Nigeria’s global business ranking

Recently, a global rating agency, Ashish J. Thakkar Global Entrepreneurship Index ranked Nigeria as the 15th worst place to do business globally. The index, which covers 85 countries, placed Nigeria at the 70th position of those surveyed. Of the countries surveyed, Singapore came top as the best environment for entrepreneurs. Among African nations surveyed, Namibia came out the best, even though it ranked 42 overall, followed by Rwanda (43) and South Africa (46).
Definitely, this is not the first time that global business ranking agencies would remind the international community that Nigeria falls short of all the conventional indices that make for conducive business environment. Before the latest report, ‘The World Bank Doing Business Report 2016’, noted that Nigeria remains one of the poorest business destinations in the world, improving marginally by just one step from its ranking in 2015.
Out of 189 countries surveyed, Nigeria moved from 170th position with 43.56 per cent points in 2015 to 169 with 44.69 per cent points, even as the financial institution disclosed that it was more difficult to do business in Nigeria in 2016 than it was in 2015. Over the years, it has not been difficult to understand why Nigeria continues to rank low in the business environment index. Commentators have always attributed this to the chronic lack of infrastructures, endemic corruption and Byzantine bureaucratic red tape.
It bears repeating that no modern economy can function without constant and reliable electricity, of which Nigeria sorely lacks. Although touted as Africa’s largest economy, the performance of Nigeria’s power sector is abysmal when compared to other economies in the region. There is no doubt that the energy sector is a key driver of economic growth because it fuels the productive processes, which lead to the output of goods and services. Unfortunately, the prolonged years of neglect has exacerbated the Nigerian infrastructure challenge while contributing to slow growth and one of the disincentives to investment generally.
Another sore point is the dearth of road infrastructure, which serves as arteries for conveying goods and services across the length and breadth of the country. With 9,110,000 square km of land, Nigeria has a total road network of only 193,200 km,that  comprises  34,123km federal roads, 30,500 km state roads and 129,577 km local government roads. Sadly, more than 70 per cent of the federal roads are in state of disrepair.
Even in the face of these economic disabilities, corruption can  be said to be the most repulsive.
Reports on Nigeria’s business climate had always reiterated the fact that because both domestic and international businesses cannot accurately calculate the cost of doing business makes them jittery at the best of times. There is always the fear that foreign businesses would spend more money bribing local officials than total amount that would be invested in the country.
Such institutionalised corruption not only affects Nigeria, it scares away investors who see the business climate as unpredictable. It is a fact that Nigeria’s unpredictable legal system continues to affect the perceptions of investors, which in turn affects economic development.
The consequences of the delay in the justice system have led investors to consider other dispute resolution mechanisms with emphasis on International Arbitration. We therefore call on the authorities rectify these glaring anomalies in order to make Nigeria a business-friendly environment.