Index.
The IIAG report has been published consistently since 2007 and assesses the performance of 54 African countries every two years over the past 10 years.
The latest report posits that 33 countries have shown significant improvement in good governance, while 21 have significantly regressed from their 2014 status.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, was classified as a country with poor governance, along with Sudan, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Guinea, Mauritius and Mozambique.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation report has since gone viral and provoked mixed reactions among Nigerians.
Reacting, the National Youth Deputy Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Timothy Osadore, said the report accurately reflected what Nigerians were experiencing.
He said, “It is unfortunate that God and nature have endowed our people with vast and diverse resources, but the leadership of the past few years, including the one year of President Bola Tinubu, has been terrible and overwhelming. And it was unbearable.
“With all the intellectuals available to us, you would expect us to reach a stage where the whole world would want to copy our model, just like the Korean or Singaporean model, but I Our leaders are very good at stealing opportunities instead of providing them with opportunities for the development of their people.
“One would have hoped that the country’s insecurity, famine, and economic stagnation would be resolved, or that a Marshall Plan would be enacted.
“When that report is completed, it should be sent to the president for him to read and address hunger and grief. I think that report served its purpose.”
Labour’s National Youth Party leader Kennedy Ahanaotu lamented that it was unfortunate that the country had consistently had bad leaders running its affairs for the past 20 years.
He said, “Nigeria has enjoyed and tolerated the worst leadership in Africa. Therefore, for me, Nigeria practices what is called a kakuhistocracy and a kleptocracy, where the unqualified rule over the qualified.” I feel that I am doing it.
“According to one of my mentors, Abraham Lincoln, no man is too good to lead.
“In this part of the world, we elect people who will turn back to be our gods. The moment we elect them, we begin to worship them. So this is an unfortunate situation. So we will continue to pray until the day we begin to relatively elect patriotic leaders.
“But realistically speaking, some people are not expected to be in positions of power because of their background, their current position, their disposition toward national policy and politics. I don’t think so.”
The New Nigeria Peoples Party also condemned the report, calling it a slap in the face of the nation.
In an exclusive phone chat, the National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, Ladipo Johnson, said the incompetence and ignorance of successive governments in Nigeria is clear to all.
“It’s unfortunate. At the same time, it’s a true reflection of the situation this country is in. The administration was incompetent at best.
“With the recent appointments of new ministers and cabinet reshuffles, things have slowed down. This government is incompetent at best.
“This government has repeatedly failed to listen to the people. However, we are confident that with a change of ministers, a reset of governance policies will begin and that by next year’s interim period (May 29), its scorecard will improve. I hope that it will be done,” he said. said.
However, the APC did not agree with the opposition’s submission.
In an exclusive phone conversation with The Punch, the party’s national communications director, Bala Ibrahim, said that at a time when it is clear that countries around the world have their own challenges, certain indicators should be used to measure a country’s progress. He argued that it was unfair to use it. Domestic issues.
He said: “I don’t think it’s fair for people to sit in a comfortable foreign environment and theorize about something that is another country’s domestic challenge.
“No one can say that Nigeria or Africa does not face challenges, but these countries and continents do not live in isolation from other conditions abroad.
“While we agree that Nigeria is not yet where it should be, it is unfair to say that it is not moving from where it does not want to be. There are challenges as well. Opposition parties argue that these challenges have not been resolved. You need to reconsider your conscience about what you did.
“Some of these challenges are bequeathed to the country as a result of their mismanagement. They have misgoverned this country for a long time. Now the country is gaining momentum in the right direction. But they say the effort to get the country back on its feet is moving at a snail’s pace. That’s so wrong.”
