A day has hardly gone by in the last two weeks, without commentaries on the viability, implementability and suitability of the Orosanye Report. This report and its recommendations were made during President Jonathan’s administration in 2012; it was part of the efforts to bring governance to an efficient cost, while maintaining effectiveness. The recommendations promoted streamlining some ministries, departments and agencies, to quash conflicting roles, and forestall a parallel administration within the same nation state: when the report was submitted, it did not receive any attention. Indeed I thought it had been buried. Not until the day of this administration, did I know that it was still within reach. President Ahmed Tinubu has decided to clean up the dust covering it, and has set up a committee to look at its merits and implementability; the committee is to report back to the Federal Executive Council( FEC) within twelve weeks. The buzz that this report has generated amidst the growing concerns about the cost of governance in Nigeria and the general hardship in the land is understandable, when juxtaposed with President Tinubu’s promise of renewed hope for Nigeria and Nigerians. The Orosanye Report might not be the ultimate elixir to our cost of governance ailment, but it will certainly set the template to redefine the shape of things to come, in trying to put our country on the path of growth and development. In a hybrid presidential system of government that we run in Nigeria, too many things were cultivated, and wrongly so, leading to a bloated civil service and political system that emburdens our cost of governance profile. This and many others, the Orosanye Report will attempt to address.
Beyond the razzmatazz around this report, the areas it covers, and the expectations of the people, there are quite a number of other issues to address if we indeed desire to put a plug on wastages and high cost in the system. For me, beyond streamlining our governance structure, additionally, the individuals and appointees that head the ministries, departments and agencies need to be closely monitored, as regards their budgets and spending. One of the very urgent issues to be addressed is our officers attitudinal orientation. Yes, we need strong institutions, AND ALSO conscientious and conscionable officers and appointees. The behavioural tendencies of the individuals that run our institutions and systems will largely define the output we derive from our institutions. Government office holders in the past have been very materialistic, thus making corruption a culture over the years; and this bad culture has eaten deep into the fabric of our nation, leaving the country impoverished and her institutions quite weak. Rife are issues of nepotism, ethnicity, tribalism, cronyism, disunity, political differences and lack of patriotism. The ownership structure of Nigeria is still a subject of contestation and is a big issue. Everytime national issues are to be decided upon, these factors of corruption come into play. The patriotism that should come first when issues of political decisions and implementations come up, is often affected by our culture of nepotism, selective amnesia and ethnicity. If we must build functional, efficient, and effective systems, we must strive to achieve homogeneity of purpose as a nation.
The Orosanye Report must acquire a national garb if it must work. It must BE SEEN to be in our collective interest and have the buy-in of a reasonable majority of Nigerians drawn from across the six geopolitical zones of the country. This is no time to have Nigeria be described as only North and South. We have started hearing murmurs of some people who are reading a political meaning to the report; some are already coming up with insinuations that this is a deliberate attempt to execute a political witch-hunt; and others, are saying the initiative is targeted at some specific ethnic groups. If remain soaked in such feelings of ethnicity and tribalism, it will be odious to achieve the optimum benefit of this report. The committee at task should therefore embrace all the sentiments from the different geopolitical zones, and set up a national conversation that will explain the benefits on a national scale, so that ethnic jingoists won’t set this lofty idea on the path of political perfidy. We all need to be on the same page as regards the desire to run our systems efficiently. We have to agree on the urgent need to run a slimmer government, so as to save some money for other aspects of our national life. From North to South, and East to West, we must welcome this change and be practical about it. There has to be a country and a nation before we talk about streamlining systems for better functionality. There are still some Nigerians who do not believe in one Nigeria, no matter what national effort is being put in place to add value to our national goals and objectives. These people are just not ready to listen to such a conversation.
The Orosanye Report has made some therapeutic recommendations to address a number of our issues. I am afraid though that the recommendations cannot work effectively if the issue of corruption is not tackled also; and indeed with all our strength. A functional and efficient system is one in which the rule of law is EQUALLY applicable to all persons without discrimination, and preferential treatment. It is a system that intentionally guards against corruption, and continuously improves on the methods to tackle fraud, leakages and the like. This Orosanye Report should be properly scrutinised to ensure that it does not create another round of bureaucracy and or create super-permanent secretaries and individuals that would compound our problems. The bane of our civil services at the moment is located around corruption, redtapism and preferential treatment. The civil service needs urgent reforms to bring it up to par with what obtains in more accountable climes. If we implement the Orosanye Report without reforming the civil service, we may have succeeded in creating another kettle of fish for ourselves. The level of accountability in the civil service is very low; it needs to be heightened. The height of deliberate frustration of the workability of our system has also had a telling impact on our productivity.
If we must enjoy the value which the Orosanye Report is meant to bring by ridding the system of duplicate offices and officers, so as to cut cost, it must go hand-hand with checkmating corruption. We must guard against those recommendations in that report creating monopolies that will tend to deepen corruption in the land rather than curb it. Some government workers have claimed that people steal for the rainy day because having been in the system they are in despair concerning their futures, when they will be out of office; pointing to the absence of a reliable social welfare system and the management recklessness they witness in office. This is why this whole business of efficiency and effectiveness has to be WHOLESOME. To single it out, the level of corruption in our system is the real devil. Our national goals and objectives are essentially not appreciated on a uniform scale by the different geopolitical zones. Our anti-corruption efforts are also heavily politicised. So, in trying to strike the real deal in our present attempt to run a slimmer government, we must balance all other factors that will promote unanimity of purpose and intention.
This Tinubu-led administration shows the willingness and intention to put this country first in all her dealings. She must go a step further though to sustain all of these lofty initiatives without minding whose ox is gored. Nation’s are built by the selfless efforts of their citizenry and leaders; not through nepotism, ethnicity and tribalism. We must also redefine our national ideals and build positive and patriotic conversations around the present efforts being made to improve our system and lot. When the nation works for the common good, the citizens rejoice and praise their leaders. I can speak to this, taking a view from my local environment; because of the sanity and pleasure being experienced living in Abuja, the people and residents are rejoicing, and Mr Nyesom Wike is being praised highly! The workability of our systems and initiatives depend largely on our patriotic orientation and attitudinal mindset of those who run the systems. Much of the recommendations of the Orosanye Report may be achieved if we also tackle corruption and selective amnesia. Let us collectively join hands together to build a nation where ” tribes and tongues may differ, but in brotherhood we stand”. The Tinubu-led government should be supported to fulfil the promises it made to the electorates during campaigns.
