Governance is the big elephant in the room in the public affairs of Nigeria, and until it is courageously and effectively addressed, we will continue to make progress slowly, even very slowly. But what is governance, or good governance? Governance simply is the way the affairs of a group or entity, or in this case, a nation, are administered. Because of the complexities of administering the affairs of a nation, the people have to agree, through a process of negotiation, first on the type of society or nation they want and then the type of political system that can best help them realise their aspirations. This will be followed by detailed rules about how the affairs of the nation will be administered or governed. This in a simplistic fashion is how a nation makes a constitution that will govern its affairs. I have conveniently set aside the historical antecedents of how the nation came to be since our main focus is on governance. But it is clear that you cannot talk about governance, good or bad, without touching base with the constitutional framework of a nation, whether it is sound and appropriate and fit for purpose, and whether it is being operated to work for the best interest of the largest majority of the people.
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The four components of governance are political, economic, social, and corporate governance, according to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the governance arm of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) under the African Union Commission. So, when Nigerians are calling for good governance or campaigning against bad governance, as in the case of #Endbadgovernance, the question is, are they primarily concerned about the excruciating cost of living crisis, which is economic governance, or about the high cost of political governance in Nigeria, or both?
“The ‘end bad governance’ campaign will achieve very little until Nigerians address the constitutional basis of bad governance in Nigeria.”
As any well-trained economist will tell you, economics and politics are inextricably intertwined. In other words, they are inseparably interwoven. Politicians make resource allocation decisions with far-reaching economic consequences. In a simplified two-product economy, the allocation between butter and guns determines a nation’s production possibility curve and the tradeoff between the people’s welfare, represented by butter, and guns, representing military hardware and the frivolities and fancies of politicians. So, in a nation whose constitution more closely represents the will of the people, the tendency will be for government to emphasise economic decisions that favour more butter than guns, while in a nation where the constitution does not truly reflect the genuine aspirations of the people, the tendency will be for resource allocation to emphasise things rather than people. This, in essence, is a reflection of the Nigerian political scenario or governance challenge. The ‘end bad governance’ campaign will achieve very little until Nigerians address the constitutional basis of bad governance in Nigeria.
But a great deal can be done by Nigeria’s political executives, by which I mean the heads of the three tiers of government, beginning with the President, to address prevailing governance challenges, especially economic and political governance challenges. First, again, speaking as an economist and not a politician, we must commend the courage and tenacity of the Tinubu Administration in taking hard decisions that are gradually but certainly turning the economy around. In the months ahead, inflation will continue to abate, despite the increase in the minimum wage and across the board increases in salaries and wages. With the onset of local production of premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol, the pressure on the naira will subside, and we will witness a reasonable appreciation in the naira/dollar exchange rate. This will lead to a reduction in the cost of imported goods and will further lower the rate of inflation.
However, the President, the state governors, and the chairmen of local governments—now that they have financial autonomy—must move to address the cost of governance. I found it amusing that after the Council of State, in their meeting of August 13, 2024, passed a vote of confidence on President Tinubu, the state governors again held a separate meeting with him to pass another vote of confidence in him, as if the challenge of bad governance was his alone. The challenge of instituting good governance is the responsibility of all elected political executives in Nigeria, including state governors.
President Tinubu should take in his stride the criticisms about the purchase of the new presidential aircraft in the midst of palpable economic hardship. I think that was a misstep; however, politics is the act of the possible. Keeping quiet will not be enough. He must rise up to the public relations challenge this singular decision has thrown up through strategic communication and necessary actions that will assuage the feelings of the general public.
Above all, Nigerian politicians must be sensitive to the mood of the nation and must be able to read the handwriting on the wall. Political executives in all tiers of governance in Nigeria and across party affiliations must come together to design a new governance template that puts the welfare of the Nigerian people first without necessarily resorting to subsidies or so-called palliatives. The way forward is by crashing the cost of governance at all tiers of government, reducing military expenditures, frivolities, and fanciful projects to the barest minimum, and allocating more budgetary expenditure to education, health, water and sanitation, agriculture, and rural development. This is the route to good economic and political governance, as far as the welfare of Nigerians is concerned.
Mr. Igbinoba is Team Lead/CEO at ProServe Options Consulting, Lagos
