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Tag: governance

  • We are committed to transparency, good governance, says Speaker

    We are committed to transparency, good governance, says Speaker

    …as Reps plan zonal town hall meetings

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen has reaffirmed the commitment of the parliament to transparency, accountability, good governance and citizens engagement.

    Speaking at a dinner to mark the end of the end of the first ever Legislative Open Week, the Speaker disclosed that in response to calls for grassroots engagement, the House will soon roll out citizens’ engagement town hall meetings across the six geopolitical zones in collaboration with the Ford Foundation.

    The Speaker stressed that in the face of declining interest and trust in democracy, transparency and regular citizens’ engagement have become more crucial than ever as transparency ensures that government actions are open to public scrutiny and fostering accountability.

    He argued that regular engagements with citizens empowers them to voice their concerns, participate in decision-making processes, and feel a sense of ownership over their governance as such mutual interaction strengthens the social contract, rebuilds trust, and revitalizes democratic values.

    He said, “Over the past twenty-five years, there have been challenges in ensuring accountability and engagement from leaders and democratic institutions, resulting in a sense of disconnection, cynicism and even distrust among the populace.

    “However, through activities like the Open Week, we have a unique opportunity to strengthen our commitment to good governance and re-establish a robust connection with the citizens.

    “In the face of declining interest and trust in democracy, transparency and regular citizens’ engagement are more crucial than ever. We strongly believe that transparency ensures that government actions are open to public scrutiny and fostering accountability.

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    “Regular engagements with citizens, such as we have witnessed this week, empowers them to voice their concerns, participate in decision-making processes, and feel a sense of ownership over their governance. This mutual interaction strengthens the social contract, rebuilds trust, and revitalizes democratic values.

    “Our constitutional amendment process will also adopt a citizen-inclusive approach. The onus is now on citizens to actively engage with their representatives. I urge everyone to seize this opportunity to ask questions about governance, participate in public hearings, constituency engagements, town halls, and other forums for engagement. As the saying goes, eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.

    “As we look ahead, let us reaffirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and good governance. The spirit of openness and engagement that defined this week must continue to guide us in all our endeavors”.

    Speaker Abbas said the open week has vividly demonstrated the vibrancy and strength of the nation’s evolving democracy and reaffirmed the commitment of the House of Representatives to uphold transparency and accountability.

    He described citizens’ engagement as the cornerstone of any effective legislature, adding that the 10th Assembly has embraced the ‘OPEN NASS’ Project, which enhances not only oversight and law-making, but also the transparency of the National Assembly itself, saying “as we hold other branches of government accountable, we must equally welcome scrutiny from the public.”

    He maintained that through the House Open Week, the House is reclaiming the legislature for its rightful owners, namely, the citizens and the constituents.

    The Speaker said “Over the past few days, in line with the commitments of the House, we have opened our doors to the public, inviting them to witness the workings of the House firsthand. We have engaged in meaningful discussions, welcome feedback, and showcased our dedication to serving the Nigerian people.

    “We addressed critical issues such as gender mainstreaming in governance, economic growth and diversification, inclusive political participation, and the constitutional role for traditional rulers. The diverse attendance demonstrated the people’s keen interest and high expectations from the People’s House.

    “Our presentation of the House’s performance scorecard in its First Session reassures Nigerians that our commitment to transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement is not merely a duty but a guiding principle of our actions as elected representatives.

    “The various activities and discussions during the House Open Week have provided valuable insights into the concerns and aspirations of our people and nation. As highlighted in our scorecard, the essence of representative democracy is that it empowers citizens to choose their leaders and demands those leaders to give a satisfactory account of their stewardship.

  • Democracy, governance and credible elections (2)

    Democracy, governance and credible elections (2)

    Let’s come to the issues of recruitment and selection. All over the world, leadership is what changes history. Think of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, led by leftist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, aka, Vladimir Lenin, and come to terms with the fact that followership are just extras in a movie! Or, was it ‘the people’ or a determined leadership comprising few people like Awolowo, who made the deserved changes during the Action Group days? Was it ‘the people’ who built Ghana’s Volta Dam as a testimony of tenacity and human courage for which Kwame Nkrumah was ultimately sacrificed?

    In Nigeria, what’s the position of training a cadre? Mhairi Black was 20 years and 237 days old when she was elected into the British House of Commons but she has been involved in politics since the age of 12. Gordon Brown who eventually became the British Prime Minister was already distributing leaflets for the Labour Party at the age of 13! In our clime, politicians are not there because they are interested in politics but because it’s a survival kit. Most of the taxi drivers in Ghana have converted their cars from Petrol to GAS (LPG). With good leaders in the saddle, shouldn’t Nigeria have attained this feat some five years back? Since cassava is grown in large quantities, shouldn’t there have been ethanol plants that could turn cassava into ethanol?

    Yes, we can have all the Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems (BVAS) in the world but an election starts from the ease of registration, ease of changing the registration and allied stuff. With these in mind, why has it been cumbersome for people to be registered in Nigeria? Of course, this wasn’t so in the past! More importantly, to change one’s registration at that time when there was no technology wouldn’t take more than two days! Tragically, Nigeria is now a different story entirely! Consider the amount of disenfranchisement going on in our universities and you’ll pity dear fatherland! The optics of the situation are so bad that even with technology in place, a student who registered at Osun State University in Osogbo but who is now on the post-study compulsory year-long national service in Calabar cannot vote. With technology, it should be easy for such a soul to change his or her registration! But that’s not so here! At every step, a man who registered in Katsina State but has now secured a job opportunity in Ogun State shouldn’t find it difficult to change his registration within two minutes. After all, aren’t we now sending money from Oyo State to Abia State via the telephone in seconds?

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    Keiichiro Hirano, in ‘At the End of the Matinee’, remarked: “People think that only the future can be changed, but in fact, the future is continually changing the past. The past can and does change. It’s exquisitely sensitive and delicately balanced.” Beyond any doubt, change is in the possibility of time and the total resolve of the critical mass of the population of a given society is what makes a change to come. For change to happen in any society, the governance aspect must be headed by a man or woman of understanding who can see the vision through. What’s more? The flow of change must be smooth and seamless; otherwise, social hiccups are capable of disorganizing any society. Well, were this dispensation to be headed by one nincompoop somewhere, one would have been sensing danger in the foreseeable future. But President Bola Tinubu is one king of the street who has an advantage of street wisdom. He is also an enigma who has mastered the business of governance. As fate would have it, these have mushed together to project the leadership structure for this administration.

    Much is expected from Tinubu because he already has a track record of being a progressive. He commendably fought the Olusegun Obasanjo regime on the basis of a sensible federalist position. And now that the starting gun has been fired, it only remains for him to take control of the ladder. Now that history is right therefore before him, Nigerians expect the president to demonstrate his commitment which is laudable to a federalist state. The president must first and foremost see himself as a patriotic, original Nigerian who is above tribal, religious and clannish sentiments.

    Tinubu’s government is expected to dust the Uwais Report which so far has attacked all forms of elections and democratic deficits in Nigeria. Since governance and credible elections are interwoven, that the Report has continued to gather dust has only shown that successive governments were not interested; and that’s too bad for democracy.

    Unlike countries like Brazil, Australia, Argentina and Seychelles where voting is mandatory, it is because Nigerians have switched off that voter turnout in Nigeria has successively become pathetically low. In the aforementioned countries, a defaulter could be fined the equivalent of the minimum wage but do our leaders even pray for mandatory voting in Nigeria? Unlike what obtains in sane climes where elections are permanent campaigns of sorts, elections in Nigeria are just four-yearly rituals.

    In the normal manner, Nigeria should by now be thinking about Diaspora voting, for Nigerians abroad cannot be contributing more than $20b to the country’s economy annually without having the right to vote. Remove $20b from Nigeria’s Balance of Payments and current accounts and one doesn’t need to be an econometrician before understanding that NGN would by now have been standing at N1,800.00 to the dollar. Again, if Diaspora voting could happen in Kenya, why has Nigeria remained an effort flying in the air?

    Tinubu’s government also needs to fight for a living wage to act as a reflationary stimulus to attract investments. In doing that, it should go to the Awolowo school of thought which saw the living wage as an investment thing. Besides, it’s time Nigeria went back to the past in terms of a constitutional rearrangement that’s based on production, not consumption, to prevent the roads of governance and elections from being tarred with sharing, for he who controls the government controls the cutting of the cake. Nigerians are suffering and are finding it difficult to breathe. But, since the poor on this part of the globe are not organized, they can only cry but their voices won’t be loud enough to attract reasonable attention.

    Have we forgotten that majority of the adherents of ‘dìbò kóo sebè’ (vote and collect money for a pot of soup) political arrangements are the uneducated and the unlettered? Of course, when this class is obliterated, it means that the country is growing. After all, we all know what that means in a country like Nigeria where the poor must be kept perpetually poor! The notorious truth is that there will be no peace until the masses get back their society for, when the people are not gainfully employed, they will be engaged, of course at a cost that governments across board don’t seem to understand. Obviously, that’s what’s giving the government some leverage; and that’s what has paved the way for all sorts of mix. That’s what the fracas in Rivers State is all about! That it is about good governance is just a rumour in the Tea Room!

    Lastly, let it be noted that a country that allows a people who formed themselves together for the reason of the security of the stomach has already opened the door to terror and associated consequences. Therefore, unless Nigeria goes back to the spirit of the 1963 Constitution, the country will continue to be a familiar figure in labour loss!

    May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

  • Democracy, governance and credible elections (1)

    Democracy, governance and credible elections (1)

    There is a problem about the institutional framework in which the Nigerian state as presently constituted is based. To have democracy, good governance and credible elections, there must be institutional reforms and great accountability in government. The three are interwoven, only that we tend to think that democracy is all about elections. In any case, the fact that those ingredients are currently missing is an indication that Nigeria still has a long way to go. After all, without democracy and governance, there can’t be credible elections.

    To put it politely, Nigeria, even as we speak, has very weak institutions, and without a functional justice system, she can’t be said to have credible elections. For any democracy to stand and be as its definition, the power of credibility cannot be underestimated. However, the achievement or otherwise of this ‘credibility’ is a huge task, because credibility means different things to different actors in democracy, more so as the definition hovers around the same center: the people. Notwithstanding, the issues of credibility in our elections requires a serious conference, taking into consideration the level of litigations that always go with elections in Nigeria. Take, for example, the United Kingdom where only one electoral dispute has ever gone to court over a long period of time. Of course, it is because she has a functional judiciary and nobody would want to waste his resources on frivolous litigations. The lawyer who handles such cases can even be disbarred. So, how come Nigeria remains a semi-democratic country 25 years into the 4th Republic?

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    In any serious democracy, it is the government that sets the right template for an election to hold. Unlike countries like Spain, France, South Africa, even some other African countries, Nigeria needs a constitutional court so that her political practitioners can originate and conclude constitutional issues in record time. In a constitutional court for instance, the needless imbroglio currently troubling the peace of Rivers State won’t even take more than two to three weeks to resolve, instead of this long-winded abracadabra, which is no doubt affecting the perception of Nigeria as an unserious economy.

    What we are saying is that governance and elections are intertwined and that a political economy that is lacking in internal security mechanisms, weaponizes and actually glorifies poverty is not one where credible elections can be held because it is based on state capture. In a country under the subordination of the state to powerful individuals and vested interests, the idea is to make the people very poor so that, on an election day, prospective voters can be induced. Even when there’s no election, the masses are induced with palliatives. The tragic truth is that political entrepreneurship has become the parameter for politicking and the determinant of victory. Otherwise, why should minimum wage even be a debate in Nigeria?

    Again, that’s where the late Obafemi Awolowo excelled as a leader! But how come successive leaders have not been seeing the link between the minimum wage, the purchasing power parity and investments? Call it an election gimmick but that’s why Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State deserves a standing ovation. Well, it’s not that N70,000 as minimum wage for workers in the state is fair enough but then, the governor has demonstrated that a worthy credit analyst would prefer Benin City where the purchasing power parity is N50,000.00 to Gusau where the purchasing power parity is N31,000.00. In a way, Obaseki has shown that, for any economy to attain its potentials, it is better to have 15 million people who are on a living wage of N105,000.00 per month than to have 200 million people who are on a minimum wage of N30,000.00 per month.

    ‘Ojú to dilè ni iroré ń so.’ (Pimples usually infect an idle face. The notorious truth is that we can’t have functional democracy, good governance and credible elections without a sound educational system. Had Nigeria also been blessed with a sensitive political class, Nigerians would have been benefiting from free and compulsory education as far back as 1974 or 1975. Of course, the difference would have been that Nigeria would not have been having all these problems because of a better educated population. Matter-of-factly, the better educated the people are, the better and the saner the choices. A better educated population is a better informed and more productive population. But when politics fails to deliver its goods to the people, waiting for much chemistry to work at the same pace for development to show up becomes the norm. Obviously, that’s what Awolowo got right and that’s why people like Joseph Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize for Economics.

    Secondly, compulsory education is the best form of population control. On the day of Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the United Kingdom as the parting colonial power had 7 million more people than Nigeria. Whereas Nigeria’s population grew from 44,928,342 in 1960 to 229,152,217 in 2024, the British population has grown by only 15.34 million since 1960. The implementation of the Education Act of 1947, which made education free and compulsory up to the age of 18 in the UK led to the halving of her population within one generation. Why and how? Educated people “marry later” and have fewer children. What’s more? Educated populace is better skilled, has higher purchasing power parity and many other advantages. That’s why countries like Italy and Japan have declining population growth. They are actually begging and bribing their citizens to have more children. For Nigeria, the story is pathetically different!

    Forget the delusion of grandeur, unless some steps are taken in the right direction, Nigeria as a country may be fast sliding into irrelevance. For example, South Africa is currently the biggest economy in Africa, of course with the soundest fundamentals. She is followed by Egypt and Algeria and only God knows the true occupier of the 4th position between Nigeria and Morocco. South Africa has strong institutions of the state. As a matter of fact, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is already terrified of losing the forthcoming elections. Most importantly, she has basic industries like iron and steel and machine tools. So, she manufactures and exports cars to Europe. Unlike Nigeria, South Africa doesn’t assemble cars. As former President Donald Trump said: “if you don’t have steel, you don’t have a country.” In terms of fundamentals therefore, how to arrest Nigeria’s descent into irrelevance should be the key question.

    But how did we get here? When Nigeria decided to throw away the Lyttleton’s, 1960 and 1963 Constitutions, it became obvious that the country was gone. Brazil currently operates the 1988 Constitution, which is the 7th enacted since the country’s independence in 1822, and the 6th since the proclamation of the republic in 1889. Look at today’s Brazil! She’s currently the world’s 9th largest economy. Not only that, 92% of all new cars sold in Brazil are powered, not by petroleum motor spirit, pms, but by the ethanol derived from sugarcane. For greater certainty, Brazil is a huge producer of sugarcane. Impliedly, had Nigeria kept up her existence on the 1960 and 1963 Constitutions, she’d have been powering not less than 92% of her cars by ethanol derived from cassava. After all, dear country is currently the world’s largest producer of cassava with an annual output of over 34 million tonnes of tuberous roots. What this means is that, instead of buying a litre of pms for N700.00, ethanol derived from cassava would not have cost more than N130.00. Besides, that would have been a boost for agriculture and industry would have been competitive because its cost would be lower. Added to these is that the destiny of employment generation in the country would have been given a lift-up.

    ● To be concluded.  

  • Cut down cost of governance, cleric urges government

    Cut down cost of governance, cleric urges government

    National Missioner of Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdulmumini Hannafi Ayara, has urged government at all levels to cut down cost of governance as a response to the current economic hardship facing the country.

    Sheikh Ayara added that prudent approach to the management of the nation’s resources and a visionary approach to the economy would put the country on a sustainable path.

    Ayara made the remarks at the maiden Ramadan lecture of the Ma’sharul Al-Adabiy Al-Kamaliy Islamic and Arabic Institute in Ilorin, Kwara state capital.He noted that posterity will always judge every decision made by the leadership country.“The country is going through a hard time, but my advice to our leaders is to institutionalize a prudent means of managing the resources of the country and govern with the fear of Almighty Allah,” he said.

    To avoid any cycle of hardship, Ayara said, “It’s also important to always address the root cause of any problems in order to avert future occurrence.”

    Ayara, who is the founder, commended the Alumni of the institution for organizing the Ramadan program and prayed to Almighty Allah to grant them enablement to continue to uphold the teachings of Islam.

    “I would like to commend all the Alumni students for this wonderful initiative. We are very happy to see them keeping the values and ideals of Sheikh Kamaldeen Al-adaby alive,” he said.

    The guest speaker, Sheikh Kamaldeen Sofiyullahi Kamaldeen, who is a lecturer at the College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS), called on the government to be proactive in tackling the economic hardship facing the nation.

    He outlined the importance of Zakat, elimination of bribery and corruption in governance, adherence to official regulations in trade and transaction, offering help to the needy, and equal distribution of wealth in creating a virile economic system that will stand the test of time.

  • Much ado about governance system

    Much ado about governance system

    A group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives recently initiated a bill to revert Nigeria back to parliamentary model of governance from the presidential system presently being operated. The 60 representatives, who tagged themselves the Parliamentary Group, introduced a constitution alteration bill for transition to parliamentary system of government at House plenary penultimate Wednesday. They thereby stoked a national debate on the desirability or otherwise of the proposed model, which was what the country started with in its nationhood experience but discarded upon the collapse of the First Republic in 1966.

    Led by Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Rivers), the group comprises lawmakers cutting across party lines including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). At a briefing of journalists following presentation of the bill, a spokesman for the group, Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), voiced frustration of group members with huge costs associated with the presidential system and overbearing powers of the president. “Over the years, the imperfections of the presidential system of government have become glaring, despite several alterations to the constitution to address the shortcomings of a system that has denied the nation the opportunity to attain its full potential,” he said, adding: “Among these imperfections are the high cost of governance, leaving fewer resources for crucial areas like infrastructure, education and healthcare, and consequently hindering the nation’s development progress; and excessive powers vested in members of the executive, who are appointees and not directly accountable to the people.”

    The bill passed first reading in the green chamber of the National Assembly (NASS) and is expected to be gazetted for second reading, before being referred to the House’s ad-hoc panel on constitution review for further legislative action. The timeline proposed for the model switch is 2031, and Dasuki made it clear that the group’s intention is to stimulate national conversation from now towards realising that end. He came from a familiar path in recent history. In December 2018, barely three months to the 2019 general election, a group of 71 lawmakers in the green chamber initiated a similar bill seeking return to parliamentary rule. Besides Dasuki, other lawmakers in the group include Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta), Tahir Monguno  (APC, Borno), Ossey Prestige (All Progressives Grand Alliance, Abia) and Chinda (PDP, Rivers). Dasuki at the time said the bill was deliberately brought in the thick of electioneering so that Nigerians could ask questions during the campaigns. That bill died with the eight NASS and is apparently being resuscitated early in the 10th assembly to allow ample time for its processing.

    Arguments plied for the previous bill are of the same species as the current one. The lawmakers said parliamentary system of government would promote economic growth and development in the country. “We…feel that the parliamentary system of government promulgated by the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 is the best for Nigeria since the presidential system has reduced us to the poverty capital of the world,” the lawmakers had said, arguing that parliamentary system helps in quick passage of economic bills due to the fusion of power that it entails. “Studies have shown that countries run by presidential regimes consistently produce lower output growth, higher and more volatile inflation, and greater income inequality relative to those under parliamentary ones,” they argued, adding: “Presidential regimes consistently produce less favourable macroeconomic outcomes which prevail in a wide range of circumstances, for example in Nigeria. Due to the excessive powers domiciled in one man under the presidential system, consensus building that is often required for economic decision is always lacking. The level of liability and volatility of presidential system makes it difficult to achieve economic objectives.” According to them, parliamentary systems promote inclusion and collaboration that are “critical for equality of income distribution and opportunities.”

    Nigeria operated the parliamentary system pre-independence and in the First Republic before the 15th January, 1966 military coup which truncated that republic. Thereafter, the country came under a 13-year-long military interregnum. Precedent to restoration of democracy by way of the Second Republic in 1979, a constitutional conference of 49 ‘wise men’ led by the late legal luminary, Chief Rotimi Williams, in 1978 proposed the presidential model for the country, which formed the framework for the constitution that then outgoing military regime of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo handed down. This constitution has been periodically amended but not reformatted from the presidential framework.

    Unlike the presidential model where you have a president as the head of state, with separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government, the parliamentary system has a prime minister, who is a member of the legislative arm and chosen by parliamentarians from among themselves, serving as the head of government. Under the parliamentary system – particularly the British model that Nigeria is familiar with – the executive branch derives legitimacy and authority from the legislative branch because other than the prime minister tapped from the parliament, ministers of government are also parliamentarians first voted by the electorate into constituency seats from where they get chosen into ministerial offices. Because the prime minister is nominated from the parliament, he is directly accountable to the parliament and has only vicarious accountability to the electorate, such that if parliament votes to remove him as premier, he would yet retain his constituency seat in the legislature until the electorate vote him out or recall him from the seat. Ministers of government under the parliamentary model are as well directly accountable to the legislature; but they also have vicarious accountability to the people because unlike in the presidential system where ministers were appointed at the sole pleasure of the president and derived no mandate from voters, ministers under the parliamentary system were first elected to constituency seats by voters. This is unlike the presidential system where members of the executive arm typically don’t belong to the legislature and vice-versa; though there is a point of convergence in the United States where the vice president is the titular president of the country’s senate and exercises voting right in that chamber.

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    Proponents of the parliamentary system would argue that besides close interconnection between the executive and legislative arms, which allows for efficient decision-making and policy implementation, the model is less expensive because officers of the executive arm are sourced from the legislative arm and aren’t add-ons to government bureaucracy as would bloat the overhead. Opponents would, however, point to Nigeria’s experience whereby the parliamentary system polarised the country in the First Republic, especially as the prime minister was chosen by parliament and did not have to be acceptable to the majority of citizens. Besides, a favourite argument by proponents that the parliamentary model is not prone to corruption was not borne out by Nigeria’s practice of the system in the First Republic. The collapse of that republic owed in large part to political instability that resulted from electoral malpractices and disregard for rule of law, such that when the military struck in 1966, they cited endemic corruption as a major motivation for their intervention. Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, who was one of the coup leaders, said: “The aim of the Revolutionary Council is to establish a strong, united and prosperous nation free from corruption and internal strife.” He added: “Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, men in high and low places who seek bribes and demand 10 per cent…those that have corrupted our society…”

    Just like the Parliamentary Group wanted, the proposed constitution amendment bill sparked a debate. Supporters like Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, not only want parliamentary system restored but canvassed that commencement date be 2027 rather than 2031. Middle Belt Forum (MBF) chieftain, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, said while the parliamentary system would be cheaper for Nigeria to run, the presidential system currently in place could yet serve the country well if adapted to its peculiarities. Kano tycoon, Aminu Dantata, believed parliamentary system would be the answer to Nigeria’s problems while a civil society group, the Parliamentary Advocacy Network (PAN), argued that the model isn’t suitable for Nigeria’s diversity and complexity. There was broad agreement, though, that the country’s wellbeing lies in implementing true federalism.

    I would argue that the trouble with Nigeria isn’t the system of government but the people operating whatever model is in place. Reform the political culture positively, and whatever system we run will serve the country well.

    •Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • Of balance between cost of governance and living standard

    Of balance between cost of governance and living standard

    • By Samuel Jekeli

    Sir: Nigeria has grappled with concerns over the high cost of governance for many years. Government structure, the remuneration of public officials, and the general expenditure on government operations have been subjects of public discourse and scrutiny. Lawmakers, in particular, receive significant remuneration, including salaries, allowances, and other perks. While it is crucial to compensate public officials adequately to attract competent individuals into public service, the challenge arises when the cost of governance becomes disproportionately high compared to the economic realities of the majority of citizens.

    In contrast to the high cost of governance, a substantial portion of the Nigerian population faces economic challenges that impact their standard of living. Issues such as unemployment, inflation, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access to quality healthcare and education contribute to the struggle many Nigerians face in meeting their basic needs. Balancing the cost of governance with the standard of living requires a holistic approach that addresses both the operational needs of the government and the socio-economic well-being of citizens.

    When the cost of governance is disproportionately high, it can have several adverse effects on the standard of living for citizens. One significant impact is the strain on public resources that could otherwise be directed toward infrastructure development, social services, and poverty alleviation programs. This imbalance perpetuates economic inequality, limiting opportunities for the majority of the population to escape the cycle of poverty.

    Moreover, a skewed cost of governance can erode public trust and confidence in government institutions. Citizens may become disillusioned when they perceive that resources are not being utilized efficiently or when they witness extravagant spending by public officials. This discontent can lead to social unrest, protests, and a general sense of dissatisfaction with the government.

    A critical step towards achieving a balance between the cost of governance and the standard of living is the implementation of comprehensive public sector reforms. This involves streamlining government operations, reducing bureaucracy, and optimizing the efficiency of public services. Reforms can lead to cost savings that can be redirected towards essential services for citizens.

    Transparent budgeting processes and strict accountability mechanisms are essential for ensuring that public funds are allocated and spent judiciously. Implementing an open budget system that allows citizens to track government spending fosters transparency and builds trust between the government and the people.

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    Rationalizing the remuneration of public officials, including lawmakers, is a necessary step in achieving balance. This process involves reviewing and adjusting salary structures to reflect economic realities while ensuring that public servants are still adequately compensated for their services.

    Prioritizing investments in social infrastructure, such as healthcare, education, and affordable housing, contributes to an improved standard of living for citizens. Allocating resources to these critical sectors enhances human capital development and economic empowerment.

    Engaging citizens in the decision-making processes through participatory governance ensures that their voices are heard. Citizens’ input can help shape policies that address their needs and aspirations, contributing to a more inclusive and balanced governance approach.

    Balancing the cost of governance with the standard of living for Nigerian citizens is a complex challenge that requires concerted efforts from government officials, policymakers, and the general populace. Achieving this balance is not only crucial for social justice but also for the sustainable development of the nation. By implementing comprehensive reforms, ensuring transparent budgeting, rationalizing salaries, investing in social infrastructure, and promoting citizen engagement, Nigeria can move towards a more equitable and balanced governance structure that prioritizes the well-being of its people.

    •Samuel Jekeli,

    Centre for Social Justice, Abuja.

  • Inclusive governance

    Inclusive governance

    • Appointment of aide on disability is step in the right direction

    President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of an aide to further open space for the persons with disability is to be hailed as it marks fulfilment of another campaign promise. This is in line with global best practices that accommodate all sectors of the society: the youth, women and the physically challenged.

    In Nigeria, the National Population Commission (NPC) puts the percentage of those with disability at 9.6, thus deserving of a say in the running of the society. They have often complained of being left out of policy decisions. 

    In tertiary institutions,  only very few are able to create space for themselves as there are no special opportunities created for them. In public examinations, there is very little provision made for braille for the blind. When offered admission, no special place is provided for them in the overcrowded lecture theatres, nor is access made for them into the halls of residence.

    If there is little consciousness of the special needs of the disabled at the Tertiary institution level, the situation at primary and secondary levels is even worse. Other students are known to make jest of them and there are very few schools for special education.

    It is within this context that the President’s appointment of Mohammed Isah, a graduate of Public Administration from the University of Maiduguri, is particularly welcome. He has been involved in canvassing opening up the space for the challenged for more than a decade; and had even extended his activism to other parts of Africa and international fora. 

    As one who has confronted the obstacles at different times, he is most fitting to lead the campaign, and regularly present the difficulties of the physically challenged, at the highest level of government. He is expected, as the Presidency pointed out, to liaise with the National Commission for Persons with Disability (NCPWD) to come up with an acceptable framework to make life better for those facing the challenges.  

    One immediate expectation is that his office and NCPWD would work together with the lawmakers to amend the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability Act, as may be deemed to give effect to its provisions.

    Another duty assigned the new Senior Special Assistant is to engage the governments of the federating units to buy into the national vision to improve the lives of our citizens living with disability.  We expect states to also create offices, headed by the same set of citizens, to bring them to the table.  They sure would know where the shoe pinches!

    Every Nigerian is important, but unless we expand the bracket of representation and improve on the overall sense of belonging, we will be short-changing the country of the contribution that all sectors could make. Despite the contritions in the system, there are professionals who could make valuable contributions to nation-building, but are deprived the opportunity. 

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    If Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, could run a country as vast and complex from the wheelchair, why should Nigeria, that needs all hands on deck, shut the door against persons living with disability, irrespective of their educational attainment and skills? 

    Beyond the appointment, President Tinubu has to be personally involved in driving the process. He has the power to break the mould of cultural discrimination, and also getting federal legislature, as well as the subnational legislative chambers, to cooperate with his efforts at expanding political inclusivity. 

    Whereas the law provides for six months jail term or a paltry N100,000 fine against any form of discrimination, hardly has anyone been sanctioned.  It is time Nigeria joined the league of countries breaking bigotry against people with special needs.

    A good point to start, for the new presidential aide, is to work with all the 36 states to domesticate the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability Act. Every state should also establish a replica of the Commission for Persons Living with Disability. 

    That is the way to go — and Mohammed Isah has his job cut out for him.  It is both doable and commendable.

  • ‘I am committed to governance’

    ‘I am committed to governance’

    Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has reiterated the focus of his administration to provide qualitative governance for the people of the state.

    Speaking during the citizen’s engagement on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2024 budget at Ijebu-Ode, the governor said he would create an enabling environment for a public-private sector partnership, which he said, is fundamental to the creation of enduring economic development and individual prosperity.

    The citizen engagement, which was the first in the series for the 2024 budget, attracted several stakeholders, including traditional rulers, women groups, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), students, professional groups and members of Community Development Associations (CDAs).

    Represented by his Deputy, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Prince Abiodun said the administration was keen on the MTEF forum, based on the style of governance and avowed pledge to be open and accountable and to run an inclusive administration where everyone is involved in decision-making.

    He said: “This is a multi-year public expenditure planning exercise that is used to set out the future budget requirements for existing services and to access the resource implications of future policy changes and any new programmes.

    “As you all know, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework enhances the transparency of the budget process and budget documentation so that policy goals and resource allocation are clearly set out.

    “In this way, it empowers the government to determine priorities and seamlessly deliver democratic deliverables without predilection or sentiment

    “The promise to continuously engage citizens, is still fresh in our hearts and remains irrevocable; this is why our infrastructural investments are people-oriented and transformational, with resultant and obvious multiplier effects on the socio-economic development of the state.

    “I am happy to inform you that we have done and will continue to do so through our ISEYA mantra as encapsulated in the ‘Building Our Future Together’ Agenda, institutional policy, and structural revolutions for individuals.”

    Abiodun stated that the administration’s infrastructure investments are people-oriented and transformational, with immense multiplier effects on the socio-economic development of the entire citizenry of the state.

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    While specifically mentioning some of the projects executed in Ijebuland, sequel to inputs of citizenry, Abiodun promised to continue to engage the people, to know their needs.

    Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mr Olaolu Olabimtan, while speaking earlier, said the administration would ensure that no section of the state would develop at the expense of the others.

    The commissioner highlighted some of the projects executed by the administration in the last five years, noting that the government would concentrate on people oriented projects and those that can enhance the state’s revenue generation.

    Stakeholders, who spoke at the event commended Governor Abiodun on the several developmental projects executed in Ijebuland and also pointed out areas where the administration should intervene.

  • Enhancing legislative functions to boost democratic governance

    Enhancing legislative functions to boost democratic governance

    The Senate is pivotal to deepening democracy and it delivers its functions through committees. But, the Red Chamber has challenges inhibiting its service delivery. SANNI ONOGU, suggests how the 10th Senate can meet the expectations of Nigerians

    The 10th Senate recently constituted its Standing Committees, thus signaling its readiness to get senators involved in its task of lawmaking, representation and oversight. Since 1999, both chambers of the National Assembly had always delegated most of its functions to committees – “Little Legislatures”– which though small and compact, but inexorably carry out it assignments like the Senate in plenary.

    The Senate at any given time during its life span is composed of six Special Committees including the Selection Committee whose membership involves all presiding and principal officers. This Committee is chaired by the Senate President. Other Special Committees are Public Accounts, National and Intelligence, Rules and Business, Senate Services, Ethics, Privileges and Public petitions.

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    The Senate Standing Orders stipulate that membership of these committees must be appointed within the first 14 legislative days following the first sitting of the Senate. The 10th Senate currently has 74 Standing Committees. Standing committees are permanent bodies with specific responsibilities and jurisdictions that are defined in the Senate’s Standing Orders. Although some committees are almost as old as the Senate itself, the Senate periodically updates the names and jurisdictions of standing committees to address the issues of an evolving nation.      

    The committee system plays a crucial role in the legislative process. Committees are responsible for conducting investigations, holding public hearings, and making recommendations on various issues. However, the effectiveness of the committee system in the Nigerian Senate since 1999 has been marred by deficiencies.

    The Senate refers approximately 2,000 bills and resolutions to its committees during each four-year session. Committees act on only a fraction of these measures. Some of these bills and resolutions are introduced without expectation of immediate committee consideration but are designed to call attention to issues or to test the likelihood of future support. Others receive no attention by the committee because they duplicate measures already being considered.

    According to the immediate past President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, the 9th Senate introduced and successfully passed critical legislations that could reform and promote the economy, improve transparency in government processes. “As of June 10, 2022, over 1,129 Bills were presented on the floor of the Senate, and over 500 were successfully passed. The President assented to 131 Bills; the highest of any Assembly in Nigeria’s history.” Senate committees often summon to their hearings a wide range of witnesses, including heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and other administration officials, representatives of business and labor organisations, and other expert witnesses.

    Senate committees possess broad investigative powers to support their legislative mission. In addition, Senate committees are tasked with oversight of federal executive agencies. Committees hold executive officials accountable by reviewing and monitoring executive agency operations, including expenditures and implementation of programmes authorized by the National Assembly. Approximately, one-quarter of all Senate committee hearings relate to oversight. In most instances, standing committees serve as the Senate’s principal investigative arm, but the Senate also has entrusted this responsibility to special and select committees.

    Even though standing committees have done tremendous work in ensuring that the Senate achieves its mission of making laws for order and good governance of the country, the effectiveness and impact of their work is yet to be fully felt by many Nigerians.

    However, the United States of America parliamentary committees to which the Nigerian National Assembly is largely patterned are known to be effective and efficient in exposing corruption and preventing waste. Here are five examples:

    The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations exposed how Goldman Sachs profited from the financial crisis by betting against the same securities it sold to clients. The Senate Judiciary Committee uncovered the Watergate scandal, which led to the resignation of President Nixon. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee exposed the Iran-Contra scandal, which involved the Reagan administration secretly selling arms to Iran and using the proceeds to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The Senate Finance Committee exposed how Enron, a major energy company, manipulated its financial statements to hide its debt and inflate its profits. The Senate Armed Services Committee exposed the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

    Besides, the conscientious oversight activities of the US parliament have helped ensure that the US budget is efficiently applied. For example, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has been instrumental in identifying and eliminating wasteful spending in the federal government.

    The Nigerian Senate Committees have equally exposed corruption and made far-reaching recommendations albeit with insignificant impact as evident in the investigation and oversights carried out by the following committees among others. Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream): This committee conducted public hearings on the mismanagement of oil resources, including the controversial fuel subsidy regime. The committee’s recommendations led to the exposure of corruption. However, the implementation of these recommendations has been slow and ineffective, leading to continued corruption in the oil sector with stolen funds never recovered.

    Senate Committee on Public Accounts: This committee is responsible for examining the audited accounts of government agencies and ensuring accountability. It has conducted public hearings on financial mismanagement and embezzlement in various government agencies. While the committee’s recommendations have exposed corruption, the lack of follow-up and enforcement has limited their impact.

    Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions: This committee investigates allegations of unethical conduct by senators and public officials. It has conducted public hearings on cases of corruption, abuse of power, and misconduct. However, the committee’s recommendations often face political interference, leading to a lack of accountability and justice.

    Regrettably, while the investigative and oversight activities of parliamentary committees in the US receive wide acclaim and meting out of appropriate sanctions to those indicted, the opposite has been the case in Nigeria. Most Senate Committees and indeed those of the House of Representatives are beset with a plethora of limiting factors that militate against their effectiveness in carrying out their assigned functions. The resolutions and recommendations of the Senate based on committee reports are often treated with disdain by the executive who often regard them as mere advisory, the deficiencies observed in the Nigerian Senate Committee System since 1999 are:

    Lack of Implementation: One major deficiency of the Senate committee system is the lack of implementation of committee recommendations. Despite exposing corruption and making valuable recommendations, many committee reports are not acted upon, leading to a culture of impunity and a lack of accountability.

    Political Interference: Committees often face political interference, which compromises their independence and effectiveness. Political affiliations and interests often influence the composition of committees and the outcome of their investigations, undermining the credibility of their recommendations.

    Inadequate Resources:

    Many Senate committees lack adequate resources, including funding, staff, and technical expertise. This hampers their ability to conduct thorough investigations, hold comprehensive public hearings, and make informed recommendations.

    Therefore, the operation and effectiveness of the 74 Standing Committees of the Senate and other ad hoc committees can be greatly enhanced by doing the following:

    Strengthen Oversight Mechanisms: The Nigerian Senate should establish robust oversight mechanisms to ensure the implementation of committee recommendations. This can include regular progress reports, follow-up investigations, and sanctions for non-compliance. The 8th Senate under Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki, took a step in this direction when it pioneered the Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance. This committee which has become permanent is however, yet to prove its mettle.

    Enhance Independence:

    Measures should be taken to minimise political interference in committee operations. This can be achieved by ensuring transparent and merit-based appointments, protecting committee members from undue influence, and providing legal safeguards for their independence.

    Adequate Funding and Resources: The Nigerian Senate should allocate sufficient funds and resources to committees to enable them to carry out their functions effectively. This includes providing training and technical support, hiring qualified staff, and investing in modern technology for efficient investigations. It is a fact that most committee assignments are often delayed or abandoned due to insufficient of no funds. Besides, the practice where committees depend on MDAs they superintend to assist them in funding their activities must be discouraged with appropriate sanctions meted to recalcitrant committee heads by the leadership of the Senate.

    Public Participation:

    Committees should actively engage with the public through public hearings, consultations, and the inclusion of civil society organisations. This will enhance transparency, accountability, and public trust in the committee system.

    Strengthen Anti-Corruption Measures:

    The Senate should collaborate with anti-corruption agencies to develop robust mechanisms for detecting, exposing, and preventing corruption. This can include sharing information, conducting joint investigations, and implementing recommendations from anti-corruption bodies.

    The committee system in the Nigerian Senate since 1999 has faced several deficiencies that have hindered its effectiveness in detecting, exposing, and preventing corruption. The lack of implementation of committee recommendations, political interference, and inadequate resources has undermined the impact and effectiveness of the Senate committee system. In order to enhance the operation and effectiveness of Senate Committees, it is crucial to strengthen oversight mechanisms, enhance independence, allocate adequate funding and resources, promote public participation, and strengthen anti-corruption measures. These measures will help restore public trust, enhance accountability, and ensure that committees play a more effective role in the legislative process and in combating corruption in Nigeria.

  • Governance: A history of a near failed state

    Eric Teniola, is a former public-sector manager who practiced his trade in the Presidency before he retired. He writes regularly in the Punch newspapers and I love his essays because of his historical angles to events which remind me of what was good about Nigeria’s public service and what remains bad in the present.

    His last account on the beginning and end of Nigerian Airways and the Nigerian Shipping Lines are cases in point. The take away from this essay is that governments in Nigeria, in general, and public-sector managers, that is, the bureaucrats and the appointed executives, in particular, are poor managers of public organisations that have some elements of business or money-making missions.

    The story goes that at the best of time, the Nigerian Airways carried over two million passengers every year in the early 1980s with about 30 relatively new airplanes. However, 20 years later, the airline had stopped operations and saddled with completely dysfunctional aircraft with others seized by creditors because of debts of over $80 million at today’s price.

    This compares very badly with the experiences of South African Airways (1934), Ethiopian Airways (1945) and Kenyan Airways (1997) that are still fully operational and profitable up till today. It is the same story with the Nigerian National Shipping Lines which was established at independence and had 24 relatively new and well-functioning ships in the late 1980s but by the middle of the 1990s, the shipping lines had to be liquidated and the ships sold or seized by creditors.

    This is the story of many public institutions in Nigeria. And, with a misplaced policy environment, many public commercial enterprises like the Nigerian National Paper Manufacturing Company Limited at Iwopin, Nigerian Paper Mill, Jebba and Nigerian National Newspaper Manufacturing Company in Oku-Iboku, Ajaokuta, Delta, Oshogbo and Katsina Steel Mills, to mention a few, have all gone into extinction. They all suffered from bad management and lack of conducive environment attenuated by lack of functional infrastructure like power, good roads, and rail system and so on.

    Furthermore, another malaise in the Nigerian system, as rightly observed by Prof. Niyi Akinnaso, another newspaper essayist that I love to read, in one of his essays, is that we are a nation of churches, mosques and petrol stations. He asserted very correctly that the three most common activities of average Nigerians today, particularly in the South-Western parts of the country are regular attendance at churches, even on work days and mosques as well as opening of petrol stations even in residential areas of cities.

    As an applied economist, I will like to add a development angle to this observation, particularly, pertaining to the spread of churches and mosques all over urban and rural areas of the country. In this regard, it negates one of the recommendations of UNESCO that pre-school and primary schools should be located in the neighbourhoods where people live to enable housewives, nannies walk young children to schools with minimal efforts.

    In Nigeria, it is not uncommon to find such schools located randomly in distant places with children at tender ages crossing busy urban roads to and from schools endangering their lives. What we also find in the Nigerian environment are churches and mosques located in neighbourhoods where people live in order to ease the attendance and financial contribution of worshippers. From the foregoing, it appears that priests and imams are better planners than our public-sector managers in the states ministries of education who have no plans for the proper location of schools. Always hinging our hopes on divine interventions.

    Going back to the public service, there are evidences to show that allowing the private sector to provide, hitherto, public services can work in this our seemingly chaotic environment. The case of the phenomenon of the mobile system of telephony in Nigeria comes readily to mind. The traditional system of telephony in the country was based on analogue technology and the landline system which came into existence in the 1930s. And for the first 70 years, Nigeria could only boast of about 700,000 lines of which only 400,000 were operational by 1999, serving a population of about 120 million people making the country one of those with the lowest tele-densities in the world by the year 2000.

    However, since the advent of the GSM telephony in 2001, the benefits of the new technology are obvious, bringing Nigerians together and allowing seamless communication across urban and rural areas with over 100 million active lines, a far cry from the 400,000 active lines some years ago. The GSM system is driven and managed by the private sector, saving Government billions of naira in federal allocations and generating billions in tax revenues and creating millions of direct and indirect jobs – unlike the days of the highly lethargic NITEL where telephone technicians were “kings” running rings round customers.

    The current hot topic in the Nigerian labour market is the phenomenon of strikes in the public universities. Happily enough, the issue this time is not a strike against poor salaries but poor funding for infrastructural development in areas of research and facilities. As an active participant in the university system from being a student at the University of Ibadan to being a retired professor in the same university, all over a period of almost 50 years and experienced the university system in more advanced societies, the problem with the public university system is our inability to “think” and “to do” appropriately so that we administer and manage the university system planlessly but as with other public enterprises we hope things will work out well hinging our hopes on divine intervention.

    For example, in my days at Ibadan, shortly before the 1967-70 Civil War, the total population of students was about 3,000 resident in six hostels in the main campus. There were electricity and potable water supplies 24/7 and the air-conditioned reading rooms in the hostels were opened 24/7. Each student room had a maximum of two occupants. A large percentage of the expatriates and Nigerian lecturers were trained largely at the universities in Oxford, Cambridge and London.

    In fact, many courses ran on the same syllabi as those in these world class universities. My roommate, for example, was a chemistry major. His supervisor was a graduate of Oxford. He ran a final-year chemical test for 2160 hours non-stop like his colleague in Oxford because Ibadan then enjoyed electricity and water supplies 24/7. The University of Ibadan was at its best with fully functional infrastructure for learning.

    NIneteen years, after I left Ibadan, my son came in and by then I was a lecturer there and one of the Hall Masters of the hall I resided as a student. Incidentally, my son was allocated to the same hall. However, the situation was different as the room I shared with another student then now housed my son and six other colleagues. There was no running water in the bathrooms and toilets and electricity was epileptic. In his chemistry laboratory, six students shared the space designed for a single student. Experiments were not performed as required because of lack of chemicals and water so that results were only imagined. That is still the situation today.

    The take away from foregoing is that Nigeria’s public universities operate below par because funding is inadequate. Unlike in advanced countries where universities’ tuition fees and endowments are the principal sources of revenue for running universities. Nigeria’s public universities are fully funded by government with students paying pittance or nothing as tuition fees.

    This is the dilemma in Nigeria’s public universities today and if it continues, the higher education system will collapse as our public primary and secondary school systems. The problem is that our public-sector managers, the bureaucrats and political class do not apply their intellect in thinking through our problems before throwing money at the problems and initiating actions that governments cannot fund on a sustainable basis.

    We are under the illusion that we are rich because of oil but if we seriously study what it takes for us to develop, the resources we have are actually very limited for our needs. We therefore need good planning and intelligent governance schemas unlike the haphazard ones, we do now use to solve society’s problems in Nigeria and relying on wishful thinking of divine intervention.

    • Akinyosoye, a retired professor of Applied Economics and Data Management is the immediate past Statistician-General of the Federation.