Nigeria Content Online

Nigeria has emerged
as the 14th most failed state in the world. With this ranking, it is
one of the 37 countries placed on red alert amongst the 177 countries
considered for the 2010 annual Failed States Index which is conducted
by Foreign Policy Magazine.

It is the night
failed state in Africa, with countries like Somalia, Chad, Sudan,
Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic,
Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya ahead of Nigeria in a sequential order.
According to the study, common indicators for determination include a
state whose central government is so weak or ineffective that it has
little practical control over much of its territory, non-provision of
public services, widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and
involuntary movement of populations and sharp economic decline.

Criteria for the ratings

The report uses 12
factors to determine the rating for each nation. These include security
threats, economic implosion, human rights violations and refugee flows.

Nigeria declined a
step from its 2009 position while its index rate fell from 99.8 to
100.2, having only Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Haiti ranked higher
than it.

However, the rating
agency has some cheering news about Liberia and Sierra Leone, two
countries that have in the past being embroiled in civil wars. It said
in a statement: “Sierra Leone and Liberia, no longer rank among the top
20 failing states, and Colombia has become a stunning success story,
while the overall story of the Failed States Index is one of wearying
constancy, and 2010 is proving to be no different: Crises in Guatemala,
Honduras, Iran, and Nigeria – among others – threaten to push those
unstable countries to the breaking point.”

Amongst all the
considering factors, the Nigerian government’s de-legitimatisation of
states, factionalised elites, security apparatus and public services in
governance were all rated to have suffered huge decline. The agency
also rated the level of leadership as poor, military as moderate,
police as weak, judiciary as weak and the civil service also week.

Flawed state

The Fund for Peace
which is also a partner agency in the rating described Nigeria to have
had flawed democratic elections and that the late Umaru Yar’Adua “has
done little to curb the widespread corruption that exists in the
Nigerian government, has been unable to unify the competing religious
and ethnic groups in the country, and has not invigorated the economy.

“The Nigerian police force is highly corrupt, poorly trained, and
has been accused of committing widespread human rights abuses with near
impunity. They have been unable to prevent violent riots in many major
cities, the most serious of which resulted in over 400 deaths in
November 2008. The police have been accused of shooting over 90 of the
victims. The judiciary is poorly trained and underpaid, making it
susceptible to corruption. Civil servants are poorly paid and
consistently fail to perform their duties. Positions are often
appointed based on ethnic, religious, or political backgrounds instead
of merit, and corruption is widespread.”