Tackling Nigeria’s Sectoral Endemic Corruption

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, legal and advocacy organisation committed to promoting human rights, transparency, and accountability in governance, recently released a report exploring the linkage between corruption and poverty regarding Nigerians’ access to social service, particularly in the health, education and water sectors, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports

A new report issued after a policy research by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has revealed how systemic and endemic corruption in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), especially in the education, health and water sectors, has plunged millions of Nigerians further into poverty. SERAP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, legal and advocacy organisation committed to promoting human rights, transparency, and accountability in governance, using training, advocacy, research, and strategic litigation.

Endemic Corruption

The report, ‘The Ignored Pandemic: How Corruption in the Health, Education and Water Sectors is Plunging Nigerians Further into Poverty’, underscores corruption as a national pastime in Nigeria, fuelling widespread poverty.

“Corruption erodes the economy and distorts governance in such a manner that creates room for corruption to fester. In addition to creating the enabling environment for poverty, corruption also directly leads to poverty. Regardless of the cause of poverty, corruption makes it more difficult to mitigate the effects of poverty,” it stressed.

Policy Research

Combating corruption is a poverty reduction strategy, stressed SERAP Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni, leading the anti-graft body to conduct a survey exploring the linkage between corruption and poverty and adverse impacts on social services. The survey resulted in a wealth of data available to guide stakeholders to improve public access to health, education and water services.

“The qualitative aspect of the research entailed the use of key informant interviews with policy implementers – public officials in the health, education and water sectors, and the review of relevant documents,” said the SERAP report. “Researchers and supervisors also used observation as a means of qualitative data gathering with relevant photographs of water sources, educational facilities, health centres and other relevant objects captured to enable contextualisation of the data.”

The study applied multi-staged cluster sampling to select states and areas of assessment within the states. Simple random sampling was conducted in the selected areas, interviewing 2,567 people interviewed.

Findings

In its findings, the report stated that poor people are victims and not perpetrators of corruption in the health, education and water sectors, adding that states do not have documented policies for helping people living in poverty or people earning low income to have access to health, education and water.

It further stated that even if these policies existed, they were not known to the public officers who serve the people living in poor neighbourhoods, explaining that “corruption contributes to poverty and consequential suffering of people living in poor neighbourhoods.” SERAP is also concerned that budget fraud, procurement fraud, embezzlement of funds, and other illegal actions lead to failure in delivering public services, including education, water, and health. However, people living in poor neighbourhoods have suffered so much that they consider poor service delivery good.

“Combating corruption is a poverty reduction strategy; 61 per cent of people living in poor neighbourhoods ranged between having no formal education and senior secondary education; 57.30 per cent of people living in poor neighbourhoods were youth of between 18 and 35 years old; 93.20 per cent of people living in poor neighbourhoods were younger than 60 years old,” noted the report.

The report found that people living in poverty were mostly self-employed (57.20 per cent) or unemployed (20.10 per cent) and were living in extreme poverty. The unemployed outnumbered the combined number of those who worked for the government (8.30 per cent) and private sector (7.20 per cent). According to the report, 48.90 per cent of people living in poverty, more than 27,453,154 earned less than N100,000 per annum while 27.9 per cent (more than 15,663,456) earned between N100,000 and N200,000 per annum, and 10.70 per cent earned between N201,000 and N300,000 per annum as well as 12.50 per cent earned more than N300 per annum.

In addition, 65 per cent of people living in poor neighbourhoods stayed in either one-bedroom or two-bedroom accommodation. Up to four per cent of people living in poverty, about 2,245,657, had physical disabilities.

On access to water, the report mentioned that crowded living conditions heightened the need for water. Only 19 per cent of people living in poor neighbourhoods got water from the government. The majority of poor people who received water from the government were satisfied with the quality of water. Also, 79 per cent of people living in poverty, more than 44,351,722, did not get water from the government. It also revealed that 50.14 per cent of people living in poverty, 22,237,953 people, relied on personal wells or boreholes for water supply.

Meanwhile, 23.96 per cent, more than 10,626,673 people living in poverty, got water from streams or rivers; 10.51 per cent got water from neighbours’ houses, and 1.54 per cent received water from other sources. For the 54 per cent of respondents who had access to water from a governmental source, they did not pay to connect their residences to a public water source. The report pointed out that 93 per cent of respondents that paid for connection to a public water source provider made payments in cash.

In the education sector, despite the absence or inadequacy of learning tools, infrastructure and other resources, people living in poor neighbourhoods believed that good quality education was provided in their schools. The report stated that about 34 per cent of people living in poverty, 19,088,083, did not use governmental medical facilities at all. Meanwhile, 5.2 per cent of people living in poverty, more than 2,919,354, who went to governmental medical facilities, were denied medical treatment in the last one year.

Also, 52 per cent of the people living in poverty were denied treatment at governmental medical facilities (more than 1,518,064 were turned away) because of their inability to pay for treatment. Because of inadequate equipment or bedspace, 39 per cent (1,138,548) of the people living in poverty were denied treatment at medical facilities were turned away because of the lack of equipment or bed-space.

The report further stated that only 4.20 per cent, 2,357,940 of people living in poverty, had received any direct poverty alleviation donation or support from the government in the past year. In comparison, 81 per cent of people living in poor neighbourhoods believed that those who held top public office had better access to education, water and health. This is just as 92.60 per cent, 93.80per cent, and 94.30 per cent believed that they would have had better access to education, water and health, respectively if they had a higher income.

Among people living in poverty, 28.10 per cent, 29.30 per cent and 31.70 per cent did not believe that things would get better in the next one year, while 51.20 per cent, 48.90 per cent and 46.80 per cent believed the situation would be better in terms of access to health, education and water respectively.

Recommendations

Aside from stating the problem, the report provided some recommendations that will guide governments, public authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders in improving public access to health, education and water services. It recommended prompt amendment of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended] to recognise Nigerians’ socio-economic rights, including the rights to an adequate standard of living, education, quality healthcare, and clean water as legally enforceable human rights. It urges the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which allows individuals and groups whose socio-economic rights are violated to access international accountability mechanisms in the form of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

It calls for the publication of the criteria for eligibility for the National Social Register of Poor and Vulnerable Households, cash transfers and other social assistance programmes. The recommendation also includes working with community-based organisations and civil society groups to disseminate information to urban-poor communities about how to be part of the programmes. Another one is increasing the investment in public health, the healthcare system, education services, clean water and other basic public goods and services that will benefit the majority of the population.

Another strong recommendation made by SERAP is referring to appropriate anti-corruption agencies allegations of corruption in social assistance measures such as cash transfers and ensuring the prosecution of suspects to recover any looted funds. For transparency, SERAP demands that the list of names in the social register be widely publicised, calling for the promotion and expansion of the enrolment of more poor Nigerians in the register.

Similar to that, the report recommends improving the transparency and quality of the information in government budgets and reforming public financial management to bring it in line with international standards; regularly and widely publishing full accounts of projected and actual government revenues and expenditures;

It said the government should immediately instruct the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate allegations of systemic and widespread corruption in MDAs jointly, prosecuting corruption perpetrators. It also called for the ending of the practice of collecting local government allocations by complying with constitutional provisions and developing mechanisms to ensure that local government allocations directly go to local government councils.

Honour Freedom of Information requests, including on the spending of public funds on education, healthcare and water in your states, and actively implement freedom of information mechanisms within your states; as well as

widely publish all reports issued by the Auditor-General of the Federation and auditor generals of the states in carrying out their oversight responsibilities.

Launch

On September 2, 2021, the advocacy group launched the 61-page report in Lagos, which was presented to the media by Dr. Elijah Okebukola. Mr. Ibrahim Yusuf, Permanent Secretary, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation; Agugro R.I., Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; and Mrs Veronica Agugu, Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation attended the launch.

Others were Prof. Akin Oyebode, Femi Falana (SAN); Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Ms Funmi Iyanda, Sina Fagbenro, Hamza Lawal, Ade Adam, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); Dr. Ifeyemi Adeniran, Lagos State Ministry of Health; Ibeh Ikem, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Oyetola, Lagos State Ministry of Education, etc.

FG’s Take on Report and Push for Change

In his keynote address at the launch of the report, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, noted that as surprising as it might be that he was the keynote speaker on a topic that appears subject to different interpretations on where the federal government stands, SERAP’s activities remain a constant reminder for President Muhammadu Buhari to focus on the greater good.

Acknowledging that the report focuses on the human social capital of health and education and the critical component of the environment, he said it speaks volumes of the thought processes that went into undertaking this research.

“I must confess that I did not have an opportunity to read this report, as I am yet to receive one,” said Mustapha. “However, the synopsis I received and in line with SERAP’s trade record in undertaking policy research indicates that the outcome of this report would provide information to improve access of the public to health, education and water services.”

He added, “At the same time guide stakeholders and policymakers in improving public access to health, education and water services. The import of this report at this point in time for the country and especially for President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is that it further reinforces the fact that fighting corruption requires the buy-in of the citizenry as much as it depends on the government’s commitment to creating the enabling environment to not only discourage and eventually eliminate it but also provide guarantees that more champions of anti-corruption are protected.”

The SGF agreed with “most of the findings of this report as captured in the summary of findings shared with me.” However, he called for a contextualisation of the findings.

“States did not have documented policies for helping people living in poverty or people earning low income to have access to health, education, and water. Even if these policies existed, they were not known to the public officers who serve the people living in poor neighbourhoods,” he explained. “Like you all know, every state in this country has in place policies that underpin their desire for providing services to the people.”

According to him, some of the recommendations contained in the report are already being addressed by the government.

“Worthy of immediate mention is the recommendation that our 1999 constitution (As Amended) be amended to recognise Nigerians’ socio-economic rights, including the rights to an adequate standard of living, education, quality healthcare, and clean water as legally enforceable human rights,” said Mustapha.

Mustapha reiterated the government’s commitment to revamping the health, education, and water sectors and expanding their access. While reassuring that the government will take SERAP’s recommendations seriously, he stressed its commitment to work with civil society. He urged civil society to always triangulate information for credibility.

On fighting corrupt practices, he disclosed that Buhari launched the National Policy on Ethics and Integrity in September 2020 as part of the 20th-anniversary celebration of the ICPC. The National Ethics and Integrity Policy, he said, projects the government’s aspiration for the rediscovery of traditional ethical values of honesty, integrity, hard work, truth and justice, unity, faith, and consideration for one another irrespective of status or background.

“I, therefore, call on the civil society to join hands in propagating this National Policy as an effective means of creating changing attitudes of the average Nigerian in the fight against corruption,” said Mustapha. “Such a societal re-orientation will go a long way in eradicating corruption from the fabrics of the society.”