Ranking 123rd on the HRI may not ring in our ears as an emergency call for things to change. But it certainly counts for those looking at the country from outside with the willingness and capacity to invest. To exit the current economic mess we wallow in, Nigeria must take the HRI seriously. Without such radical seriousness, the country would only rank worse on the 2022 HRI.
Meanwhile, the ability of the state and private businesses to trade is contingent upon the existence of a safe environment and the rule of law. Nigeria may continue to lose revenues to fund national budgets, and the labour force would run out of jobs if the country fails to address problems like insecurity and the violation of press freedom drastically.
If these changes fail to happen, potential foreign investors may consider going to other countries with infrastructures to prevent human rights abuses. We’ve seen an unprecedented exodus of multinational corporations from Nigeria to countries like Ghana and the Benin Republic in the last decade. It is one reason why state revenue has significantly plummeted in the past few years.
But during the same lockdowns, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission announced that “payments totaling 2.67 billion naira made to federal colleges for school meals [due to COVID-19] ended up in personal accounts.” These two examples reflect how proximity to power determined which category of Nigerians benefited or suffered due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.
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