THE IMPERATIVE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN ADAMAWA STATE: CHALLENGES & PROSPECTS
(Being a Lecture presented at the Maiden Pre-Inaugural Lecture ushering in the Governor-Elect of Adamawa State, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umar Fintri,and his Deputy, held at the Conference Hall, Munna Hotel, Yola, on Tuesday, 28th May, 2019, by Joshua T. Abu (Retired Public Servant, Karewa GRA, Yola)
Protocol:
Felicitation:
Let me begin by expressing my profound gratitude to the organizers of this programme for the honour done to me by the invitation to be one of those to deliver this Pre-Inaugural Lecture. I am highly honored and humbled to have been so chosen among many better personalities to do this historic.
Permit me to also use this opportunity to congratulate the Governor-Elect, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umar Fintri and his Deputy, Hon. Seth Crowther for their victory at the recently concluded Gubernatorial elections. Their victory at the poll after a keenly contested race, is certainly a show of confidence in them by the electorates. We wish them as successful tenure.
With the election over, and the inauguration coming up by the grace of God tomorrow, the stakes and expectations are very high but considering the pedigree of the Governor-Elect and his Deputy and peoples good will and support, the enormous and imminent challenges ahead which have been well documented by the Transition Committee, are surmountable.
Appeal:
Adamawa (Gongola) State is one of the second generation states created 43 years (1976). Success regimes have come and gone doing their best but not good enough for the state compared to some of its peers created the same.
Ours is a state that 43 years after, we have no stadium (except the long abandoned one along Numan road) for hosting our sports festivals or inauguration as we shall hold tomorrow but for Rabidu Square that has always been left in dilapidated state only periodically renovated for big occasions occasionally. We have no state of the art hospital but instead refer patients to Taraba and Gombe States, states created in 1991 and 1996 respectively, long after ours.
Our tertiary institutions established in the 1970s and 1980s would have looked like glorified secondary schools but for federal government interventions through the TEDFUN; same for our primary and secondary schools but for UBEC intervention. Similarly, while even the third generation states can boast of thousands of houses built by governments, we can only boast of those built in the 1970s and 1980s but for a few built by one or two of the past regimes.
We cannot boast of portable drinking water in the state capital wondering what has been happening to our Water Board, with people depending mainly on personally dug boreholes or water vendors. I can go on and on with this lamentation on virtually all sectors, but there is no need belabouring the issue since all of you know the situation on the ground.
One then is tempted to ask what is wrong with us as leaders and as a people. Views on that might differ but at least we could agree on one basic fact and reality, which is that they have been as a result bad governance and misplaced priorities among others, and hence the imperative for good governance, which is the theme of our discourse this evening.
Adamawa State by all standard, is richly endowed with both natural and human resources. We are blessed with technocrats, intellectuals of high repute, jurists, high ranking military and paramilitary personnel, business tycoons, tested politicians, professionals and many more, whose influence, connections, contacts and endowments when well harnessed, could lift us out of our present predicament and make us compete favorably with any state in the Federation. Unfortunately, this has largely not been the case.
Instead, it has been a sorry story of missed opportunities, arising mainly from in fighting, divide and rule, “bring down syndrome”; ineptitude on the part of some leaders, brazen corruption; lack of cohesion and unity among the political class and the citizenry among others, with their attendant consequences as outlined above.
As result of all these sentiments and tendencies, any step or action taken is often x-rayed within the prism of party sentiment or royalty, ethnicity or religion rather public interest. We have suffered enough! This trend and tendency has had its toll on our progress and development as a state. It is high time we change this negative trend as a government and as a people, so that we could have for once, have a sigh of relief - "Fresh Air" - to borrow the campaign slogan of the Governor-Elect!
To this end, let me use this medium to appeal to our senses and consciences as indigenes of Adamawa State, at national and state levels, and in the diaspora, to burial our differences whether political, ethnic or religious or whatever; and instead, use our appointments, good offices, contacts, connections, influences and endowments for the benefit of our state. We similarly call on the incoming government, to carry everybody along so that we can all have a sense of belonging devoid of the sentiments mentioned above. This should be shown in the way and manner infrastructural developments are distributed, appointments and recruitments are made and other amenities and services. Aim at having an all-inclusive government for the overall benefit of all so that posterity will judge you mercifully and favourably!
Introduction:
The issue of how a particular country or state is governed or should be governed, and the relationship between the state and the citizenry, or how to establish an ideal balance between them in order to achieve a stable political system, has posed a lot of challenge. Ordinarily, as human beings we are born into the world with an opportunity to live better in our various communities. Such anticipated better condition of living for citizens has been largely achieved in developed nations through the mechanism of good governance.
Such countries have in place, well-run educational systems, well-structured industrial sectors, affordable shelter for their citizens, sound national security and relative political stability. They also experience favorable interdependence between growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development, as well as respect for the rule of law, human rights, peace and security among others. In essence, good governance has remained a crucial element of the socio-political system of developed countries of the world.
Here in Nigeria, the story is different. One of the major challenges to the quest for Nigeria’s greatness has been and continues to be good governance. The fact that Nigeria and indeed Adamawa State lags behind in virtually all sectors, in social, economic and political developments, despite all social and economic policies implemented by successive administrations, suggests that such administrations had not optimally delivered the much cherished dividends of good governance.
Nigerians and Adamawa indigenes are worried as to why their leaders seem to find it difficult to address the perennial governance problems despite abundant human and material resources at their disposal.
Many opinions have been expressed to explain this governance challenge which include among others, the emergence of colonial misadventure in Nigeria; corruption and lack of vision among past and present leaders. All of these and many more, have hampered any meaningful effort in the quest for good governance in the State and country at large with the attendant consequences of systemic challenges and decays.
We are currently faced with a myriad of problems, which include but not limited to poverty, corruption, insecurity, unemployment, infrastructural decay, terrorism, kidnapping, ethno-religious crises and many more. These problems could no doubt be attributed to bad governance. It is against this background that we have decided on the choice of topic for this discourse – “Imperative of Good Governance in Adamawa State: Challenges and Prospects”.
Permit me to begin with an overview of what democracy is, to set the tone of this presentation. Democracy may be a familiar word to most of us, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused as often times even dictators, single-party regimes, and military coup leaders alike, assert popular support by claiming the mantle of democracy. Despite this, the power of the democratic idea has prevailed through a long and turbulent history, while democratic government, despite continuing challenges, continues to evolve and flourish throughout the world.
The term democracy, which is derived from the Greek word “demos”, or people, is defined, simply, as a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people. Even though in some forms, particularly in small communities, democracy can be exercised directly by the people; in large societies, it is by the people through their elected representatives. We could also view it in the memorable phrase of President Abraham Lincoln of America who referred to democracy as “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
Furthermore, freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, even though the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom, but it also consists of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long and often complex and intricate history. Democracy can then be said to be the institutionalization of freedom but people living in a democratic society must ultimately serve as the guardians and custodians of their own freedom.
We can therefore think of democracy as a system of government with four key elements, namely: a political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections; the active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life; protection of the human rights of all citizens; and a rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.
The Concept of Government & Good Governance:
"Governance" as a concept is as old as human civilization. It is about processes, and not necessarily about ends. Governance has generally been defined as a system of values, policies, and institutions by which a society manages its economic, social, and political affairs usually through interactions within the state, civil society and the private sector (Shabbir Cheema, April, 2004; UNDP, 1997; UNDP, 2000).
It comprises the mechanisms and processes for citizens and groups to articulate their interests and to work together and mediate their differences, as well as exercise their legal rights and obligations with rules, institutions, and practices that set limits and provide incentives for individuals, organizations and firms.
Governance is believed to have evolved from the need by society to organize its members towards achieving a common purpose - their wellbeing and happiness. The desire of all peoples of the world from time immemorial has been for them to be governed well. This underscores the importance of good governance as an essential foundation for national progress and sustainable development. As the former UN Secretary-General – Kofi Anan rightly pointed out while addressing the Millennium Summit of the General Assembly of the UN in September, 2000: “Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development” (Adel M. Abdeelatif, 2003).
No doubt therefore, good governance is the antidote to many of the myriad of problems and challenges confronting us as a nation and as a state.
The terms "governance" and "good governance" specifically, are increasingly being used in development literature, with bad governance being regarded as one of the root causes of the problems in our societies.
The crisis of development in Africa has been described as a “crisis of governance” by the World Bank (2003). This is rightly so, in view of the fact that African democratic experience has been grappling with a leadership that has been characterized by corruption, authoritarianism, “sit tight syndrome”, and violence, contributing to the present economic and political violence, repression and famine in most of Africa.
Good governance is therefore, synonymous with sound development management while bad governance has lack of accountability and transparency as its main features and is linked to socio-economic performance.
The Concept of Bad Governance:
According to the World Bank (1992), bad governance has many features, among which are failure to make a clear separation between what is public and what is private, hence a tendency to divert public resources for private gain; failure to establish a predictable framework for law and government behavior in a manner that is conducive to development, or arbitrariness in the application of rules and laws; excessive rules, regulations, licensing requirements among others, which impede the functioning of markets and encourage rent-seeking.
It also involves priorities that are inconsistent with development, which often times result in the misallocation of resources and excessively narrow base for, or non-transparencies in decision-making. Bad governance further negatively affects the quality of public goods and services as well as service delivery generally.
When these features occur, they tend to create an environment that is hostile to development. In such circumstances, the authority of governments over their peoples tend to be progressively eroded. This reduces compliance with decisions and regulations. Governments then tend to respond through populist measures or, as in some cases, resort to coercion. Either way, the economic cost tends to be high, including a diversion of resources to internal security and escalating corruption.
Characteristics of Good Governance:
Professor Larry Diamond (2005) identifies several dimensions of good governance which consist among others the following:
1. Capacity: - This refers to the capacity of the state government to function in the service of the public good. Effective functioning requires knowledge of the policies and rules that best serve the public good and that is where the training of government officials in their various professional realms becomes imperative. It requires a professional civil service with a set of norms and structures that promote fidelity to public rules and duties, in part by rewarding those who perform well in their roles. This relates intimately to the second dimension of good governance, which is commitment to the public good.
2. Commitment to the Public Good: This may be generated by dedicated and committed leadership or it may derive from a cultural ethic that appreciates and a structure of institutional incentives that rewards disciplined service to the community or nation at large. In every modern society, however, it must at a minimum, be reinforced by institutions that punish betrayals of the public trust.
3. Transparency: This relates to the openness of government business and conduct to the scrutiny of other state actors and of the public. Transparency requires freedom of information, including an act to ensure that citizens can acquire information about how government makes decisions, conducts business, and spends public funds (fortunately we already have such Act in place tagged: Freedom of Information Act). Needless to say, it requires full openness and competitiveness in public procurement (contracts), but it also requires openness with regard to the personal finances of government officials.
4. Accountability: Transparency is intimately related to accountability. Governing agencies and officials are more likely to be responsible and “good”, when they are answerable for their conduct to the society in general and to other specific institutions that monitor their behavior and can impose sanctions upon them. Effective oversight requires open flows of information, and hence transparency, so that monitors can discover facts and mobilize evidence. This requires a system of government by which different institutions check and hold one another accountable, compelling them to justify their actions. In that way power is constrained, bound not only “by legal constraints but also by the logic of public reasoning” (Andreas Schedler, “Conceptualizing Accountability,” cited in Larry Diamond).
5. The Rule of Law: Governance can only be good when it is restrained by law: when the constitution and laws (including individual rights under them) are widely known, when the law is applied equally to the mighty and the weak; when everyone has reasonable access to justice, and when there are capable, independent authorities to adjudicate and enforce the law in a neutral, predictable, and efficient fashion. This enhances confidence in the system as it is only through the rule of law that individuals can be secure against arbitrary harm from the state or powerful private actors.
6. Participation: Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making. Participation therefore needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand.
7. Responsiveness: This means that public policy decisions and implementation represent adequate responses to popular needs and expectations. This is because good governance requires that the fundamental interest and ultimate purpose that defines policies and actions of government must represent adequate response to the genuine and legitimate needs of the people. In other words, institutions and processes of government must as much as possible serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.
8. Consensus Oriented: There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community. That is where consensus building comes in.
9. Effectiveness and Efficiency: Good governance makes possible that adequate value and benefits are derived from government resources that are committed to programmes and projects. In this sense, good governance demands that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society, while making the best use of available resources at their disposal.
10. Equity and Inclusiveness – No sectors of the population, especially those that are more vulnerable or marginalized should be excluded in the provision of services, appointments and other services rendered by the government. All should have a sense of belonging.
Challenges of Governance:
One of the major challenges of governance is the lack of checks and balances (or mechanisms), strong enough to control the autocratic tendencies in government and to hold political actors accountable for their actions.
Furthermore, politicians do not practice ethical politics as most of the time they fall short of the law. The political parties often times do not practice internal democracy with campaigns sometimes very vicious and clumsy; while the people are not well organized to challenge and demand accountability from their leaders.
Corruption has also become so endemic, leading to poor governance, and which in turn hampers socio-political and economic development. The regulatory institutions that should ordinarily deal with some of these challenges are mostly ill equipped, underfunded and are themselves not insulated from corruption and sharp practices. Herein comes the need for good governance.
The Imperative of Good Governance:
Good governance as mentioned earlier, refers to the way and manner a society organizes itself to ensure equality of opportunity and equity (social and economic justice) for all citizens and also promotes people-oriented development (Shabbir Cheema, April, 2004).
It is grounded on certain predicates, which are, that: citizens and their governments do enter into a compact - agreement (social contract) in which the citizens expect returns from their rulers for the enormous power and resources vested in the governments. They expect the government to respond to their material and non-material needs through a systematic process of accountability, transparency, and checks and balances.
Part of this compact involves the creation of a participatory system of democratic governance, bound by peace and security and the rule of law as well as the development of institutions and institutional norms/regulations capable of producing sound economic-macro and micro-policies and management. The ultimate expectations are that this compact will significantly lead to poverty reduction. In a way therefore, good governance is an imperative for development (UNECA, 2001).
Recommendations:
From the above discussion, it would appear that good governance and better regulation is an ideal which is difficult to achieve in its totality. However, to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards these ideals with the sole aim of making it a reality. It should serve as a mirror through which government could measure and assess itself. Best practices even though ideals, are expected to serve as guideposts and should therefore be applied as much as possible for greater good. Towards this end the following specific suggestions are offered:
1. Tracking Funds/Releases: Releases and allocations to the State and Local Governments should be publicized to allow workers and the public to know what revenues are accrued to both the state and local governments to enable and empower them to monitor the utilization of such funds.
2. Blocking Leakages: The e-payment system of salaries and pensions adopted by the Adamawa State Government should also extend to local governments as a way of tracking possible salary frauds and other payments. The policy should equally be extended to contract payments and all other government transactions to minimize rent seeking and other sharp practices. The system should however be properly monitored as experience has shown that e-payment in itself is not necessarily free from abuses and sharp practices.
3. Community Monitoring: Community monitoring entails systematic collection of information to assess quality of public services and aims to provide a stock of data that could be used by the community to advocate for improved services and better align them to the needs of the local populace. Accountability and transparency are at the centre of any political system. In this regard, the right of every citizen to know what decisions and actions are being implemented in their name should be appreciated. Government officials should therefore be open and honest and be ready to account for their stewardship at all times even long after they might have left office.
4. Capacity Building for Regulatory Bodies and other Functionaries: This should be demand driven – by allowing relevant departments and agencies to decide on what type of training they need based on a needs assessment process. It should also be for all categories of staff including elected officials. Capacity building in terms of skill development and value reorientation is also critical for enhanced performance and should be a continuous process.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation: Performance measurement is a key aspect of public management to improve government efficiency. Success could be measured using specific indicators or targets. Towards this end, the State Budgeting Department should develop targets and indicators to be given to line ministries and departments to ensure that budgets touch the lives of the intended beneficiaries. Similarly, the African Union Peer Review Mechanism model adopted by the Governor’s Forum should be fully implemented and to cover all states as it will go a long way in showcasing best practices so that states could learn from each other and improve on their performances. It therefore recommends itself.
6. Enhancing Community Participation: State and Local Government Councils need to listen more and respond more to local needs and involve the community more, in planning, budgeting, monitoring and service delivery. Attention should also be given to women, youth, and the elderly, and people with disabilities. Periodic Town Hall Meetings has been shown to be a very useful medium for engaging with the electorates.
7. Anti-corruption Crusade: The State government should liaise with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to establish Anti-corruption units in all ministries, departments and agencies to help in nipping corruption at the bud.
Sanctions and Enforcement: One the greatest challenges of governance are equity and social justice. Laws, rules and regulations are meaningless if they are not obeyed and erring persons appropriately sanctioned. Quite a number of times however, top government officials who flout laws and regulations escape justice. This tendency has encouraged impunity in governance and made the job of the regulators very difficult. Nobody should therefore be allowed to live above the law.
8. Review of Public (Civil) Service Rules: They should be reviewed and updated to align them to changes and developments in the recent past and to make them in tune with best practices and relevant to the peculiarities of the state.
Leadership and Political Will:
Regulations and oversight functions are only useful if the leadership has the political will to drive them through and to give regulators the impetus to do their jobs without let or hindrance and to also lead and live by example.
Conclusion:
Good governance should be participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, and ensures that the views of minorities are taken into account while the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is responsive to the present and future needs of society.
Government policies, regulations and institutions of state should aim to bring these ideals about and their successes measured by the extent to which they are attained.
In the finally analysis, good governance and better regulations should reduce poverty, generate employment, bring development, guaranty peace and stability, equity and social justice among others.
On this note, I thank you all for listening and wish the incoming Administration success. God bless you all!
REFERNCES
Good Governance and its Relationship to Democracy & Economic Development, by Adel M. Abdeelatif, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR)/Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Forum III on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity, Workshop IV. Democracy, Economic Development, and Culture, Seoul 20-31 May 2003.
Democracy, Development and Good Governance: The Inseparable Links, delivered by Professor Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University at the Maiden Annual Democracy and Governance (Kronti ne Akwamu) Lecture of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), British Council, Hall, Accra, Ghana, March 1, 2005.
Governance for Sustainable Human Development: A UNDP policy paper UNDP 1997
Hyden Goran & Olowu Dele (ed.), African Perspective on Governance (Africa World Press, 2000)
Good Governance in Nigeria: A Study in Political Economy and Donor Support, by Inge Amundsen, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Final Version, 24 August 2010, Commissioned by Norad
Majone, Giandomenico, “The Regulatory State and Its Legitimacy Problems”, West European Politics, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1999
What is Good governance? Mr. Yap Kioe Sheng Chief, Poverty Reduction Section, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), UN Building, Rajdamnern Nok Ave, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Shabbir Cheema, G. (April, 2004), ‘From Public Administration to Governance: The Paradigm Shift in the link between Government and Citizens.’ Paper presented at the 6th Global Forum on Reinventing Government, with a theme, Towards Participatory and Transparent Governance, 24-27 May, 2005.
United Nations Development Programme; Human Development Report 2000: Human Rights and Human Development, New York, 2000.
United Nations Development Programme, Governance for Sustainable Human Development: A UNDP Policy Paper, New York, UNDP, 1997; also see United Nations Development Programme, Corruption and Governance, New York, UNDP, 1997.
