Tag:

politics

Abdulrauf Aliyu
Education

POVERTY: STILL A NORTHERN PHENOMENON?

by Abdulrauf Aliyu
written by Abdulrauf Aliyu 10mins read

In 2006, the then Central Bank Governor, Professor Charles Soludo presented a paper titled “Poverty: A Northern Phenomenon” at a lecture organized by the Northern Development Initiative in Kaduna where he drew our attention to calamity about to befall the Northern region. At the event, Soludo was generous in asking the federal government to declare the poverty situation in the north a national crisis. He said: “Poverty is unacceptably high in Nigeria but the alarming and persisting level of poverty in Nigeria is a phenomenon in the North wherein some states it is as high as 95 per cent of the population.

Soludo’s declaration did stir up debate among policy analysts and some NGOs, but the region’s political elites did little or nothing to address the situation. It is 14 years since Soludo’s declaration and the story is still the same, if not worse. This proclamation is made in view of the recently released poverty and inequality profile 2019 report by the Nigerian Bureau for Statistics which showed that poverty is still a northern phenomenon.

A typical spectacle in the streets of most of the cities and towns of northern Nigeria looks like this: multiple streams of school-age children roaming about with begging bowls if they are boys and with tray loads balanced on their heads selling trifles if they are girls. If they are youths, aged 20 and above or thereabout the males are likely to be selling petrol measured in jerry cans in the black market or loafing idly and the females will have small or big basins doling out food to buyers in the streets. Those middle-aged or older lounging tiredly on mats spread on street corners are likely to be beggars with no discrimination to gender.

There is more to the above. On the same streets, the latest brand of luxury Hondas, Toyotas, Range Rovers or Mercedes Benz cars sure to draw a long glance will be purring softly as it traverses pot-hole-filled roads with their expensively dressed occupants. In virtually every street, even in the poorest neighbourhoods, there will be the usual big mansion looming over dilapidated houses that have seen better days. There are school children too, either coming from or going to school.

This is a caricature of the two worlds which combine to make up the North today – one of abject poverty, disease and illiteracy and the other of breathtaking wealth and sophistication. It is typical of the kind of world found in most other underdeveloped societies. However, what has gotten development economists worried about the make-up of this society as found in Northern Nigeria is the preponderance of over 70% of her population in the absolute poverty trap, with a yearly rising number among children, women and youths. While in the south of Nigeria there are reductions in the number found in this group and the hope that the future looks bright with rising educational enrolment and skill acquisition, the North’s situation looks calamitous and in urgent need of attention before it degenerates to far worse levels.

But the fact is a big proportion has been left behind for so long. What is urgently needed is for the region’s elites and politicians to aggressively stem the tide and embark on a policy rethink that will be more people-focused with a long term aim of resuscitating the dying sectors of agriculture and industry that have at a time been the mainstay of the region’s economy.

Northern elites must also begin to rethink how they design and implement development policies and programmes. Most often, their policies and programmes do look beautiful on paper, proclaiming such lofty ideals and objectives that after the massive expenditure of state and donor agencies funds do not amount to much at the end of the day.

These shortcomings point at other failures that are central to the absence of effective leadership, which is basically about the endemic level of corruption and poor implementation capabilities that see a sizeable chunk of monies meant to uplift the poor and improve their living standard falling into the hands of a few. If northern elites must reverse the poverty situation, (and we must with urgency) we must deal with bad governance, illiteracy, primordial sentiments, and corruption among several other issues. Above all, they must be willing, and ready to build the implementation capabilities required to deliver results.

It is quite sad that most northern elites are always quick to dispute the poverty figures assigned to their state (when they are unfavourable), rather than take out time to evaluate what was said to be the nature and extent of sure a phenomenon with the view to addressing them.

On a final note, it is time the northern state elites realize that poverty and inequality go beyond giving out stipends or poorly packaged microcredit or social intervention programmes whose impact is hardly felt by their people. Poverty is a multidimensional problem that requires a well-thought-out strategy that will enable citizens to have access to quality healthcare and education as well as a voice in the governance process. Without this in place, the region will continue to battle with abject poverty and the consequences as we all know is the youth restlessness, high maternal and infant mortality, high level of unemployment, crime, and of course the wanton killings presently experienced across the region.

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Economy

AMPLIFYING DAVID PILLING – YES, WHAT REALLY IS NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT FOR?

by Tope Fasua
written by Tope Fasua 10mins read

Recently, David Pilling, Financial Times of London’s Editor for Africa wrote an article title as above. He asked, “What is the Nigerian government for?” Trust the British, masters of subtlety and understatement. For in that article was loaded a lot of messages, some of which the Nigerian presidency got and others it ignored or could not process. The article which can be found in full at https://theeagleonline.com.ng/what-is-nigerias-government-for-by-david-pilling/ has however not left my mind and I believe it is worth amplifying.

We shall look at the crux of the article shortly, but let me recall that Mr. Garba Shehu, the presidential spokesman, in responding to the article, called out David Pilling for ‘criticizing British Airways’ and also veered off to regale his readers about how the Western nations induced the war that imploded Libya. This is same Libya on whose great leader (Gaddafi), Garba’s principal had severally dumped the insecurity problem that has since enveloped Nigeria. One wouldn’t have thought that our presidency also subscribed to conspiracy theories like the rest of us mortals. Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan was the first African leader to sign the fraudulent resolution 1973 with which Gaddafi was murdered and Libya sent back to the Dark Ages though, just as we jumped into the ongoing Ukrainian war when we could have been strategic. But I digress.

In his article titled ‘What is Nigeria’s Government for?’ Pilling had written, inter alia:

“On the British Airways flight between London and Nigeria’s administrative capital of Abuja, one of the airline’s most profitable routes, nearly all the space is taken up with flatbeds. The unfortunate few making their way to a crunched economy section at the back must trudge through row after row of business class… Evidently, there is plenty of money to be made in Abuja’s corridors of power. Nigeria’s economy may be flat on its back, but the political elite flying to and from London will spend the flight flat on theirs, too… Next year, many of the members of government will change, though not necessarily the bureaucracy behind it. Campaigning has already begun for presidential elections that in February 2023 will draw the curtain on eight years of the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, on whose somnolent watch Nigeria has sleepwalked closer to disaster… Buhari has overseen two terms of an economic slump, rising debt and a calamitous increase in kidnapping and banditry—the one thing you might have thought a former general could control. Familiar candidates to replace him, mostly recycled old men, are already counting their money ahead of a costly electoral marathon. It takes an estimated $2bn to get a president elected. Those who pay will expect to be paid back… There are some promising candidates. If Yemi Osinbajo, the technocratic vice-president, were miraculous to make it through the campaign ticket and emerge as president, the hearts of Nigerian optimists would beat a little faster…But that may be to underestimate the depth of Nigeria’s quagmire. The problem is not so much who leads the government as the nature of government itself… As is said of India, Nigeria grows at night while the government sleeps — hardly surprising that some libertarian tech entrepreneurs want the government to withdraw and leave the private sector in charge… In reality, the government is not too big. It is too small. The federal budget — not counting money transferred to states — is about $30bn, derisory for a population of more than 200m people. Only trust in government — and a willingness to pay taxes — can redress this balance…Nigeria desperately needs an administration whose energies go not into preserving its own privilege but into providing public goods — basic education and health, rule of law, security, power, roads, and digital infrastructure. It must remove distortions and subsidies that direct entrepreneurial activity from production to arbitrage”

As a fact, I write this from the ‘unfortunate’ but-no-longer-so-cramped economy section of British Airways. Before, the economy section was unfit for human habitation due to its tightness. I could tell you that for free as an economy class aficionado who travels on his dime.  And indeed very bizarrely, about two-thirds of this aircraft is first class and business. If we add premium economy, that could be four fifths. It wasn’t like anything I had seen before. But you cannot blame the airline for identifying that Nigeria has much money and that most of our people prefer to flaunt it by stretching out for a mere 6-hours flight – most of them civil servants and their children traveling on our taxes. David Pilling’s analogy about an economy flat on its back as we spend borrowed money flying flat on our backs should be sobering. But trust Garba Shehu to try and send BA after Pilling. He certainly does not care for Nigeria to be better. Buhari’s government will soon hopefully end, together with its failed promises, utter let down of the people, and its hypocrisy.

But the key lesson I think everybody should draw from the write-up is what I have always said; government is very small in Nigeria, contrary to what economic liberals will have us believe. They deliberately and willfully ignore the data. Many of them are ensconced in countries where the public sector functions well and is big enough to cover critical human functions. However, they don’t want their country to move ahead and have a public sector that really provides services that the people need. Perhaps it will make them irrelevant. In 2019 prequel to the elections, I did a survey on this matter, detailing how the National Health Service and the Department of Defense were the two highest employing companies in the world, with about 1.9million and 4 million employees for the UK and the USA respectively. For us here, we don’t have much by way of good, customer-facing government personnel on the field, and that is where we must start from.  What we have are wicked souls extracting rents and bribery and making life difficult for ordinary Nigerians. We also don’t need people shuffling papers and hiding files in offices and secretariats. We need them in the field where their work could be benchmarked.

Incidentally, the man who has caught my fancy and to whom I’ve been drawing attention to lately with regard to the 2023 elections – Bola Tinubu – thinks like David Pilling. He advocated at his 2019 birthday symposium that:

“The issue of insecurity, unemployment, and extremism has many things to do with governance, over time. We must tackle our deep and widespread poverty…. If we limit the government’s role under the erroneous assumption that government spending is intrinsically unproductive, then we tether ourselves to failure.. We would do well to more critically study how other populous nations such as the UK, U.S., Germany, and China charted their course during their formative years…. You will see that they did not adhere to the small-government or the purportedly free-market…. The government engaged in massive spending on infrastructure and education while also engaging in policies that protected industrial development and key aspects of the agricultural sector…Only when they matured and held advantages over other nations, did the UK and US begin to champion free markets and small government… We would do well to understand this history and learn what it means for our own pursuit of development.  The development of any populous nation has always been dependent on the ability of the government to allocate sufficient funds to projects and programs that create and encourage enduring growth and employment… We must reject that mode of thinking that assumes government expenditure is inherently unproductive as well as harmful to the overall economy… It is not the fact that government expenditure is intrinsically wrong any more than one can say all private sector activity is economically positive…Government can be wasteful or it can be the key component to the growth just as a private sector business can function profitably or spend itself into bankruptcy… Fiscal wisdom but not necessarily austerity is required for an economy like ours in a time like this, to ensure equitable wealth redistribution and meaningful use of resources…The years have shown that the private sector is much too weak to spur the growth we need…If the private sector could manage this feat, it would have already done so. Where the private sector is too weak or unable, the government must fill the void… This means the government must not be afraid to embark on an activist fiscal policy to create jobs, build infrastructure and develop our industrial sector as well as continue to improve agriculture…. This means the government must spend money on those things that bring the requisite economic returns for the nation… (Local and State Governments should) shape their budgets to suit their revenues, as the federal government spends more to create more jobs for the youth”.

I don’t know for how much longer we can hope to keep deceiving ourselves over what is so obvious. Government cannot continue to delude itself with the idea that youth entrepreneurship is the way forward. Yes, it lulls government to sleep by taking a number of youths out of circulation for a while. But it is not scalable in this country, yet. We have tried and it has consistently failed. Governments to come must find ways of engaging the people of Nigeria to change Nigeria. It’s a factor substitution matter. But our governments are not ready to make the investment required. The investment is huge by the way, but it is viable. Rather than farm out our development entirely to foreigners (for the capital and technology), we should press in our population. Let our youths make their own mistakes but only Nigerians will develop Nigeria. History tells us that these developed countries passed that route and there are no shortcuts. But very, unfortunately, what we have here are universities and business schools teaching our youths wrongly, and from where advisers to the government are chosen. We have a plethora of ‘entrepreneurship’ experts who have never practiced entrepreneurship or who did, backed up by money they acquired in government. They don’t know what entrepreneurship is about, and our entrepreneurship so far has not been innovative – it is all about making rent and spreads on imported machines or ideas. Nothing profound has come out of our entrepreneurship so far, contrary to what the developed countries have been able to achieve with their entrepreneurship – with which they have taken over the world. Our approach is rootless, baseless, and artificial.

I will give three examples of what I mean. In my previous research, I found that the National Health Service (NHS) is the largest employer in the United Kingdom (with over 1.9 million employed – even more with the COVID-19 crisis). In fact, the UK as well as other ‘developed’ nations seize opportunities like COVID to expand employment. It is incredible how the UK build elaborate employment opportunities around COVID-19, up to employing people who check you in your hotel or homes to ensure you don’t move around after traveling when the pandemic was still an issue. In the USA, the biggest employer is the Department of Defense (almost 4 million employed) – because the USA had chosen to be a warrior nation to maintain its number 1 status in the world. In the UK, two of my closest pals recently described their jobs. One who drives a cab told of how he was assigned to collect two autistic boys from home to ensure they went to school, and to return them home every afternoon. For that, he gets paid about 3,000 pounds monthly by the City Council. The two autistic boys are even entitled to a personal assistant (another job), who rides with them to and fro. I was like ‘who cares in Nigeria?’. We can see that countries, where they care about human beings, will always make progress and maintain sanity. Why will silly Nigerian big men not send their children there to school, go there for health and other tourism, while they piss on their own country?  My other friend runs a home for people with disabilities. The council also pays – and this is big money. The council is concerned with ensuring that these poor people don’t become vagrants in society, so my friend’s company (the home), houses them, feeds them thrice daily, and ensures they take their drugs. My friend employs 19 people who run shifts.

This is how governments create jobs. I think in summary, both those who run governments here, and their libertarian friends who talk of private sector everything may not have attained that level of humanity that sees the opportunities for reorganizing society and extracting great value, simply by investing in people and organizing the environment. We live worse than beasts here and complain about not having money or jobs. Something just has to start changing. We hope in the coming government, but contrary to David Pilling’s hopes, I think Yemi Osinbajo is a libertarian and does not see the benefit of a well-organized, competent government that covers what governments should adequately cover – education, security, environment, health, social services – or the tremendous financial, reputational, sociopsychological and other benefits that could accrue from such an approach. A Tinubu approaches that point if only Nigerians will try and understand him, study his speeches and actions and past, and give him an opportunity. That is where I stand for now.

I realize that I have spent quite a bit of time writing about this fact, including the state of our dismal budgets which have nothing in them for the real people of Nigeria at a mere $140 per head all through the year. I have written two books on this – Change is Going to Come and Revolution of Ideas, several articles, and even my Ph.D. thesis (which I have published into a book), is on this matter of how to really solve our unemployment problem, away from the perennial self-deception with ‘youth entrepreneurship’. I could say I have tried my best, but will not stop until we see a major shift. On that day, the Nigerian economy shall have begun its sure march to glory, but not until then. We may just keep going round in circles.

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william awana
Impact

Africa: Defining the Future

by William Anwana
written by William Anwana 10mins read

Ours is the pivotal generation: the one whose actions will determine the future. This holds particularly true for those of us who call the big, beautiful continent of Africa, ‘home’.

If you analyze our history and reflect on all that’s happened, all the way up to recent events, there is one major conclusion to be drawn: Africa is quickly becoming the hub of the globe.

Let’s look at a few stats which emerged over the last couple of years:

  • Pre-covid, we accounted for 60% of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world: Benin Republic, Tanzania, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Rwanda (naturally, the pandemic has dealt severely with the fortunes of these economies but if it could be done before…it can be done again).
  • According to the UN, by Y2050, Africa will account for > 50% of global population growth: approximately 1.3billion people. Incidentally, a significant portion of that number is projected to emanate from Nigeria which will then become the world’s 3rd largest country, by population (we’re currently no 7).
  • The Jack Ma Foundation created the Africa Netpreneur Prize and the Alibaba eFounders initiative. Over the next decade, the Foundation will identify and support 100 African entrepreneurs with mentorship, training, and a total of $10 million in investment.
  • Google opened a new AI lab in Ghana and in 2019, Microsoft launched its Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Kenya and Nigeria.
  • Global music icons have actively sought collaborations with our artistes.

Essentially, Africa is quickly overturning decades and centuries-old attitudes of ignorance, fear, disdain and condescension and emerging as a force to be reckoned with in academia, business, the arts, music and culture; indeed, ‘the dark continent’ is becoming a beacon of light to the world.

Add to all these, the fact that Africa is the ‘youngest’ continent in the world (with about 60% of its population under the age of 25), and you get to understand that the focus of all this attention is ultimately on the youth.

Because They.Hold.The.Key.

If the youth are the key to the future…then we must adequately prepare them to control it.

W.

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Economy

Run Adesina, Run

by Osa Unwemi
written by Osa Unwemi 10mins read

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” 

Douglas MacArthur

In times of difficulty as experienced during different eras of human history, it is imperative for leaders to rise from the shadows and steer the people yearning to migrate into a future of possibility and hope. Leadership is not always assigned; rather it is clarified in times of trial and tribulation from the Stone Age era till date. As John Kenneth Galbraith said, leadership is the confrontation of the major anxiety of their people in their time.

Adeshina

These days are perhaps the greatest window for leadership many of us have seen in our lifetime. On the back-end of difficulty is the opportunity. Not exploitative opportunity, as some may attempt, but the opportunity to see sparks of courage, wisdom, innovation, and character take hold and fan into flame, fueled by a crisis and the need for steady and strong men and women to stand against the tide of incoming despair.

It’s no longer news anymore that our dear nation Nigeria is at crossroads and craves much needed pragmatic leadership at all levels to deliver economic prosperity and also unite us as a people.  Even the blind can see that we are in a dire strait situation as a nation. The economic indices are there for and sundry to see,  as Africa’s most populous nation and biggest economy have earned the unenviable status of the world’s poverty capital with over 100 million Nigerians (still counting) living below poverty level. In addition to this drawback are over 14 million out-of-school children, who form a budding recruitment factory for the hydra-headed monsters christened insecurity, that’s not limited to banditry, kidnapping, abductions amongst others.

The race for the number one office in the land continues to gather great momentum, political gladiators and heavyweights are on a charm offensive with consultations, alignment, realignment and nocturnal interface to secure their candidacy and even lifelong ambition in a general election scheduled to take place just under 11 months from today.

In consideration of the undesirable abyss that Nigeria has found itself, there’s no gainsaying that the scheme of things have to change for us to move forward as a nation. The next election is our last chance to get it right.  It’s desirous to get a round peg in a round hole to steer the affairs and governance across the board, not only in the villa but across the 36 states of the federation.

A plethora of candidates have thrown their hats into the ring, but one name that has been a recurring decimal in the scheme of things, that person is the current president of African Development Bank (AFDB) Dr Akinwunmi Adesina. Nigerians from all walks of life are unanimous in their decision for a person of his calibre to steer and rescue Nigeria from the doldrums that she currently finds itself. Elections all over the world are a game of numbers where party chieftains horse trade and play political chess. For the naysayers and naive political watchers, the thought would be that Adesina should continue to focus on his mandate given to him by African countries to administer the continent equivalent of the European Bank, which he has successfully done with flying colours. African countries have benefited from his unique leadership that has seen AFDB finance projects ranging from agriculture, health, energy, education, transport, and other development sectors that lends exclusively to African governments from its $208 billion capital base.

With Nigeria’s external debt profile ballooning to an all-time high of a staggering N38 Trillion as at September 2021, whilst the nation’s domestic debt stock sits at N18.2 trillion. With a total debt profile of N56.2 trillion, we all can see that we are heading to a financial crisis because of our rising debt profile. In the first five months of 2021, the federal government spent a whopping 97% of the country’s revenue on debt servicing. Out of a total of N3.42 trillion generated as revenue, 97% of that amount N3.34 trillion was dedicated to debt servicing, the majority of the debt was acquired by the present administration. With the above gloomy scenario, the leadership of the country shouldn’t be left in the hands of jokers or buccaneers, 2023 is not the time for a leadership experiment. It is the time for solid, pragmatic, and purposeful leadership, not one to crown a political life journey.

Nigeria’s current economic situation can be akin to the 2008 recession that shook the world’s biggest economy to her foundation. The emergence of a dark horse in Senator Barack Obama in the running for US presidency steered the US economy back to growth with millions of jobs that were lost, where all regained and millions of jobs were further created. Nigeria needs here own Obama to take us back to economic growth, to bring out the best in us, to engineer economic policies that would galvanize Nigeria back to the path of greatness again.

Dr Akinwunmi Adesina’s groundbreaking achievements at the 57-year-old institution nestled in Abidjan, the capital of Cote d’Ivoire is all there for all to see. As a country, we have benefited immensely from his leadership at Africa’s apex development bank.  The successor to Nigeria’s incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari whose second-term tenure is coasting to the finish point must be a candidate who has paid his dues in the economic sphere cum international ecosystem. Those parading themselves presently for the exalted office in the land, their credentials so far have done nothing to assuage perilous times that the country is facing. The economic situation is tilting, with inflation rising by the day, massive unemployment rate and starvation is the other of the day– and everything the AfDB fights against is overdrive in Nigeria.

The most significant of the paradigm shift engineered by the Purdue University, Indiana, M.Sc and PhD degree holder was the bold strategy to transform the lives of Africans through the High 5s strategy. First, to light up and power Africa. Second, to feed the people. Third, to integrate the continent;  fourth, to industrialise Africa. Then lastly, to improve the quality of life of Africans. The High 5s have already impacted the lives of 335 million Africans – more than the population of Nigeria and South Africa put together. These values fit the bill of what’s demanded in Nigeria’s economy that is yearning for massive economic development. 

Adesina’s stellar performance has been characterized by efforts that shine like the constant northern star, as he launched the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in 2018 to attract global capital to support Africa’s accelerated development. The unique investment forum has become the premier investment marketplace for Africa, and it attracted $38.1 billion of investment in 2018 and $40 billion in 2019. In October that year, the AfDB president further led the Bank to achieve its highest capital increase since the Bank’s establishment in 1964, when shareholders raised the general capital of the Bank by 125 per cent. This increased the Bank’s capital by $115 billion, from $93 billion to $208 billion, a historic achievement for Africa, It could only draw the ire of enemies of change. This is the calibre of leadership that Nigeria needs with big-ticket transactions to move millions out of the poverty bracket.

Further to this, the world-renowned development economist in Dr Adesina has never been shy to demand credible leadership, even at the risk of barefaced criticism of the government. Adesina, who was the guest speaker at the Mid-Term Ministerial Performance Review Retreat, Abuja, recently, said Nigeria has a vulnerable economy that warrants a decisive review of its debt and structural challenges. He shone like a million stars with his presentation that wowed the elite cream of the leadership of Nigeria’s MDA’s, executive and legislature at the Presidential Villa.

Does one need to say more? Adesina is the elephant in the room that can be seen and felt across the board. He fits the characterization of the kind of leader that Nigeria needs at this critical juncture. For me, I do not envy Nigeria’s next president, as the books are red like cherries waiting to be harvested. The said leader must roll his sleeves (No pun intended to the feminist class, as only a few of them have thrown their hats into the ring).  He must murder slumber to unite a divided nation yearning for an economy that grows by double-digit indices, promotes STEM education, innovation, engineer a foreign policy that puts Nigeria as a force to be reckoned with in the comity of nations and a body language that exudes enabling environment, as his posture is what drives investor’s confidence at all times.

The first hurdle will be securing the much-cherished ticket via the existing political platforms or the newly formed third force. It will be a delight to see foot soldiers selling and evangelizing his candidacy amongst the political class who determines who gets the big prize at the end of the day. These deep trenches are where the political trojans will come in handy. It’s such a tough job, but someone must do it to save our dear Nation that’s on the precipice. One does not need a soothsayer to paint the current situation of affairs that permeates the socio-cultural fabric of the political contraption christened Nigeria that’s on the brink of her 62nd birthday on October 1st, 2022. It portends a good omen so far, as President Buhari has appended his signature on the Amended Electoral Bill and the electoral umpire INEC has set the ball rolling with the announcement that all political parties must sort out their candidates for the number one office in the land between April and June 3, 2022. It’s game, set, match in lawn tennis parlance, as contending forces try to outwit and outsmart each other for the number one prize.

In a nutshell, there would be political landmines that would militate against this novel initiative to engineer the emergence of this first-class technocrat to aspire for the leadership of Nigeria. Poisoned darts in the shape of usual suspects will throw posers such as: Does he possess a political structure? The financial wherewithal to execute a pan Nigeria political campaign? Can he swim in the shark-infested political waters of Nigeria? One day is a long day in politics, as all and sundry agree without equivocation that our dear Nation Nigeria needs to be rescued from the throes of drawbacks that bedevil the economy. The time is now or never for Nigeria to get its acts together and 2023 presents an ideal opportunity to put the jigsaw puzzle together. Osa Umweni is an entrepreneur and public analyst  based in Lagos, Nigeria

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magnus onyibe updated
Economy

Electoral Act 2022 Clause 84 (12): When Two Elephants Fight

by Magnus Onyibe
written by Magnus Onyibe 10mins read

The most appropriate note on which to commence this dialogue on the controversial clause 84(12) of the much-debated and anticipated electoral act 2022 is by adopting the aphorism when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. The reasons for applying the elephants’ metaphor may not be obvious. But it is simply because the final battle in the war to reform our country’s electoral system was between the all-powerful governors’ forum currently led by Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State Governor on one side and the National Assembly, with Ahmad Lawan, the senate president and Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives as leaders of National Assembly, NASS, on the other side.

I will dwell further on the victor and vanquished aspects of the epic battle between both gladiators in the course of this discourse. But at this juncture, it is pertinent that we first of all focus on the commendable leadership sagacity exhibited by president Mohammadu Buhari in the course of birthing the newly minted electoral act 2022.

Now, some hawkish people in the presidency might have advised President Buhari not to be perturbed by public criticism whenever he gets tongue-lashed by some elders who speak out, no matter whose Ox is gored, and who are from across the regions ranging from Pa Ayo Adebanjo leader of Afenifere, from the southwest, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, head of Northern Elders Forum, as well as Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Chairman of Igbo Leaders of Thought and longest-living senior advocate of Nigeria from the southeast.

And the devil-may-care leadership style advocates on the corridors of presidential power would have justified their advice to President Buhari, not to be accommodating or tolerant of criticism and critics by sowing the nihilist idea into his mind that whatever he does as a leader would be considered as unsatisfactory and therefore criticized unnecessarily.

But following Mr. President’s commendable action of signing into law, the much desired and anticipated Electoral Act 2022 on Friday, February 25, 2022, and the massive applause that he has received from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, including the clergy and the international community alike for the exemplary leadership that he has exhibited in assenting to the bill even if he has expressed reservations about some elements in the act particularly clause 84 (12); by now, it must have dawned on President Buhari who has been fooling who.

That is because today, it is manifest that Nigerians are capable of acknowledging and commending good work by their president with adulation, as reflected by the torrents of encomiums which have been flowing in the direction of President Buhari from not only civil society organizations that were in the forefront of the struggle for electoral reforms, but even from regional ethnic and cultural groups (that in light of human carnage and misery saw no good in Buhari’s presidency) such as Ohaneze Ndi Igbo from the southeast, Afenifere from the southwest and Arewa Forum from the north as well as Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF from the south-south; not forgetting  Middle Belt Forum, MBF, including Inter-party Advisory Council -an umbrella body of all registered political parties, since Friday, February 25 when president Buhari signed off on the act.

Given the massive welcoming approval accorded the electoral act 2022 by the critical mass of Nigerians,I would argue that no policy initiative of the government in Nigeria in recent history has received such a consensus and broad range of support from across ethnic, religious, and cultural divides in our country, except the UDOJl award (payment of bonus salaries to reward public servants for their support and dedication during the difficult period of the war 1967-70) by the government under then military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon in 1974.

In my assessment of the current state of affairs in our country, based on the high level of despondency, it is only a decision to restructure the political and social-economic systems as well as the introduction of state police by president Buhari that could have made Nigerians heave the type of sigh of relief that the signing of the electoral act 2022 has elicited.

But those critical yearnings of the masses which are policies, if executed would advance the status of the entity known as Nigeria from being a mere country to a nation via astute and patriotic leadership, would remain a mirage.

That is simply because restructuring the political system and introduction of state police which were the heart of the ruling party, APC’s campaign in 2015, that enabled it to clinch the leadership of Nigeria at the center over seven (7) years ago are being treated like plaques. Hence even the recently concluded review of the constitution led by my good friend and brother, Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy senate president, did not even get that critical desire of Nigerians listed for consideration on the floors of NASS, how much more receive the privilege of being debated. The neglect of restructuring and state police in the review of the constitution appear to be deliberate as they are the key components of the report submitted by the Nasir El-Rufai led committee set up by the ruling party to chart the way forward. Already, Nigerian women are literarily up in arms with NASS for ditching their demand for 35% of seats to be allotted to them as a sort of affirmative action, just as traditional rulers are also aghast that their quest to be assigned a more active role in governance was not factored into the reviewed constitution.

That is a subject for another day.

By assenting to the electoral bill and its subsequent conversion into law, President Buhari has conferred on Nigerian politics, a breath of fresh air to replace the putrid and toxic elements intrinsic in the electoral act 2010 which has been in operation since the last reform carried out by the pair of ex-presidents Umaru Yardua of blessed memory (2007-10) and Goodluck Jonathan (2010-15).

It may be recalled that both former Presidents had improved upon the version handed over by the military who sired the problematic 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria that had just undergone another review and amendment on 1/3/2022 by the National Assembly, NASS.

Is it not preposterous that the electoral law which had lost its flavor as it was simply inhibiting our ability to organize elections that are free and fair, as identified as far back as 2018 when the idea of electoral reform was first mooted and pursued by NASS, had remained unimproved upon due to mere political chicanery?

It is such an indictment on the political class that the 2010 electoral act had remained unchanged after 12 years of its application in the recruitment of our political leaders, during which flaws that needed to be reformed urgently were identified, but of which President Buhari had been reluctant to effect, until Friday, February 25, 2022, when he appended his signature.

That is because, since the idea of reforming the electoral system via a review of the 2010 electoral act was first muted in 2018, (4th review since 1999) the journey to electoral reforms has not only been full of twists and turns, it has actually been torturous for most Nigerians who have somehow been tormented by the back and forth movement of the bill between the executive and legislative arms of government until it finally became law on February 25, 2022.

Arising from the rigorous exercise that involved the National Assembly (NASS) passing the electoral Act amendment bill for a record five (5) times and transmitting the same to president Buhari who had been demurring from signing-off on it for the same number of times, l was compelled to tag the 2021 electoral bill an Abiku/Ogbabje bill, (stillbirth in African mythology) in one of my previous essays titled: ‘Electoral Act Amendment Bill: Interrogating The Ogbanje/ Abiku Elements’ focused on the issue of electoral reforms and its potential benefits to the body politics of our beloved country underscoring the multiple times that president Buhari vetoed it.

And the wisecrack, no pain, gain rings true in this instance.

That is because it is particularly heartening that after the epic struggle, Nigerians are now in a position to be the major beneficiaries as the reforms of the electoral system are bound to lend the political system the required fidelity that would motivate more members of society, particularly those who felt that owing to the opaque nature of the electoral process, their votes would not count, hence they have been shying away from exercising their franchise in previous elections.

Based on the improvements which the 2022 reform has conferred on the electoral system, going forward, especially during the 2023 general elections, which is barely one year away, Nigerians would likely turn out massively to vote, more so because of ballot stuffing and snatching, as well as election result falsification that used to trigger violence in the polling units, are deemed to have been eliminated by electoral act 2022. The optimism is derived from the belief that the new electoral law has institutionalized transmission of results electronically from polling booths to the INEC database and makes it impossible for votes cast in a particular polling unit to be more than the registered or accredited voters in that location.

Those were some of the tricks that politicians leveraged in the past to produce perverse election results that generated pre and post-election violence that hitherto defined politics in Nigeria and pinned political actors down in law courts for the better part of their tenure while governance suffered.

In that regard, by and large, the Electoral Act 2022 can be said to be an elixir that is guaranteed to induce political sanity into our country’s beleaguered democracy.

In an uncanny way, perhaps the past five years (2018 till February 25, 2022) of trying to get President Buhari to assent to the bill in the multiple times that it was passed by the National Assembly, NASS was not wasted after all.

The assertion above is derived from the fact that had the process not been delayed and were it not that, apart from our lawmakers, the executive arm of government, and civil society organizations, under the auspices of YIAGA Africa and CUPP (civil society, political parties coalition and democracy advocacy groups), as well as ordinary Nigerians, that generally got involved in pressuring the incumbent president to build on the reforms of the electoral system implemented by his predecessors, Umaru Yar’adua of blessed memory and Goodluck Jonathan that instituted the justice Lawal Uwais committee which reviewed the electoral act 2010, that just amended; electoral 2022 would not have been this robust.

But due to some omissions and commissions on the part of the executive arm, particularly the presidency which remains unresponsive to the stimuli of the masses that could have generated empathy for president Buhari, it was assumed by most Nigerians that Aso Rock was disconnected from the reality of the masses, a belief underscored by the initial reluctance of Mr President to assent to the bill which is contrary to the wish of the critical mass that is literarily dying for a much better electoral system.

Having finally signed the bill into an act of law on February 25, 2022, President Buhari has proven wrong those who assumed that he was not keen on bequeathing the legacy of a reformed electoral system to the country before he exits power in 2023.

As valid as that point of view appears, there is another school of thought that posits that, if the electoral bill was assented to by President Buhari when it was first passed by NASS in 2018, by now, (which is five years after) democracy in Nigeria could have been deepened much more than the level that it is in right now. Actually, each time president Buhari sent the bill back to NASS, an opportunity to move democracy forward was lost. Otherwise, as a nation, after the 2015 election that ushered in President Buhari, by 2019 election, we should have progressed beyond the use of Biometric Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, electronic transmission of results from polling units to INEC database, and all the other innovations contained in the new electoral act 2022, all of which were achieved under the watch of current INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

Is not rather disappointing that the improvements in the electoral system that we should have attained in 2018 for the 2019 general elections are what we just achieved in 2022, prior to the looming general elections in 2023?

It is my opinion, that the electoral process improvements such as the introduction of the concept of diaspora voting, voting by mail, and electronic voting amongst other innovations, that could have deepened our democracy, should have already been incorporated into our electoral system in 2022 and as we set our eyes on 2023 general elections. But owing to the shenanigans that detained it for five years as it bounced between the NASS and presidency like a ping-pong, they are now in our front view mirror as the next electoral reform goals, whereas they could have been in our rearview mirror.

But as the saying goes, all is well that ends well, which is why Nigerians appear to be content (for now ) with the modest accomplishments of the electoral Act 2022.

The only worries now are that some of the contents of electoral act 2022 would have to be scrapped so soon after it was assented to or reviewed owing to the reason that they are not seating well with President Buhari, as contained in his cover letter to NASS conveying his approval of the bill into the act. It is a matter of grave concern to watchers of our democracy because, after 23 years of its return as the form of government in Nigeria, democracy can no longer be said to be in its infancy. Strictly speaking, democracy in Nigeria is currently in adulthood simply because a 23 years old man or woman can no longer be referred to as a kid. So why would the passage and adoption of a law by both NASS and the president be so fractious and farcical?

For instance, President Buhari’s exception to Clause 84(12) of the electoral law that he assented to has thrown up new crises because he believes the clause negates the tenets of democracy. Although, there is supposed to have been a gentleman agreement between president Buhari and NASS leadership to scrap that portion after he might have appended his presidential signature to it, (a process agreed upon to avoid a constitutional challenge that was looming if president Buhari vetoed it and NASS failed to override him before the end of February) following president Buhari’s letter requesting that legislators make good their promise, it was not expected that there would be issues. But there is clearly resistance to keeping the promise made by NASS, particularly from the Lower Chamber which comprises 360 members and therefore more difficult to manipulate than the senate with only 109 members that is less wieldy to maneuver.

Often, gentleman agreements are susceptible to contention as evidenced by the controversy surrounding rotation of presidential power between north and south which is also hinged on a gentleman agreement hashed out during the 1995 national conference.

At this juncture, a bit of backgrounding to put things in perspective is necessary. And as l earlier indicated that l would return to the victor and vanquished parties in birthing the electoral act amendment 2022 with respect to clause 84 (12) which is a watered-down cause of the duel between the governors’ forum and the resurgent NASS, let us look at the real reasons that the clause causing prickly heat has remained like a fly perched on the scrotum and could not be easily crushed without severe consequences, hence President Buhari was compelled to sign the bill into law without further filibustering.

That the controversial clause 84 (12) excludes political appointees from voting or being voted for and compels them to resign 180 days prior to Election Day, is no longer news. The contention is that the provision is contrary to the rule enshrined in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria that gives public servants 30 days (as opposed to 180 days) to resign their appointments if they intend to contest for electoral positions as contained in the new electoral law. Since the constitution supersedes any other law, in this instance, appointees resigning 30 days to elections as enshrined in the 1999 constitution as amended would prevail. There would not have been the need to scrub out the 180 days requirement, were it not for the fact that clause 84 (12) also forbids political appointees from voting or being voted for during party conventions. It is needless to point out that denying political appointees the right to vote or be voted for amounts to robbing them of their civic rights and responsibilities. But those who support the current controversial clause 84 (12) electoral act 2022 aver that the clause is aimed at creating a level playing field for all political office aspirants in and out of public office.

Their point is that being able to run for an elective office while holding public office gives undue advantage to incumbents who would take advantage of their pole positions by capitalizing on public resources available to them and imperil the non-public office holders contesting against them. That concern is real.

And legislators who are often at the receiving end are the architects of the controversial clause 84 (12) which, if you like is their own curved ball or panacea to the undue advantage enjoyed by governors and Mr president whose appointees (ministers, special advisers in the case of a president and commissioners, special advisers, etc ) help tilt the scale in their favor during party primaries. In light of the revelation above, is anyone still wondering why governors and the president always have a battery of special assistants or appointees with all manners of titles even in the twilight of their tenure? Hitherto, most Nigerians thought it was merely their way of creating jobs for the ‘ boys’ who helped them in securing victory at the polls. Alas, it is much more than that.

Unbeknownst to most Nigerians, Clause 84 (12) is also a fallout or an adjunct to the proposal by NASS that the process of producing delegates at primaries should be solely direct primaries as opposed to the three options of direct, indirect, and consensus as contained in the electoral bill 2021 vetoed by President Buhari and sent back for re-work.

As the popular aphorism goes, there are many ways to kill a rat without spilling its blood. That is why the bill was in deference to president Buhari’s re-worked by NASS. But not without cleverly stripping governors of the advantage or luxury of leveraging their appointees to give them a leg up during party primaries through clause 84 (12).

So in more ways than one, the contest for the control of the ruling party, which is by extension, the soul of Nigeria between the powerful governors’ forum and National Assembly, NASS, did not end with the restoration of the three options of direct, indirect and consensus options in the new electoral law, as it has raged on, but in a more nuanced and subtle way sustained with clause 84 (12).

Put succinctly, what the legislators could not achieve with their introduction of direct primaries as the sole process of producing candidates for general elections, which was rejected by President Buhari via a veto, they have achieved via clause 84 (12) which whittles considerably the influence of governors during party primaries via their reliance on appointees beholden to them to vote in their favor.

In my piece on reforming the electoral act earlier referenced, l had advised President Buhari to Beware of IDEs of March and more curved balls as he enters the lame-duck period of his presidency with Governors and NASS taking his two ears hostage and bombarding him with their selfish and group point of view as they try to justify their opposing views of democracy in a bid to undo each other.

Below is how l had put it:

“Tellingly, governors and legislators had drawn a  battle line on who would outwit each other on the question of whether direct primaries should be enshrined into the electoral act in the process of amendment. I contended further by stating that

“With President Buhari finally withholding his assent, the leaders of the sub-national entities seem to have triumphed over the legislators.”

I then observed that “Uncharacteristically, the governors are appearing to be humble in victory by being reticent since 21/12/2021, when president Buhari communicated his refusal to append his signature to the document that had been subjected to a series of back and forth movements between the upper and lower chambers of NASS.”

Then I concluded by posing the question: “Does the muteness of the governors suggest that their victory may be pyrrhic? Considering the outrage of Nigerians when they kicked against the expunging of electronic transmission of election results from the polling units to the collation centers introduced by the lower chamber, but which was watered down by the upper chamber, by basically stripping INEC of its independence, before it was finally restored in the current bill rejected by president Buhari; the legislature should be leaking its wound.”

As it turned out, as opposed to licking their wounds, the NASS went back to the drawing board to conceive how they could pull more arrows out of their quivers to combat governors hence they were able to come up with clause 84(12) whose efficacy has seen governors crest fallen . Talk about he who laughs last, laughs best.

Putting all together, one thing that I can deduce is that NASS is not actually totally in acquiescence with the presidency as it would appear to the ordinary folks who regard our current lawmakers as mere rubber stamps of the presidency simply because the executive arm influenced the emergence of the leadership of both the Upper and Lower chambers which are supposed to be independent.

Apart from the NASS initiative of forming a committee comprising of members of the Upper and Lower chambers, the presidency and the concerned ministries, departments, or agencies for the purpose of curating public policies at proposal levels which have reduced the high level of public rancor between the two arms of government witnessed during the 8th senate, the NASS  particularly the Lower chamber, is not a walk-over as it tries to assert its independence, albeit in more subtle manners.

That is why scrubbing off clause 84 (12) may not be a walk in the park for the presidency.

Again, in my view, healthy opposition is good for the deepening of democracy in our beloved Nigeria.

Even then, politicians and the game of politics never cease to amaze and intrigue the uninitiated and that applies to most Nigerians.

How can one phantom why Governors who are more likely to end up in the Senate after their tenure be so intent on flexing political muscle with members of the senate where they would most likely end up?

And vice versa for NASS members who also are more often than not angling to be state governors after serving as senators or members of the National Assembly.

In my assessment, it is all about temporary advantages to be gained by each of the groups involved in the contest for political powers.

It elicits the question: is the contestation or rivalry between governors and national legislators ego-driven and therefore ephemeral or altruistic?

Clearly, it is the revolving door of politics in Nigeria that makes it possible for politicians to pivot between calling the shots in governors’ mansions in their home states and the hallowed chambers of NASS, that justifies the labeling of our present crop of politicians as recycled men and women that have nothing more to offer society, by youths, especially those in the vanguard of Not-Too-Young-To-Rule movements, pushing the candidacy of the likes of  Kingsley Moghalu, Dele Momodu, Omoyele Sowore et al who have thrown their hats into the ring as 2023 presidential candidates.

While the governors and legislators’ epic battle rages on, the import of the adage ‘when two (2) elephants fight, the grass suffers’ must not be lost on the polity which is why l am drawing attention to it via the analysis contained in this intervention.

In light of the foregoing narrative, the delay in assenting to the amended electoral act until February 25 2022 is attributable to the square up between NASS and governors forum and not totally the fault of president Buhari as it has been cast.

For now, it is anyone’s guess whether the battle of supremacy between our governors and elected representatives in the NASS which detained the badly needed electoral reforms for five (5) years would continue with the request by president Buhari that clause 84 (12) be deleted. Would a rebellion manifest in the coming days as the matter has now been officially tabled on the floors of the National Assembly, comprising of men and women who may be ready, willing, and able to subsume party dictates for their personal interests as the presidency enters lame-duck period?

Well, we may not know until when the hurly-burly APC convention and congress for the nomination of presidential candidates by both the ruling and main opposition parties are over.

Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, development strategist, alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in Delta State government, sent this piece from Lagos.

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tinubu bola
Economy

The day I met Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

by Joseph Edgar
written by Joseph Edgar 10mins read

I have given this gist before, but let me give the updated version for those of us who could not afford a smartphone at the time.

It was my brother, the young and energetic Managing Director of the GIG Group, Chidi Ajaere, who showed me a clip on his phone.

He had said, “Edgar, come make me show you something.” It was him sitting beside the Asiwaju as he received the capitulation call from President Jonathan.

Jonathan was congratulating Tinubu for fighting a good fight and informing him that he would be calling Buhari immediately after to concede.

Asiwaju thanked him for his humility and called him a statesman, and also commended him for taking this position, which had saved Nigeria from a lot of uncertainty. 

Immediately after I finished watching, I had a brainwave. Why not do a book on Tinubu in my usual style, capturing the campaign to this moment?

This was Tinubu at the peak. His crowning achievement came when he was simply bigger than the Nigerian President—or any President, for that matter.

He had superintended the routing of a sitting President and installed the opposition after numerous failed attempts.

By now you should know that I am four people away from anybody in this country, from Buhari to the Lastma man that will catch you at Obalende.

So I called my other brother, Segun Akande,… Segun is very close to the super influential Wale Edun, who served Tinubu as Commissioner of Finance and is one of the most brilliant investment bankers in this country.

Mr. Edun agreed to a meeting. I told him the plan and he felt it was a brilliant idea as it didn’t go beyond that period and, as such, wouldn’t run into any turbulence. 

He asked for time to set up a face-to-face meeting with Asiwaju. I thanked him and left. 

Then I met Seyi Tinubu at my big brother’s, Uwem Whytes’, house. Uwem is the husband of my sister Clara. Uwem is one of the biggest networkers in this country and his parties pull in the biggest. 

It was at one of his parties that I met Kola Abiola and Tunde Fowler, the brilliant tax man who revolutionized space.

Do you know this man? He asks me This is Seyi Tinubu. You should get close. Seyi, this is Edgar, a columnist, and my mad brother. 

Seyi and I immediately went into a discussion, and I mentioned my project on his father and my meeting with Mr. Edun.

He liked the idea and gave me his numbers, saying that he would fast-track the meeting with his father and promptly forgot to pick up my calls after that.

I had totally given up when Segun called to say “Oya, the meeting is set for Bourdillon”.

We hitched two “okadas” and went straight. Our names were at the gate, and we secured entry easily and accessed the huge house.

Immediately we entered, I saw my senior colleague, Tunde Rahman, who I greeted with all the respect he deserves for being a very brilliant journalist. 

My other brother, Demola Oshodi, came out to hug me. Demola has been part of Asiwaju’s inner circle for a bit. A superbly brilliant strategist who was brought in from the UK.

He is married to the equally engaging Titilayo Oshodi, who is sister-in-law to my adopted daughter Ijeoma, whose husband Dare was my boy at BGL. 

Edgar, what did you do here? “Demola quips.” You think I’m just saying na to get Asiwaju. I’ll lead a protest. a delegation from Akwa Ibom to come to see the legend, I replied.

We laughed and hugged. I hadn’t seen him in ages. Tunji Bello, the current Commissioner for Environment, was there too, and some very big, strong Yoruba men that I do not know. 

Then Seyi walks in, shocked to see me, greets me, and says, “Oh, you made it.” I say, using small eyes, look at me.

Then Asiwaju came out and walked straight to me. I wasn’t sure if I should kneel down, bend down, roll on the floor, or just stand there.

I looked at Segun to copy whatever he was doing. Segun was British and just stood there and said, “Good afternoon, sir,” the way David Beckham would greet Putin.

Asiwaju wasn’t handsome. But you could see that he must have been good-looking in his hey days.

His eyes were engaging but tired. I’m exhausted. He slurred his speech but had a kind face. His skin was ashen dark and he wore a brown agbada.

He looked like the nice old man down the street who would sit on his veranda and read the Daily Times and was always up for discussions on politics and other issues.

Mr. Edun said, “This is the Edgar I told you about. The one that wanted to write the book on you ‘

He said, “Oh, OK, Edgar, sit down and how are you?” His chef was carrying a tray with his lunch and had been chasing him all over the house so he could eat.

But Asiwaju was jumping from one meeting to the next, even within his own house, his energy belying his frail physical outlook.

I knew I had less than 5 minutes, so I gave it my best shot. He liked the idea and asked some nice questions, which I answered brilliantly. 

He thanked me for considering him worthy of the project and handed me over to Mr. Rahman and said, “Tune work with him” and walked away with the chef and all the rest running after him.

As I watched him walk away, I began to ask myself how such a frail but highly intelligent man could become the focal point of a complex country of 200 million people.

I am still looking for an answer to that question. The following months will throw up the answer. 

Would he be enthroned or would he be totally demystified? We remain patient as we watch events unfold. 

Time will soon tell. Let’s be patient.

The Duke of Shomolu

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Tope Fasua
Economy

AT THE WORLD EXPO 2020, I COULDN’T SEE AFRICA IN THE FUTURE

by Tope Fasua
written by Tope Fasua 10mins read

The ongoing Expo 2020 holding in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will end on the 31st of March 2022. The six-month event, which should have started from October 2020, was delayed till October 2021 because of the debilitating COVID-19 pandemic (some call it plandemic), which grounded the world and left us shivering in fear in the different corners of our rooms. But the determined Emiratis found the earliest opportunity to move right ahead and do what needed to be done.

The concept of the World Expo was originally known as World Fair, a platform where nations come to showcase their achievements. I believe it was conceived as a way to operationalize the idea that to ‘jaw-jaw’ is better than to ‘war-war’. I believe that the Olympics is the sports version of it. So, call this the Olympics of tangible achievements. And indeed, it is much better to encourage nations to come together for sports, or business, or tourism, or industry, or technology, rather than to seek to destroy one another out of ignorance and hatred. The World Fair could not however prevent the two world wars that we have seen, but its usefulness is unquestionable. There are four types of world fairs; one is a specialized fair, which was hosted last by Kazakhstan in 2017. The one going on in Dubai presently is the larger World Expo, which was last held in Milan, Italy in the year 2015. There is also a Horticultural Expo, and what is known as the Milan Triennial – an art and design expo which takes place only in Milan every three years.

The world started coming together on this idea of Expos, in 1791, with the maiden edition having held in Bohemia, in the present-day Czech Republic. It was to mark the coronation of King Leopold II as king of Bohemia. The focus was on what was then the manufacturing prowess of the Czech lands.  After the first one, another held in Paris in 1844, and in the Crystal Palace, London in 1851, and there have been clear themes coming with different eras. Between 1851 and 1938, the focus was generally on Industrialization. Between 1939 and 1987 the focus shifted to Cultural Exchange and the sharing of technological innovation. From 1988 till date, it has been about Nation Branding, with countries using the platform as an avenue to burnish their national images. Of course, more and more, technological innovation dominates the expos, as nations showcase their abilities to produce, not just primary goods (like farm produce), nor secondary goods (like processed agricultural products like chocolates or butter), but tertiary goods like technology. One could even argue that nations are now at the level of quaternary (knowledge sector), and quinary (evaluation and interpretation of new technologies) products and services. But it is significant to take note of the fact that countries suddenly started obsessing over image since 1987, very much around the time when we were implementing SAP, devaluing our currency, and beginning our downward descent, not only as Nigeria but most of black Africa. Historians have work to do to unravel what happened in that era. It was the era in which Africa lost respect.

Trust Dubai with its penchant for doing superlative things. A new city was built for this one, called the Expo City, covering 1,038 acres of space. After the Expo, the huge place – which cannot possibly be covered in a single day or week by anyone – will become residential, with some people getting lucky to live in some of the most innovative and bizarrely-designed buildings ever. And with this project, Dubai has extended its territory further than imagined – the Expo City is at least 10-20 kilometers after Jebel Ali, which used to be the outer limits of Dubai and where the Metro terminated. Now, the Metro has extended to the Expo, with plans to continue on to Abu Dhabi.

Let’s not forget Africa. Africa is there at the Expo, but with very little to show. I visited the pavilions of countries like Cameroun, Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and of course, Nigeria. All the countries featured their agricultural produces, and some featured their fisheries industries. A few invited tourists to come and enjoy their beaches and the sun. Nigeria did not really bother with tourism or crops per se. we emphasized instead, our fashion industry, and then our music. So, we should just admit that our music industry is our remaining pride as a nation. I didn’t see a lot about Nollywood though. And there was nowhere pointing to how visitors could engage with that music industry or to download the music they liked. So, we did not position well to capitalize on the only thing we could showcase. Our pavilion was sparsely populated, though I saw Asians and a few Caucasians strolling in. Most visitors were done with our pavilion in two or three minutes. And we shared a building with Cyprus, I think. In short, our showing as a nation was well, forgettable. In some of the serious nations, like UAE, South Korea, Australia, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and more, people queued in the hundreds and waited patiently in the sun to be let in to see what wonders these countries had planned for the world.

A few African countries were more ambitious. Angola was remarkable, and they even got a few of their budding musicians to play live salsa music, much to the applause of onlookers. Angola, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, among a few African nations, had their own specially-designed building which showed their current status and their readiness for the future. South Africa’s pavilion was not particularly mind-blowing but the concept was a little more engaging than what we showcased as Nigeria.

In short, Black Africa especially was not doing anything spectacular and does not seem to want to do anything spectacular into the future. Angola’s newfound gung-ho probably stems from the huge Chinese investments in that country. Angolan natives may yet catch some inspiration and move ahead in terms of competencies and vision. But all of us in black Africa should challenge ourselves. Whereas countries are producing 5th level innovation products and are catching the attention of the world, we have remained as primary products producers and are even doing woefully in that respect. China we hear, has started exporting cocoa, and has also perfected the processing of Garri, by manufacturing a 6-stage machine that does the work perfectly, with little waste. No wonder, we in Africa are still unable to feed ourselves.  Yet we now need all the innovations of the rest of the world – which we often consume with impunity and minds lacking contrition or introspection. Who will wake up black Africa?

A week after coming back home, I had cause to attend an event in one of the remote parts of Lagos State. Driving to that place and back, I was afraid. Afraid whether we could continue at the pace at which we are progressing – like we have no intention to catch up with the world. Afraid if we intend to continue into the next 100, 200 years in so much dishevelment, filth, chaos, want, deprivation. The world has moved on, and in the new world, there is no space for many of the things that define Africa. It is very possible, that if we consistently show that we don’t know how to optimize, modernize, rearrange, de-uglify, our spaces, in a very short while, those who know how to will find smart ways of taking them over from us. I’ve said my bit.

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Magnus Onyibe
Economy

The Malady of APC’s Foreboding Convention And Leadership Miasma

by Magnus Onyibe
written by Magnus Onyibe 10mins read

There is nothing as frustrating as trying to introduce an idea that is considered to be premature. In other words, when the timing of a good thing, such as the registration of political party members by the ruling party at the center, APC is deemed wrong, and the subsequent plans to incorporate into the nation’s electoral system, the exclusive use of direct primaries by political parties for producing candidates for general elections, as encapsulated in electoral act amendment bill, 2021, (now vetoed by president Mohammadu Buhari) is also considered an anathema; then a case of double jeopardy arises.

Given how the concept of registration of APC party members nationwide and the resort to direct primaries as opposed to indirect primaries resonated amongst the politically conscious Nigerians who believe the introduction of registration of members and adoption of direct primaries could have deepened democracy in our country, (but which are concepts adjudged to be ahead of their time by the demagogues, as such, the brilliant concepts got thrown back to the National Assembly, NASS for a rework; our country is bound to be gripped by tension as is currently very palpable.

As things currently stand, particularly in the ruling party APC, a case of “things fall apart” amongst members, (apologies to Chinua Achebe, the author of a famous book by that title) may be imminent.

The assertion above is underscored by the fact that it is becoming increasingly clear that the ruling party at the center may no longer have the capacity to hold together its legion of legislators that are in the majority in the NASS and 21 of the 36 state governors across the country, as well as faithful members countrywide; who appear to be determined to paddle their own canoes rather than continue to be bound by the herd mentality foisted by the influence of the personal Charisma of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Apparently, President Buhari is the glue that has been holding the ruling party together since 2013-15 when the merger of the four leading opposition parties, ACN, CPC, ANPP, a bit of APGA, plus a splinter group from the then ruling party, PDP took place.  But the glue is now too weak in light of the fact that President Buhari has barely 16 months to vacate Aso Rock Villa’s seat of presidential power.

Evidently, the unity amongst the five legacy political parties that founded the All Progressive Congress, APC is being increasingly called to question as most of them are falling back to their individual and legacy ideologies.

And it affirms the reality that the APC has remained a political contraption peopled by members with divergent philosophies and ideologies, even after about 7 years of occupying Aso Rock’s seat of presidential power and nearly 8 years of its formation as a political party.

It is in the bid to avoid a descent to the current political cauldron in which the ruling party finds itself, that about two years ago the National Executive Committee, NEC got dissolved and replaced with a caretaker committee led by Mai Mala Buni, governor of Yobe state with John Akpanuduehehe as secretary. They were given the mandate to organize a national convention of the party within six months. But it has taken nearly two (2) years to achieve the objective which may be realized on February 26.

Since they received the mandate, the ad-hoc committee has had its tenure renewed twice with the prospect of organizing a convention remaining a mirage, (owing to implicit and complicit factors threatening to unhinge the party) until February 26 date was eventually agreed.

The prevailing anomie in the party underscores the belief that long after the desolation of the crisis-ridden former Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomole led National Working Committee, NWC; the ruling party has been managed by an extraordinary caretaker committee for nearly two years, yet the APC has remained in quandary.

Instead of dousing the fire which is like a molten magma that is boiling underneath a volcano that can’t wait to erupt; the crisis within APC seems to be degenerating in such a manner that the involvement of the caretaker committee can be characterized as jumping from frying pan to fire.

The clear and present danger is that a conflagration is being projected by party faithful and foes alike to engulf the party during or after the February 26 convention.

The reason for the sorry state of affairs in the ruling party is simply due to the fact that the spirit of unity of purpose that was the driving force for the politicians that came together to upstage the then ruling party, PDP in 2015, appear to have departed from the APC and it is currently replaced with disharmony that portends catastrophe.

That, in my judgment, largely has to do with the imminent exit (May 29, 2023) of the rallying force and alter ego of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari.

In light of the underlying circumstances, whatever the prism applied in assessing the situation, APC malady is being fostered by what can best be described as an affliction of leadership miasma.

If nothing else, the telltale signs triggered by the controversial inauguration of the party’s state chairmen by the Mai Malla Buni led caretaker committee’s secretary Akpadunehehe in Abuja, on Thursday, February 3, has advanced the imminent disintegration of the party.

That is because that event exposed the wide cracks in the party in the states across the country which are the negative fallouts from the crisis-ridden party congresses that produced disputed executives across the country driven by power play between seating governors and their predecessors who are currently mainly senators hell-bent on sharing power with their successors that as new leaders are equally intent on dominating the political environment.

The aggrieved members of the party are dismissing the exercise of handing certificates over to the purported executives who they allege are favored by the national caretaker committee, and therefore refer to the process as a sham and exercise in futility.

They are even pointing out that they are already in court challenging the outcome of the congresses.

And the presentation of certificates to their opponents, while the cases are in courts, amounts to contempt of court by the party. The vile comments by aggrieved party leaders from states across the country reflect the anomie in the ruling party.

Meanwhile, PDP governors are also said to be in quandary as to whether or not to adjust their position about their presidential candidate in 2023 coming from the south-a position which they had earlier taken. The reason they are having a rethink is in the light of the prevailing political dynamics in the country, whereby the southern governors from both the main opposition and ruling parties, (shunning partisanship) are together in the clamor for a Nigerian president of southern origin in 2023.

But with the existential reality tending not to support the insistence of southern governors that a southerner must take over from President Buhari in 2023, (as there seem not to be a ‘presidential material’ from the PDP formidable enough to challenge the yet to be identified APC candidate) they appear to be incoherent.

While the main opposition party, PDP is grappling with its internal conflict of whether to settle for a southern or northern presidential candidate that has the capacity and ability, the ruling party at the center, APC has been unable to rise above the storm after it went through the first stage of FORMING after which it should go through the process of STORMING before NORMING, STABlLlZING, and MOURNING.

These are the entity formation stages propounded by Bruce Tuckman which I referenced in earlier media interventions where I projected that the ruling political party would face the current challenges of putting its house in order; having been postponing the evil day by not holding its convention where all the interests of the multiple political parties that merged with the sole mission to defeat then ruling party, PDP would have been synthesized.

In the essay,l identified the crisis that the APC would inevitably contend with and which could make or mar it.

Right now, the APC does not appear to have healed itself.

That much hint was given by the outgoing leader of the party, President Buhari when he stated in a chat on NTA recently that the PDP may retake political power at the center from the APC if the leaders do not put their house in order.

President Buhari’s explicit and declared concern elicits the natural question: is APC in death throes? Is it entering a MOURNING level of group formation and development stage as espoused by psychologist, Bruce Tuckman?

Should we expect many more booby traps like the one that nearly got sneaked in and which is the introduction of membership registration exercise and the exclusive use of direct primaries as the sole process of producing candidates which could have given some states major advantages over and above others; and which is contrary to the existing rule contained in the constitution of the political parties whereby delegates are chosen via indirect primaries and makes delegates from all the states of the federation nearly equally proportional, irrespective of whether they are from tiny states like Ebonyi or Zamfara and huge states such as Lagos and Kano?

Clearly, February 26 would be a moment of truth experience for the ruling party at the center as it comes face-to-face with its demons which it had been afraid to deal with.

Remarkably, the APC after its formation in 2013-15 via consolidation of five opposition political parties, has been suffering from abnormalities that l would like to characterize as Abnormal Growth Syndrome, AGS (cross carpeting of governors and legislators to swell its ranks ) which has compelled it to have the brain of a toddler in the body of a giant or the brain of a genus in the body of a dwarf, depending on who is making the assessment.

Ultimately, the ruling party’s convention scheduled to hold in less than two weeks time, (even still in a tentative mode as l write ) would determine whether the party has been able to scale all the stages of the entity formation phase, except the MOURNING stage and get transformed into a giant with a huge brain like that of an elephant or end up being a dwarf with a pear brain, of a Lilliputian hue.

That is now the big issue occupying the haunted minds of the apparatchiks at the helm of affairs of the ruling party at the center, APC.

The negative effect on APC psyche of the imminent exit of president Buhari from the political scene on May 29, next year reminds me of the way the spirit of God departed from Samson-a man imbued with colossal physical strength by God after Delilah, a whore  shaved his hair, which was the secret of his power, as told in the Holy Bible.

As Christian readers would recall in the Bible narrative, Samson, the very powerful man raised by God to deliver Israelites from bondage in Egypt got enchanted by Delilah, the Philistininian woman of easy virtue who was used to entice the hitherto invincible Samson into revealing the secret of his power,  which is that his hair must never be shaved off.   While Samson slept, Delilah shaved off his and his enemies, whom Delilah had delivered him into their hands, gouged out Samson’s eyes to further incapacitate him. As the story goes, Samson had to pull down the pillars supporting the auditorium where he was turned into a beast of burden, a caricature of his former self, and object of derision after the spirit of God departed from him.
By so doing,he inevitably ended up killing everyone including himself.

Can the APC that is currently a house of commotion owing to the multiple conflict points stemming from the disparate ethnic, regional, and religious tensions afflicting it be likened to the narrative about Samson and Delilah whereby Samson pulled down the roof of the auditorium with multitudes when his back was pushed against the wall and in the process killed everyone including himself? Would the likely unraveling of the ruling party at the center during or immediately after the scheduled February 26 convention scatter it; and is APC about to get its comeuppance, and by extension, would it have a cataclysmic effect on the polity?

The questions above are derived from the fact that the political upheavals of the dimension of internecine war that is fast gaining traction in our country’s political space, as those who pull the levers of power within the APC party, seem to have drawn the battle lines, which is quite foreboding.
Would election 2023 be conducted with Electoral Act 2010, or the amended Electoral Act, 2022 awaiting presidential accent?

Is the 2018 scenario whereby the proposed reform of the electoral act was suspended on the ground that it was too close to Election Day to embark on amendments, about to be re-enacted?

The initial threat was the decision of the National Assembly, NASS in2021 to adopt direct primaries as the sole process for political parties to produce candidates for general elections in the ongoing electoral act amendment exercise. And the counter decision by President Buhari that the time is not ripe, hence he vetoed it became a sore point. While it was a potential tension point that was waiting to explode, NASS capitulated on the matter without the presidency breaking out in a sweat as was speculated.

And even as the president has been served exactly the food that he requested from NASS and the condiment, as he likes it, has been used in preparing the dish that has now been laid on his dining table, president Buhari is yet to consume the meal.

As such the general election that has been programmed since the return of multiparty democracy in 1999 to hold every four years, of which the preceding activities that are due to commence this year, still remain in abeyance because the electoral bill that would make it happen, is yet to become an act law without the assent of President Buhari, who is yet to lift his presidential finger to append his signature to the document that has been on the drawing board since 2018; and currently laid on his desk since the beginning of February this year.

Ideally, at this point in time, all the legal, financial and logistical framework for the next general elections to be held barely 12 months from today should have been signed, sealed, and delivered. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that is the umpire has been expressing concern. But as we say it in local parlance, it can not shout!

lNEC can not afford to raise its voice louder because most Nigerians believe it is more or less a parastatal of the presidency, despite its professed independence. In reality, if INEC leadership gets out of line, it may be clobbered in the head by Aso Rock. Hence mum seems to be the word.

While the disquiet reigns, and the multiple political parties that formed the ruling party, APC are increasingly becoming multiple centrifugal forces threatening to pull the party, and by extension our country asunder,the ruling party, has practically been unable to rise above the storm that birthed it through the consolidation of five opposition parties-CPC, ACN, ANPP, APGA and splinter of PDP in 2013-15.

The truth is that the malady has been long in coming as the APC which has been variously characterized as a Special Purpose Vehicle, SPV was bound to disintegrate if certain fundamental issues were not adequately addressed.
Although the decision about who would be the party’s presidential flag bearer would not be made at the forthcoming convention, the contest for the leadership positions within the party is likely to be very fierce as the potential presidential candidates would be engaging in shadow and proxy fights.
And an ugly outcome may be the beginning of the end of the ruling party which would by next year be eight(8) years at the helm of the political affairs in our beloved Nigeria and half of PDP’s sixteen (16)years reign.

So can the ruling party at the center, APC be said to be on tenterhooks?

That is the question begging for an answer and a puzzle that may only be resolved before or after the curtains fall on the convention if it is held on February 26, 2022.

Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, development strategist, an alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos.

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Abdulrauf Aliyu
Economy

BUILDING CAPABLE STATE, NOT CORRUPTION IS NIGERIA’S PROBLEM

by Abdulrauf Aliyu
written by Abdulrauf Aliyu 10mins read

In 2014, while on a tour of Latin American countries, Pope Francis was reported to have said: “corruption is the moth, the gangrene of a people.” The corrupt deserve to be “tied to a rock and cast into the sea.”

Indeed, corruption is bad, and tackling it is a good thing to do. But that won’t necessarily make a country or society more prosperous.

Here in Nigeria, it is common to hear people say the country is poor because those who have held public office or presently are at the helm of affairs are corrupt. And, unless citizens ensure that public resources are not stolen and that public power is not used for private gain, the country will remain poor, right?

It certainly is enticing to believe so. Here, after all, is a narrative that neatly aligns the promise of prosperity with the struggle against poverty, squalor, inequality, and injustice in Nigeria.

For example, the World Bank’s Control of Corruption Indicator, which has been published since 1996 for over 180 countries shows that while rich countries tend to be less corrupt than poor ones, countries that are relatively less corrupt, for their level of development, such as Ghana, Costa Rica, or Denmark, do not grow any faster than others.

Similarly, countries that have had significant improvement in their CCI scores, such as Zambia, Macedonia, Uruguay, or New Zealand, didn’t really grow faster. By contrast, the World Bank’s Government Effectiveness Indicator suggests that countries that, given their income level, have relatively effective governments or improve their performance, do tend to grow faster.

For some reason, our moral sentiments are strongly related to feelings of empathy in the face of injustice and unfairness.  Meaning that it is easier for citizens to mobilize against injustice than for justice. Nigerians are more enthusiastic to fight the bad than to fight for, say, the kind of growth and development that makes education and healthcare available, accessible and affordable; and food and sustainable livelihoods plentiful.

Sometimes switching from the “bad” to the corresponding “good” is simply a matter of semantics: to fight against ethnicity and tribalism is to fight for non-discrimination. But, in the case of corruption, which is bad that is caused by the absence of a good, attacking the bad is very different from creating the good.

The good is a capable state: a bureaucracy that can protect Nigeria and its citizens, keep the peace, enforce rules and contracts, provide infrastructure and social services, regulate economic activity, credibly enter into inter-temporal obligations, and tax society to pay for it all. It is the absence of a capable state that causes corruption (the inability to prevent public officials, often in collusion with other members of society, from subverting decision-making for private gain), as well as underdevelopment.

Some might argue that reducing corruption entails the creation of a capable state; the good is created out of the fight against the bad. But is it? Curtailing side payments does not imply the ability to collect taxes. Policemen may stop asking for bribes, but that will not make them any better at catching criminals and preventing crime. Doctors, nurses, or teachers often do not show up for work, but that does not mean that their performance would improve much if they did.

Aside from prosecuting some bad elements in our society, measures to fight corruption typically involve reforming procurement rules, public financial management systems, and anti-corruption legislation. The underlying assumption is that the new rules, unlike the previous rules, will be enforced.

That has not been Nigeria’s experience. In 2003, under pressure from the aid community, the Federal Government of Nigeria embarked on aggressive public service reforms and even enacted what was billed at the time as one the best anti-corruption legislation in the world – which led to the establishment of ICPC, NFIU, and EFCC – and yet the country’s corruption ranking hasn’t fared any better.

Matt Andrews, a Professor of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School has documented the failure of public service reforms designed to prevent graft. And the reasons for these failures are not specific to in public financial management practices – treasury single accounts, public procurement, open budgeting, etc.

All government organizations need to be perceived as legitimate. They can create this perception by actually performing the function for which they were created, which is difficult. Alternatively, they can borrow from the natural world a strategy called isomorphic mimicry: just as non-poisonous snakes evolve to resemble a poisonous species, organizations can make themselves look like institutions in other places that are perceived as legitimate.

And this is what Nigeria’s anti-corruption agenda often ends up stimulating: the creation of organizations that are more obsessed with abiding by the new and burdensome processes than they are with achieving their stated goals. As the trio of Lant Pritchett, Michael Woolcock, and Matt Andrews will argue, when inept organizations adopt “best practices”, they become too distracted by decision-distorting protocols to do what they were established to do.

Francis Fukuyama on his own part pointed out, that the development of a capable state that is accountable and ruled by law is one of the crowning achievements of human civilization. It involves the creation of what Benedict Anderson refers to as an imagined community.

This is not an easy task when the Nigerian state is deeply divided along tribal, ethnic, or religious lines. After all, who is the state for? All Northern Nigerians or just the Hausas among them? All Yorubas or just the Christians or Traditionalists among them? What is to prevent the ethnic or religious group currently in power from diverting resources to itself on the argument that “it’s our turn to eat?” Why shouldn’t those currently in control of the state transform it into their patrimony?

So, as we all mobilize to fight against corruption because we want to do away with evil and injustice, we must or should remember that casting the bad into the sea does not imply the sudden appearance on our shores of the good that we need. To develop we need an effective and capable government. A government that can deliver results.

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Abdulrauf Aliyu
Economy

WHY PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS NIGERIA MISS THEIR GOALS

by Abdulrauf Aliyu
written by Abdulrauf Aliyu 10mins read

The public sector plays a very significant role in the development of any country. This recognition may not be farfetched from the fact that no country can develop beyond the capability of its public sector. By capability, I mean the ability of the government through the public sector to respond to the growing complexity and dynamics of governance in their quest to meet the needs of citizens.

The public sector like humans grows old. They start life small and are eager to survive, fueled by youthful energy and fresh ideas. They compete, expand, mature, and eventually, with few exceptions, fade into obscurity or become complacent; these were the words of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Prime Minister of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai at the 3rd Government Summit held in February 2015 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate. Before, these insightful words on the public sector by Al-Maktoum, the duo of Boon Siong Neo of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Singapore and Geraldine Chen of the Nanyang Technological University Singapore authored a book titled ‘Dynamic Governance: Embedding Culture, Capabilities, and Change in Singapore in 2007 where they argued that we are in an era of rapid change in national as well as global affairs, coupled with the growing awareness for good governance and competitiveness for investment, thus, countries require a dynamic public service, if not it will lag behind and become irrelevant. They went further to posit that any country that allows its public service to ‘grow old’, risks being outdated and their choice is simple: innovate or stagnate.

What this implies is that a country like Nigeria must be aware that the race for national competitiveness is every bit as vicious as the competition among companies in the marketplace. This is because she must compete for investment, talent, growth, and opportunity in a globalized world, and should she be unable to do so, she would be pushed out of the race thereby surrendering the greatest prize of all: human development, prosperity, and happiness for her people.

To avoid this fate, putting in place a world-class public sector is a necessity that requires a sense of urgency. The importance of providing a world-class public sector and its consequences is well documented in the works of Jim Collins titled ‘From Good to Great’ and ‘Built to Last’  as well as in the best-selling management book by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman titled ‘In Search of Excellence’ where innovations are seen to be the key to seizing opportunities and behaving like the dynamic, entrepreneurial countries like Singapore, Malaysia, United Arab Emirate, New Zealand, Australia, etc., that are defining and shaping the future of governance and the way the public sector is managed,  and public service delivered. 

These aforementioned countries recognize a world full of vulnerabilities; uncertainty and change and also recognize the fact that their current achievements are no guarantee for their future survival. Hence, even if their initial chosen set of principles, policies, and practices are good, static public service efficiency and governance could eventually lead to them stagnation and decay as eloquently narrated by Francis Fukuyama in his bestselling book titled ‘Political Order and Political Decay. This implies that no amount of careful planning can assure the Nigerian state of continuing relevance and effectiveness if her administrative machinery remains insufficient to drive the institutional capacity required for learning, innovation, and change in the face of ever new challenges in a volatile and unpredictable global environment.

As such, given Nigeria’s developmental focus, she must have in place a public sector that is characterized by new ideas, fresh perceptions, continual upgrading, quick actions, flexible adaptations and creative innovations, continuous learning, fast and effective execution, and unending change; a public sector that can enhance her development and prosperity by constantly improving and adapting the socio-economic environment in which people, business and government interact. Nigeria needs a public sector that is well equipped to influence economic development and social behavior through policies, rules, and structures that create incentives or constraints for different activities and this type of public sector is only attainable through constant reforms and transformations in line with the dynamics of the governance environment as well as the developmental needs of the state. These are the reasons why the country’s policymakers must continuously initiate and implement public sector reforms, even though for now, the majority of them have missed their goals.

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