From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
As a governance tactic to combat corruption and reroute Nigeria’s development trajectory, the incoming administration of President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has been advised to emphasise economic growth, addressing income levels, and making people wealthier.
The advice was given, at the weekend in Abuja, during Nextier’s recent edition of its development discourse hosted by Patrick Okigbo III, founding partner of Nextier, a public policy firm; and Portia Roelofs, a lecturer at the Kings College, London United Kingdom (UK) and the author of ‘Good Governance in Nigeria: Rethinking Accountability and Transparency in the 21 century’.
Since a new administration is expected to take office on May 29 for another four years, the main topic of discussion at the event was how Nigeria may rethink the concept of good governance.
The discourse noted that “development is absent in Nigeria, social and economic indicators like poverty, inflation, unemployment are at a record high,” while the country is plagued by persistent insecurity, fiscal imbalance, rising debt profile, and low revenue.
“The incoming administration will face the unenviable task of redirecting Nigeria’s economic direction to inclusive growth and development. If this must be achieved, accountability and transparency in governance must be on the boat to the scriptural promised land.”
The discourse, which drew heavily from Roelofs’ book, acknowledged the pervasive corruption in Nigeria but pointed out that it shouldn’t stand in the way of progress if the administration concentrates on economic expansion and raising people’s standard of living.
“Nigeria can look beyond corruption to drive transformation. Present-day China and the United States in the 1800s were corrupt. Attention shifted to focusing on economic growth, addressing income levels, and making people wealthier; afterward, corruption dropped as people became less dependent on the state.
“State accountability institutions like Independent National Electoral Commission and anti-graft agencies like Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as well as Independent Corrupt Practices and Miscellaneous Offences Commission must live up to their mandate and enforce accountability and transparency in government. They must hold more powerful actors accountable,” the session recommended.
Roelofs also recalled that her book focused on the debate that the ‘Lagos Model’ provoked in the media, the politicians, and the people, and that if manifestos must manifest, it must be on the premise of accountability to the people and transparency in governance.
She explained that “the Lagos model attracted foreign donors like the World Bank, USAID, and DFID as a pre-market approach after the Structural Adjustment Programme. It was seen as a local initiative to what the international institutions have struggled to do for many years.
“The Lagos Model is a Tinubu style of governance that established and expanded a tax-driven economy, improved urban management, infrastructure development, and an independent political force to grow Lagos into one of Africa’s leading growth cities.
“Good governance is socially embedded. Accountability exists when leaders are accessible. Transparency shows data evidence for the people to track government activities, like the yearly budget at the national or sub-national level.”
“Nigeria needs social indicator data to ascertain if its leaders are more honest, sincere, and performing. Leaders must be accessible, responsive, and listen to the people’s yearnings.”
It was further concluded that “an election must remain a prudent tool to hold the political elite to account. There is a growing civil society capacity for accountability engagements. Corruption must be seen as a complex collective action rather than a principal-agent problem.
“A social sanction, loss of social support, and withdrawal of follower-ship as a tool for accountability.
“The route to democracy in Nigeria is a rejuvenation of the party system. Politics must not divorce from social relations. We must accept the role of social relations and politics.
“If we institutionalise accessibility, it will subject leaders to transparency and accountability. Nigeria will surmount some of its governance challenges for the next four years when accountability and transparency become a core of our political strategy.”