It is imperative to retool the governance system by professionalising governance in such a manner that only the best get the job of carrying out its affairs
Emmanuel Ikechukwu Igbo
The blame for the socio-economic problems in Nigeria has been largely heaped on governance. More elusive than popular expectations from that quarters are reflections on the nature, properties and adequacy of the tools being deployed for the discharge of governance, such as laws/ policies, materials and personnel.
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Many a time, analysts have pointed out loopholes in some extant laws and appealed for their review, amendment or repeal. Leaders, in some instances, have spread their arms in frustration, expressing that their “hands are tied” by such laws relating to policing, mining, infrastructure, financing, etc, indicative of situations where the law itself has been a hindrance to progress and development. Perhaps, they would have governed more efficiently and effectively if certain laws were made suitable for and adaptive to governance.
Since laws are in place to guide and control the behaviour of entities within their jurisdiction, it is expected that their lifespan should be as long as they remain relevant to the situations and behaviours within their guidance and control.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case with some Nigerian laws and policies which have become obsolete with changing circumstances but remained unchanged (if not immune to change).
It can also be observed that, though periodic reviews are expected more in policies and programmes of government than laws, some of them (policies) outlive their underlying laws, without being reviewed or updated.
This situation is not different from material tools for governance. In a technological world awash with breathtaking innovations for dealing with today’s problems and averting tomorrow’s, Nigeria’s governance system has clung to some obsolete and less effective tools and methods, as evident in: over-reliance on hardwares in checking and combating crime and terror, in seeming preference to the sophistry of modern data management, communication, surveillance and intelligence softwares; a quasi-automated electoral system which disenfranchizes citizens on the basis of their location or the malfunction of its gadgets; a silo-styled identity and licensing system which hardly identifies entities beyond the characters on a plastic or paper; vehicular domination of its transportation system; antiquated crop and livestock farming tools and methods; a largely analogue learning environment operating in a highly computerized and virtual world; for a few instances.
It is not jocular to report that in some public offices with high volume of correspondence, secretaries are still pounding away on typewriters. Similarly, as old as the technology of CCTV and other security cameras is, these gadgets are rarely available on Nigerian streets or in public places (and where available, may not lead to any forensic lab). On the contrary, it is not magical that operations such as banking and finance, where advanced information and communication technology was is embraced, are thriving.
Just as governance supposedly drives every activity in any given polity, the human tool manipulates material and intellectual tools for governance. Unfortunately, these human resources which drive the strategy and operations of governance appear to be more rusty than the inanimate tools in their control.
Leadership is yet to address such absurdities and deficiencies as: the inverse qualification arrangement which demands degrees from operatives or civil servants but less qualification from elective officials who preside over the affairs of governance, in sheer ridicule of meritocracy and professionalism; inadequate allocation of resources to the educational sector which supposedly supplies manpower to governance and the productive sectors; inadequate training of operatives and executives for learning, relearning and unlearning of competencies, especially in a highly dynamic and knowledge-driven global workspace; subjective recruitment standards and practices which are more favorable to quota systems and patronage than competence; poor health and safety policies and practices which do not guarantee the right conditions for personnel efficiency and effectiveness; a disproportionate reward system which produces a weakened governance workforce and overfed leadership, etc.
The problems with governance will faster if its shareholders continually shop at the scrapyard of history for today’s and tomorrow’s tools for governance.
It is therefore imperative to retool the governance system by, among others: professionalising governance in such a manner that only the best can get the job of piloting and carrying out its affairs; adopting technology to replace obsolete methods and tools used in the operations of governance with highly effective and efficient ones; instituting a research mechanism that culminates in innovation, creativity and productivity in governance; equitably rewarding all staff who contribute to the success of governance; generally enacting and enforcing without compromise, laws, policies, standards and structures that will ensure the achievement of excellence in governance; and in doing so, utilizing the privilege of global examples for adopting best practices in governance.
Amidst the problems and issues of Nigeria’s governance system, the solution lies in heeding the prompting for upgrading and updating of the intellectual, material and human tools for governance to a version of excellence, contrary to clinging to obsolete and ineffective means and tools. This, on a positive note, is within the capacity of government.
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Igbo writes from Enugu