OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT ELECT, ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU;
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL GOVERNMENT.
14TH April, 2023.
Your Excellency
President-Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Your Excellency Sir,
FACTORS THAT COULD HINDER THE SUCCESS OF YOUR GOVERNMENT AND IF PROPERLY HANDLED CAN ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF YOUR GOVERNMENT
Nigeria is a country so loved by God to be endowed with so many human and natural resources. While some countries with less valuable natural resources and in the face of natural disasters like Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfire, landslides have been able to achieve so much development, growth and prosperity ranking them among economic super powers, Nigeria has no excuse for not being a great nation considering that it is leading economy in Africa, among the 10 best economy in the world not to even mention its enormous human and natural resources, friendly climate, rich and diverse cultures, vast and fertile land area and fast growing population.
The general belief is that the problem of our country is that of leadership. The leadership of our country since the end of the 1st Republic has grown from bad to worse. Leadership has been a product of the societal ills and cannot be separated from those ills. But this premise is completely wrong. What we lack in our national life is governance and administration which is a common factor in all developed economies and democracies. Our national problem is standing on a tripod. No matter what kind of leadership we have, unless the leadership collapses the tripod and drives our democracy, economy and social life on the wheels of true federalism, the situation will remain the same. This is what has been done in countries like the U.S.A that shares the same features with Nigeria.
The inhibiting tripods are:
1. PUTTING SQUARE PEGS IN ROUND HOLES
2. ABSENCE OF CONSEQUENCES FOR ACTIONS
3. DISREGARD FOR DUE PROCESS
PUTTING SQUARE PEGS IN ROUND HOLES
This practically means putting wrong people in the wrong position. Employing the wrong person to occupy a position is a product of nepotism, corruption, injustice, selfishness, unjust favouritism and the wrongful implementation of the Federal Character principle. They constitute the root of corruption, inefficiency, injustice, insecurity and most of the rots in our political, social and economy. This unfortunate culture started systematically in the 1960s and gained momentum in the late 1970s and was accentuated by the Federal Character principle and the principle of geographical representation in government.
It is a product of regional, tribal and religious segregation as against merit, ability and capability. It is more of a public more than a private sector menace. In fact, it is not common in the private sector. A Governor of the Northern extraction once said that, when Nigerians want to make appointment into the public sector, they consider the applicant’s religion and place of origin more than the qualification, they consider family, friends and relatives, but when their cars are faulty and they want to repair them, they look for the best mechanics irrespective of their religion, region, tribe or their relationship with them.
Employment into the public sector, the public service, the military, the security outfits, educational institutions, especially at the Federal level has become the issue of not what you know but who you know. Merit has become the last consideration in employment into our public sector and public service at all levels. It has become so bad that certain juicy appointments are being sold behind closed doors. The result is that 70% of the public servants and public office holders in Nigeria are either not qualified for the position they are occupying, do not even understand the requirements of the office they are holding, not interested in it or are even ghost workers. Yet 60% of our national budget goes into servicing this same inefficient and unproductive and sometimes counterproductive sector.
In the light of the above, it will be a mirage to expect any remarkable and sustainable development. We have been financing a growing corrupt, unproductive workforce with over 60% of our national budget under the headings of concurrent expenditure at the expense of capital development. No nation can grow under such circumstances even if it has saint as a leader unless the current narrative is reversed.
With your performances in Lagos state, I know that using technocrats and best hands in your administration is your hallmark, please don’t allow political pressure distract you from that lofty practice, because in the long run, the bulk stops at your table.
ABSENCE OF CONSEQUENCES FOR ACTIONS.
Government policies are formulated by the Government, particularly from your office sir, but they are not implement by the president or the governor but through ministers, commissioners, heads of parastatals, agencies, Departments and Directors. These positions are manned by people, and invariably the success or otherwise of that government depends largely on the efficiency and performance of this workforce. There are laws, regulations and policies guiding the activities of this workforce, collectively referred to as the Civil Servants and the public officers.
We have the Civil service rules, the procurement laws, code of conduct Act and so many other laws regulating activities of the civil servants and public officers at both the Federal and State levels. Despite the existence of various anti-graft and anti- corruption agencies, the Police Service Commission and all laws regulating the sanity and sanctities of our national lives, corruption , inefficiency and low productivity in public services has continuously remain the bane of our national development. This is not because there are no laws that prescribe punishment but because there has not been consequences for erring actions.
Until we maintain a culture of ensuring that there are consequences for every wrong, criminal and erring action no matter how little and irrespective of who is concerned, there will always be failure in the implementation of government policies and it will be difficult to have remarkable sanity and sanctity in our national life, and corruption, bad leadership and ill-followership which have always been the obstacle to our national development and growth will never cease.
No matter how good and sound the leadership is, and no matter how lofty government policies are, success depends largely on the positive, efficient and effective implementation of those policies. No matter how lofty, sound, adequate and relevant laws, regulations, policies of the state may be, its success or otherwise depends largely on its application and enforcement.
We cannot pretend or deny the fact that corruption, impunity, inefficiency, low-productivity and gross disrespect for law and order has permeated the facets of our public administration cutting through the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, the security units, educational system, the private sector. Their multiple growth has collectively become a virus that has defied all known measures. There has not been effective enforcement of consequences for breaches especially among those at the top who are saddled with the responsibilities of enforcing the core consequences for wrong doings. As a matter of fact, those who are made to pay the price for wrong doings are the less privileged, less connected and those not in the good books of those in authority, while the high and mighty are celebrated for wrong doings, a case of two sets of laws, one for the highs and one for the lows, this should not be. Developed countries in the world, practice equal social justice across board.
The current narrative can only be effectively reversed if the right persons are put in the right positions and clothed with the power of ensuring the enforcement of appropriate sanctions without discrimination for wrong doings no matter how small and irrespective of who is involved, otherwise positive, effective and efficient implementation of government policies will remain a mirage, and development and growth will practically be impossible, irrespective of who the leader is. Nigerians are looking forward to the renewed hope you promised, and I trust you can do it.
Please, let me say Sir that I am convinced of your abilities, capacity and potential to take our nation to the next level of not just a renewed hope but to where it should have been in the comity of nations.
COMPLIANCE WITH DUE PROCESS
Due process is the ethics of doing things the right way. The only way to ensure the right result is by doing things the right way. Due process is a prerequisite for achieving good governance and administration and a product of ethical conduct across the board. Due process is the only assurance for efficiency, productivity, justice, equity and good governance.
It is not enough to provide for due process in every aspect of our national activities; we must ensure that everyone concerned complies with all the facets of due process. We must also ensure that serious consequences for any violation are enforced no matter how small and irrespective of who is concerned to serve as a deterrent to any potential violator, otherwise violation and abuse of due process will become a culture as it is currently in our country.
Due process begins with those little activities as maintaining a queue, punctuality at work, accountability , obeying traffic lights, abiding with procurement regulations, and due process in recruitments, public service delivery and justice delivery ,to mention but little. The just enforcement of due process in all facets of our national life will guarantee economic and social justice, high sense of patriotism and nationalism. With just and uniform enforcement of due process across the board, round peg is sure to be placed in the round hole, consequences will be assured for wrong doings, policies will be rightfully implemented, hard work will be adequately compensated, justice and equity will prevail, the citizens will be empowered and happy, democracy will mature and become real, rights will be guaranteed and protected and government can hardly be a failure.
These three principles are common features of great countries of the world. Any country that falls short of any of these principles is definitely bound to have serious developmental issues, and regrettably, this is the bane of most African countries and most underdeveloped nations. Your Excellency sir, you must crash this tripod obstructing our national growth and development.
Finally, to accelerate our national growth and catapult us into the league of great nations of the world, we must do what the governments that share similar features and characteristics like us did. Countries which have multi- states and different ethnic nationalities like the United States of America, run a true federal system, where power flows from the states to the federal and not vice versa as we practise here. In the U.S.A, every American citizen is recognized only as an American, the concept of state of origin is not recognized in the U.S.A. This simple gesture will achieve the desired unity that policies and structures like the National Youth Service Corps Scheme and the Federal Character Principle have failed to achieve.
Nigerians look forward to a Nigeria where economic and social justice holds sway. A Nigeria where merit and hard work pays. A Nigeria where the son of nobody can become somebody without knowing anybody. A Nigeria where a sitting president can be questioned for his wrong deeds and past president can be arraign for violating the laws of the land, as in the United State of America.
May God almighty help you sir.
Thank you Your Excellency.
Long live Your Excellency, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Yours truly.
OSEINI WALE BAMIGBAIYE ESQ. DIL,LLB,BL, Acis.
bamigbaiye@yahoo.com
.+2347069765970
