Job Creation & Nigeria's Political Elite

Nigeria’s National Conference: An opportunity to empower citizens?

Back in the mid 1990s, the Ugandan central government provided grants to improve primary school enrollment and learning.  An initiative to track the way funds were being spent revealed that the average school received only 20% of the grants, the bulk of the grants were captured by politicians and local government officials. The government responded to the problem in an innovative way. They published information in newspapers on each school grant, so the parents could see what the schools were supposed to receive and hold their local government to account. A study carried out by Ritva Reinikka and Jakob Svensson in April 2005 showed that both enrollment and test scores improved in areas where the information was published. Empowering parents with the right information to monitor local government officials handling public funds led to better outcomes for their children.

In Nigeria, this type of accountability is more difficult to achieve. Like Uganda in the mid-1990s, we know that much of public funds have not translated into services for the people. It’s not enough to publish your Federal Budget or State Allocations and expect transformation. Citizens need information they can relate to on issues that directly touch on their lives. The current Federal system makes this more challenging. The National Conference provides an opportunity to look again at ways to empower Nigerians in the fight against corruption and pursuit of public service delivery.

Below are three suggestions for the National Conference :

1. More autonomy for local governments and higher expectations from citizens: statutory allocations should be given directly from the Federation Account to local governments rather than through States. This information should be transparent and local governments should be compelled to publish detailed budgets. For example, if citizens know how much is allocated for road maintenance which is never delivered they will know who to hold accountable. This may also help to improve citizen participation in governance.
2. State Governments to be responsible for policing at the state level: the current situation of Federally appointed police commissioners in charge of policing within States blurs the lines of accountability. If security is out of control in a State, it will be good for citizens to know who to hold accountable.
3. Remove the immunity clause from the constitution: leaders should at least be held to the same standards as their citizens. There is no reason why criminality should be accepted at any level in Nigeria. 

The Job Interview from Hell! Nigeria Immigration Service Recruitment Exercise

The death toll is still unfolding from the mass recruitment exercise organised by the Nigeria Immigration Service. Disturbing news through-out the day on the horrible experience that unemployed Nigerians suffered. I just spoke to one of the Abuja candidates and you can listen to his harrowing account below:

The Federal Government should not allow poor Nigerians to suffer this fate. There are many questions for Nigeria Immigration Service to answer, and the people responsible should be held to account.

Institutions vs Leadership in Nigeria's fight against corruption

At least two perspectives on fighting corruption have emerged this week from key Nigerian reformers that served together during the Obasanjo era.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, during a BBC interview with Will Ross, passionately emphasized the need for strong institutions and systems to tackle corruption.  To the extent that she was dismissive of the role of whistle-blowers “It is not very sexy to build systems and institutions. It takes time and nobody wants to discuss it. All they want to do is talk about personalities and who blew the whistle…”

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu on the other hand, in his speech at the Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum, stressed the need for leadership by example and sanctioning corrupt officials.  Premium times quoted him as saying  “The money coming to us is ending up in extremely few hands. Corruption must be made unattractive and difficult to commit. When there is transparency, there is less room for direct stealing…where there are sanctions, there will be no impunity. Impunity means failure to punish.”  He urged the State Governors to lead by example.

You can understand why the emphasis is different between the two. One currently has a role in government and the other is in opposition. Yet for Nigeria to effectively tackle corruption it will need to build institutions and have leaders that lead by good example, with no room for impunity. Nigeria needs both good leaders and institutions.  

A Model Manifesto for Tackling Nigeria’s Corruption

Nigeria’s main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) recently presented their draft road map on fighting corruption as part of their manifesto. APC has identified some entry points for tackling corruption in Nigeria- in particular ensuring the independence of anti-corruption agencies through funding them directly from the consolidated revenue fund, speedy trials of corruption cases and placing the burden on person with inexplicable wealth to prove their innocence in corruption cases. Yet the draft APC road map did not go far enough and missed some key areas. Below is my proposed manifesto for tackling corruption in Nigeria:  

1. Tackling Corruption in Oil Industry

Reclaiming Missing Revenues

• Conduct an independent forensic audit of unaccounted oil revenues potentially owed to Federation Account. Make the findings of the report publicly available and establish a repayment plan for any outstanding revenues from NNPC.

Tackling Oil Theft

• Government will put in place three pronged approach to tackle oil theft, addressing security of pipelines, tackling organised crime, and ensuring alternative livelihoods of the poor.

Controlling Fuel Subsidies

• Payments for petrol or kerosene subsidies will only be paid if there is verification that the product has been imported and there is adequate provision for funds in the Federal Budget.

Improving Transparency

• All oil bloc allocations should go through transparent and credible licensing rounds (with no exceptions for “strategic national interest”)
• No more confusion over oil production or revenues. Establish system for metering oil production and oil exports, making data publicly available.
• Terms and conditions of oil contracts to be made publically available.

Improving Accountability

• National oil company (NNPC) and key oil sector institutions to become accountable to all Nigerians. It will be compelled to publish full independently audited accounts annually and required to answer questions from its shareholders the Nigerian People.
• Increase the representation on the board of NNPC and key oil sector institutions (DPR, PPPRA etc) to include a broader range of Nigerians including key oversight institutions (CBN, NEITI, Ministry of Finance, Federal Inland Revenue Service), and representatives of credible CSOs.
• NNPC fast tracked toward commercialisation, with clear governance and oversight established.

2. Tackling Corruption in Public Service

Merit based Recruitment, Promotions and Postings

• While respecting Federal Character principles all public service recruitments, promotions and postings shall be driven solely by merit and not by connections to influential individuals.

Tackling the Ghosts in the System

• Remove all ghost workers and ghost pensioners from public service payrolls and prosecute all perpetrators.

Public Service Conduct and Protection

• Ensure full implementation of asset declaration. All public officials who have not complied with existing rules will be compelled to leave public office.
• Ensure appropriate legislation in place to protect whistle-blowers and encourage culture of reporting corruption.

Transparency in Contract Awards

• Improve transparency in contract awards. Ensuring contracts over N500,000 and the names of companies winning the bids are published transparently on the relevant public agency websites.

3. Tackling Corruption in Political parties

• Clean up political party financing and expenditure. Publish list of all political party donors that donate over N500,000 with exact details of how much was provided. Political parties and candidates will be required to publish all their campaign expenditures.
• All Political Parties will be expected to publish independently audited accounts every year or risk being de-registered.
• Free broadcasting airtime will be provided to political parties to help reduce cost of financing campaigns.
• Empowering INEC to ensure strict adherence to the spending limits for political parties and candidates as stated in the electoral act 2010.

 4. Anti-corruption agencies

• Help guarantee independence of key anti-corruption agencies they will be allowed to retain a percentage of the proceeds of crime to boost their funding and incentivise asset recovery.

5. Empowering citizens in the fight against corruption

• Enforce the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and take action

6. Presidential Powers

• Presidential pardons will no longer be granted to people convicted of corruption charges.

These are my reflections on what a substantial manifesto for tackling corruption should include. I hope the APC will do some further work on their own draft and that PDP will also consider a comprehensive response as they put together their own. I urge Nigeria’s leaders not to miss the opportunity to make this a key election issue. 2015 needs to be about clear policies not personalities and empty words.

What are Nigerians saying about taxation?

Afrobarometer has just released a report capturing Africans view on taxation. See below some of the views expressed by Nigerians as captured in the report:

82% of Nigerians state that it is very difficult to know how government uses tax revenues.
69% of Nigerians find it difficult to know what taxes are owed to government.
59% of Nigerians say that most tax officials are corrupt while 37% perceive some of them as corrupt.
51% of Nigerians prefer paying higher taxes and receiving more services.
73% of Nigerians say that it is very difficult to avoid paying taxes owed to government.

Link to the full report