“No man who does not see vision will ever realise any high hope or undertake any high enterprise”- Woodrow Wilson
As lemmings fling themselves helplessly off a rock, the Umar Namadi administration has dived headlong into the transmogrifying Jigawa State to a ” New World” that will serve as a model state for all times in Nigeria. In his quest for “Greater Jigawa”, he has exhibited his mettle and panache in establishing policies and programmes that have elicited national and international accolades unprecedented in the annals of the state.
Today, Jigawa State is being singled out as a state with a difference in Nigeria because of Gov.Namadi’s development strategies anchored on the 12–point Greater Jigawa agenda. He has proved to the world that achieving his agenda does not require a magic wand; neither does it require an excessive solution. It depends on knowing what to do and how to do what to do at the appropriate time. Greater Jigawa State – where the socio-economic well-being of all our citizens, both the present and future generation, is sustainably guaranteed, a prosperous, peaceful, and secure State.
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To ensure efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery, Gov.Mallam Umar Namadi created a kaleidoscopic tapestry of changes that are outstanding in all ramifications. By efforts of will, he cleansed the Augean stable and piloted the state out of its decrepit state to the heights of its potential.
Governor Namadi sees his mandate to steer the affairs of Jigawa State as a sacred trust entrusted for him and his cabinet to deliver in a responsive and accountable manner. A mandate that is sacrosanct and a compact between the Government and the governed for which we all leaders under the leadership of the governor are obligated to deliver.
A very important step towards upholding and delivering on his commitments as reflected in the 12-Point Agenda and the Inaugural Speech Declarations is to institute a framework that would constantly keep the government on track and to be able to assess performance and to hold officials accountable. It is precisely for these reasons that all the various commitments of Governor Umar Namadi’s administration have been converted into a result framework with specific performance indicators set to be achieved by the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the Government.
Recently, Governor Mallam Umar Namadi led all heads of MDAs in the state to sign an Executive Order and Performance Bonds to give effect to the Performance Measurement Framework. The Executive Order is meant to establish a Results Delivery & Performance Management Coordination Unit under the Office of the Executive Governor. The Unit will be charged with the responsibility of coordinating and managing a Performance Measurement Tracking System to ensure effective delivery of results. As specified in the Executive Order, some of the functions of the Unit will include:
a) Monitoring the delivery of results covered in the Performance Bond to be assessed based on the quarterly scorecard and annual reviews.
b) Developing and managing a comprehensive performance tracking system with Key Performance Indicators, a Real-time Dashboard, and periodic spot checks to validate results.
c) Periodic review of the result and performance frameworks to sort out cross-cutting and delivery mandate issues to ensure appropriate accountability for results across and between MDAs.
Beyond establishing the Unit, the primary purpose of the Executive Order is to provide a framework for ensuring Accountability for results delivery by Heads of all Delivery MDAs. Accordingly, the Order has provided that all respective and concerned Executive Heads of MDAs – particularly the Honourable Commissioners, will sign a Performance Bond committing them to deliver on the set targets/results by working to the best of their ability to deliver within the specified timeline and to be held responsible for any unjustified failure in that respect. The Order has further provided that:
a) For effective monitoring and delivery of results covered in the Performance Bond, a performance measurement system based on quarterly and annual assessments will be instituted.
b) Each Head of MDA will constitute a Delivery Task Team to collaborate with the Unit in carrying out internal monitoring and evaluating the progress of the MDA’s deliverables as provided in the Performance Bond.
c) Providing accurate and timely data to be fed into the Performance Management Information System to support the production of quarterly and annual scorecards based on which performance would be measured to inform appropriate decisions.
The aim is to achieve a convergence between the Performance Bond Measurement with sector-wide Annual Sector Performance Reviews of the State Comprehensive Development Framework and Medium-term Sector Strategies. Both the 12-Point Agenda and the Inaugural Speech Declarations have been effectively integrated into the State Development Plan, which will be published soon.
From all indications, Gov Namadi has proven that he is determined to help the state achieve its full potential, doing his best where he now finds himself as the number one citizen of the state. He belongs to the school of thought that believes that the good of man must be the objective of the science of politics.
Ahmad is a Public Affairs Analyst who writes from Abuja.
