Nigeria’s performance in governance 2013

Nigeria’s performance in governance was not impressive in 2013. This was reflected in many international governance rankings where Nigeria performed poorly. Below is Nigeria’s performance in comparison with some of its West African neighbours:

   3 things government must do to improve governance in 2014:

1.  Tackle corruption seriously:  Corruption is a major obstacle to effective governance in Nigeria. 94% of Nigerians believe that corruption is a problem in the Public Sector (Transparency International, Global Corruption Barometer 2013).The Nigerian government has said that it is serious in tackling corruption but this has not been demonstrated.There should be sanctions for public officials found guilty of corrupt practices. 67% of Nigerians state that many officials always or often go unpunished for crimes committed (Afrobarometer Survey 2013). The government must ensure that the culture of impunity stops. Government officials should abide by the code of conduct set out for Public Officials in the Constitution (Fifth Schedule, Part I of the 1999 Constitution)  as well as the Public Service Rules. If this is done, the Nigerian Public Sector will have more positive impact on the lives of Nigerians.
2.  Manage oil resources effectively: The Nigerian government should implement the recommendations made in the NEITI Audit Report (see blog post) and the Ribadu Report on petroleum revenues. It should also look into the underlying causes of the oil theft and genuinely try to address them (see Chatham House andSDN reports). Implementing these will enable the government to effectively manage its oil resources. It will curb corruption in this sector as well as help the government in translating its oil revenues to something beneficial to Nigerians.
3.  Improve service delivery:  The Nigerian government should engage citizens more in governance. It should set and publish clear standards on what services citizens should expect from government. MDAs at both the Federal and State levels should publish at least 3 things that they will accomplish in their various agencies to improve the lives of Nigerians.  This will be used to hold them accountable. The heads of the agencies should be sacked if these are not met.

I conclude with a quote from the governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank: We must recognize that at the heart of the problem of Nigeria, at the heart of ninety percent of our issues – from Boko Haram, to religious crisis, to ethnic crisis to unemployment, to the lack of education, to the lack of health care – is that there are people who profit from the poverty and underdevelopment of this country. And these people are called Vested Interests. And so long as they remain entrenched, and so long as we do not overcome our fear of them and dislodge them, we are not going to find a solution to this problem and we are not going to reach true potentials’