Governance reform, a desideratum

Listening to local radio conversations and comments arouses the impression of despondency as Nigerians face existential challenges – rising cost of living, insecurity of lives and property, unabashed profligacy and licentious display of questionable wealth by some members of the political class, the constraints of doing business and attendant relocation of the latter from Nigeria to more friendly climes.

President Bola Tinubu’s foreign trips seek to promote foreign direct investment, albeit a wild goose chase, the cart before the horse in not addressing, a posteriori, the fundamental factors inimical to ease of doing business in Nigeria. The President, in a recent broadcast, empathised with Nigerians on their pains assuring them of his commitment to a renewed hope and a new order. There is the need for governance reform to birth a new order for growth and development of the Nigerian state. But it raises a fundamental question: where are Nigerian intellectuals? The prompting for this question is the uncanny feeling of aloofness and reticence of the Nigerian intellectual in the affairs of state dominated, largely by degenerate characters of low estate.

The Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA), a body of intellectuals, entrusted with the responsibility of recommending to the President distinguished academics for the highest award of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), has, on two annual forums addressed governance issues. First, at the 10th Annual Forum of Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) Laureates, Award Winners’ Lecture and Investiture, held on December 5-7, 2017 the theme was: ‘Governance Reform and Human Security in Nigeria’. The Second, the 11th Forum held on December 4-5, 2018 addressed the theme: ‘The Imperative of Unity in Diversity’. As was the practice, communiqués from the forums were presented to the then President Muhammadu Buhari.

From the 10th forum, two of the observations were, 1. ‘Poor governance at all jurisdictional levels and in all sectors of the Nigerian economy, has been for several decades, a major contributor to Nigeria’s inability to achieve its socio-economic development potential that would provide adequate goods and services for its expectant population’ 2. While many nations have capitalised on knowledge creation, investment in entrepreneurship and deployment of knowledge in governance processes to gain advantage over competing nations, Nigeria has habitually operated a patronage-dominated governance system in which knowledge is made mostly insignificant as a factor in assignment of responsibilities and elevation to high public office’.

It recommended: ‘The Federal Government should engage all stakeholders to plan and implement reform of governance system in three stages, namely: immediate (short-term (before 2019), medium-term (2019 -2024) and long-term (beyond 2024)’. It is instructive to note that this recommendation came on the heels of the National Conference, 2014 a draft report of which contained resolutions requiring constitutional or legislative amendments and policy implementation.

From the 11th forum, a key observation amongst others was: ‘Most of Nigeria’s political and constitutional crises emanate from the ways in which the federal system is practised and the management of key conflict resolution instruments established to address aspects of the country’s diversity namely, ethnic, linguistic and religious differences’. Two of the recommendations: 1. ‘Since nation building is a continuous process, government is enjoined to play the lead role in urgently addressing the issues that pose the most threat to national unity and political stability through constitutional review as the slow process of current efforts contribute to enhanced social and political instability’. 2. ‘A state of emergency in the educational sector is not only imperative but must be urgently embraced by all tiers of government and used to address the crisis in the sector holistically with enhanced community participation at the grassroots level’.

At the maiden convocation ceremony of Bauchi State University, Gadau, Professor Attahiru Jega advocated inter alia: ‘Before 2027, some restructuring of the Nigeria federation should be embarked upon through evidence-based constitutional reforms, the objective of which should be to de-concentrate powers and resources from the federal tiers and to spread them to those of the state and local governments’. This is underscored by the fact that governance has ‘structural, systemic and value orientation’ problems.

Indeed, this was the case when, in 2014/2015 the late Professor Ben Nwabueze appealed passionately to President Goodluck Jonathan to accord premium to governance reform over and above his second-term bid to save Nigeria from degeneracy, what Professor Jega, now aptly termed a failing State. These are a few examples of the plethora of advocacies from Nigerian intellectuals in a patriotic bid to reset the country for the common good. But the political class holding the levers of governance is insouciant, insensitive and deceitful. The question remains: how can there be a paradigm change away from this suffocating order with the mindset of a privileged political class?

On the need to promote education at all levels, former President Buhari, at the 2017 retreat of the Federal Executive Council, remarked inter alia: ‘We cannot afford to continue lagging behind. Education is our launch-pad to a more successful, more productive and more prosperous future. This administration is committed to revitalising (emphasis supplied) our educational system and making it more responsive and globally competitive’. Really! Then, listen to the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu: ‘No nation can rise above the standard of its education – if education is weak or dysfunctional, society and its development will also be weak and dysfunctional…’

Further he said: ‘If you want to destroy the civilisation of a nation, there are three ways of doing so: 1. Destroy the family structure 2. Destroy education 3. Lower role models’ —- to destroy education, you should give no importance to the teacher so that students despise him. Then to demean role model, you should undermine the scholars, cast doubt on them until no one listens to them or follow their teachings’. It is instructive to recall that the former President and the Minister of Education were the principal dramatis personae in the FGN –ASUU face-off, arising from the union’s demand, notably revitalisation of public universities to make them globally competitive. These remarks and inactions by the duo, President and Minister, are tragicomic, in the apparent disconnect between a speech reader and the writer. It is also a bold testament to the maxim: nemo dat quod non habet (you can’t give what you don’t have), and a sad remark on the hollowness of written speeches of public functionaries.

It is a relief that Tinubu, in an Executive Council meeting, approved removal of all tertiary institutions from the integrated payroll and personnel information system (IPPIS), a key demand by ASUU, albeit at great cost to members – vilified, salaries withheld, earned allowances unpaid and agreement disregarded – to demystify, humiliate and undermine them. But truth is sacred and the aphorism, ‘you can put truth in the grave, but it won’t stay there’ is demonstrably immutable.

The corollary in all this is that there is now no moral or legal justification to further delay payments of all that is due to members of the ASUU by the Federal Government. It bears re-stating that the university exists to create and disseminate knowledge (Times Malta Society), and as an engine of innovation, its usefulness resides in being linked to the society for its growth and development. Tinubu would do well to accord the university a pride of place as a development instrument. It is however regrettable that budgetary allocation to education from 2016 – date has been in the range, 5.6 – 8.4% against UNESCO’s benchmark minimum of 26%. There is a nexus between governance dysfunction and accumulation of carry-overs, in abandoned projects and policies of government, sustained by corruption and impunity. Thus, 63 years of independence, and in the 21st century, we still celebrate one kilometer of tarred road with pomp and pageantry often in appreciation of the governor or minister for doing so.

Nigeria is endowed with human and material resource which, properly harnessed would thrust it to a high pedestal in the comity of nations. But the socio-political milieu is surfeit of sundry issues and challenges– ethno-religious distrust, un-mitigating security challenges, poor standard of education, corruption and impunity at all levels of government, loss of confidence in the judicial and legislative systems, loss of confidence in governance system, rising unemployment, and rising emigration, poor health services, multi-dimensional poverty, loss of confidence in the electoral system, etc. All these are symptoms of a failing State which must be addressed holistically. On this, a restructured governance system is a desideratum and urgent.

Prof. Eromosele is Former deputy vice chancellor (Academic), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.