TheCable

Thirty-two countries in Africa have better overall governance than Nigeria, the 2018 Mo Ibrahim Index of African governance has revealed.

The report, which was unveiled on Monday, showed that Nigeria ranks 34 out of 54 countries on the continent when it comes to governance over the past 10 years — and well below the African average.

According to the index, which measured human development, national security, business environment, rule of law, among other qualities of governance, saw Nigeria gather  47.9 out of 100 points available.

At 79.5 point, Mauritius leads governance on the continent, while Somalia, with 13.6 points is the worst-governed state in Africa.

Seychelles, Namibia, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Tunisia, Botswana, Cabo Verde, all made it into the top ten best-governed countries in Africa.

Mo Ibrahim, Sudanese-British billionaire, who unveiled the report said the continent, with an average age of 19 is experiencing some demographic shift, which should be an advantage, but may be squandered by African leaders.

He added that despite growth in the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP), there has been corresponding sustainable economic opportunity for the teeming youth on the continent.

“Our continent is faced with unprecedented demographic growth. Key governance areas are not progressing fast enough to keep up with rising demands, and more specifically to answer the growing expectations of Africa’s youth, who are now forming the majority of our continent, and still expected to rise by almost 20% in the next decade,” Ibrahim said.

“Education scores have fallen in half of the 54 African countries over the last five years. Progress in Participation & Human Rights is undermined by a closing of the civil and political space. While Africa’s combined GDP has increased by almost 40% over the last decade, average progress.”

Rwanda overtook Mauritius to become the most business-friendly country on the continent, while Nigeria lagged behind at the 27th position.