Yar’Adua Presidency: The knowing-doing gap

Donald

Jeffrey Pfeffer & Robert Sutton spent four years studying a diverse sample of 100 companies and discovered a particular kind of inertia; an inertia that resulted not from indifference or ignorance but from knowing too much and doing too little. That is what they termed the knowing-doing gap. They encountered executives who had all the knowledge and or had access to all the knowledge required to solve whatever problem that afflicted their organizations but nothing happened because ‘there was no doing’! And they traced this problem ‘to a basic human propensity: the willingness to let talk substitute for action. When confronted with a problem, people act as if discussing it, formulating decisions and hashing plans for action are the same as actually fixing it. It is an understandable response; after all, talk, unlike, action carries little risk. But it can paralyse an organisation'[Harvard Business Review, May-June, 1999, pp139+]. I have gone through the presidents inaugural address 2 years ago as well as his speeches since then; I have observed how he has bee running the affairs of the country since then and I have come to the inescapable conclusion that he is suffering from acute knowing[and talking]-doing gap. He has correctly identified the problems with Nigeria and his recent interview with the Guardian shows a clinical understanding of the 7-point agenda, the interrelationships between them and how they can lead Nigeria out of the woods. Surely he has been humble, servant-like and a listener; but he has not been a doer! And that is the problem. He knows it, says it but there is no doing ! Let us examine three elements that have been in the forefront of his 7-point agenda and which he speaks passionately about everywhere he goes: corruption, Niger-delta and power segment.
The president has promised zero-tolerance for corruption because he knows that it is a millstone around the neck of the country. One of the direct ways of fighting corruption is by action that reinforces the words. During the Etteh renovation scandal, the president promised to deal with whoever was found guilty but nothing has been done up to this moment. When the Siemens scandal broke, the government rightly blacklisted the company only to quietly recommence business with them. It was only when Nigerians started asking questions that we were told that Ms Angela Markel the First Lady of Europe, had begged on behalf of the company and given assurances. But the firm paid penalties in other areas where it was involved in similar infractions. In the Harliburton case that has been fully investigated and names and figures published, we are rather going round about setting committees upon committees! Of course the cases of the former governors have become an embarrassment to the extent that even the EFCC had to protest against one of the judgments. But the President says that they were his friends and that he would not just abandon them because he is the president. There is little doing and what is done is contradictory to what is said!

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The importance of the Niger Delta to national and even global economy cannot be overemphasized and the president knows that. He also says that regularly and admitted on 29/5/07 that the completed master-plan was a good starting point and a basis for a comprehensive examination of all issues. But he toyed with the idea of another conference and eventually settled for the technical committee. The committee submitted a comprehensive report in December and despite the fact that the president described the crises as urgent, he has not acted on the report of the committee. Of course the establishment of the Ministry of Niger Delta[MOND] and the current military offensive are definitely not among the recommendations of that committee. There is no doing or there is contradictory doing
The president knows that without power, we will get nowhere with the MDGs, vision 2020 or poverty alleviation. He made it clear that he would declare an emergency so as to fast-track the project. Two years down the line, he is still planning to declare the emergency. Furthermore despite the numerous confusing signals from the management of the power sector, he has decided to throw in more money and promise 6000megawatts by 31/12/09 while as at today, his government is only striving to maintain 2700 megawatts. How we can jump from 2700 to 6000 megawatts within 7 months and why we should even throw in more money without clearing the cobwebs on the funds earlier committed remain a source for concern.

Other several evidences of knowing[and talking]-doing gap abound. The president knows that the electoral process that brought him in is flawed and promised to redress it. All the election reruns in the past one year have not shown any seriousness on that front and the Ekiti debacle and the management of the Uwais Report has cast a long shadow on the matter. Of course, the Senate has thrown out the party registration bill, arguing rightly that our problems are with election rigging-snatching and stiffing of boxes, manipulation and generation of figures, voter intimidation, announcing wrong results and not registration of political parties. The share buy-back and market-maker schemes introduced more that 6 months ago to uplift the stock market have not gone beyond the drawing board. He acknowledged that our roads are of critical importance and are in a very bad shape. Mrs Mmadueke actually wept at the Benin-Ore road while the current Minister of Works says Yaradua has ‘legendary commitment’ to road infrastructure. Yet the only meaningful achievement so far is to review and sign-just sign- the Lagos-Ibadan road concession agreement; an agreement that had already been concluded by the last regime. The railways and waterways have not received any attention. He knows that human capital development is important and he says so. Yet found it infradig to discuss with the NUT and will not sign an agreement he had reached with ASUU!

As Yar’Adua’s presidency enters the second half and is technically on his last calendar year-since intense politicking and electioneering concerns for 2001 will overrun the landscape next year-, it is imperative that he takes practical steps to close this widening knowing -and saying-doing gap. Substituting intentions and statements for actions does not earn any marks; there must be adequate doing! What one knows and what one says are only tangentially relevant; the ultimate is what is done to enhance the peoples wellbeing. And that is what politics and governance is all about.
* This is to acknowledge the numerous goodwill messages from friends and well-wishers following my recent conferment of the Fellowship of The Chartered Institute of Bankers. As for those who complained that they were excluded from the ‘washing’, there was none; the ubiquitous meltdown has taken care of that