It is well established that even in countries that have poor governance and weakpublic sectors, exceptional, well-functioning government and government-supportedagencies do exist. – David K. Leonard (2008)You need to do ten times what is ordinary in this environment to get anything done.You need to be a little crazy. – Nuhu Ribadu. 1.0 IntroductionI start this lecture by paying tribute to the convener of the Iju Public Affairs Forum, Professor Ladipo Adamolekun. Many would ask what the purpose of these lectures is. Why does an accomplished, world-class intellectual spend his retirement funds on organizing public discourses on topical societal issues? What
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Archives for Governance
Why You Should Stop Selling Your Votes And Demand For Better Governance
Since the recent elections in Ekiti and the attendant allegations of vote-buying and vote-selling, I have been reflecting on why people sell their votes in an election. As always, we should start with definitions to ensure we are talking about the same things. First of all, vote-buying and vote-selling are not peculiar to Nigeria or even the developing world. It happens everywhere. This is not a defence of what is alleged to have happened in Ekiti, but a statement of fact. Politicians make promises. The electorate votes in response. When a politician promises something that you perceive will benefit you
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To Whom Much is Given
[National Accountability Stewardship and the Role of Public Servants] by Dr Joe Abah 1.0 Introduction For clarity, it is always prudent to start with a definition of terms, particularly as some terms that are presumed to mean the same things to everybody could actually mean different things to different people. There are many definitions of the word “Accountability.” Some definitions, perhaps unhelpfully, simply define Accountability as “being accountable.” Others focus on key attributes such as information, explanation and consequences. Writing for the World Bank in 2005, Professor John Ackerman defines Accountability as “…a proactive process by which
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Cuba’s Socialism
I visited Cuba two weeks ago & it was very interesting to see a different system of government. An opportunity to reassess the usual capitalist, market-driven ideology that is forced down your throat as the ONLY way, and the Socialist shouts of REVOLUTION/ Egalitarianism! Thread. First of all, the info brochure from the UK travel agent claimed that “Everyone in Cuba earns the same salary, regardless of the job they do. About $20 per month.” I asked the Cubans and they were LIVID with anger. It is completely untrue and they saw it as deliberate falsehood! Everybody earns according to
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Making Public Service Reform a Reality in Nigeria
Preamble I want to start by paying tribute to the Africa Research Institute for giving me the great honour of delivering its 10th Anniversary lecture. My invitation to deliver this lecture and the courtesies I have been shown since my arrival from Abuja yesterday is totally in keeping with ARI’s approach of giving Africans the platform to tell the story of Africa in their own voices, with first-hand knowledge, insight, dignity and respect. In the last 10 years, ARI has encouraged debate that has often gone against the grain, and ventilated research that has challenged accepted wisdom about Africa in
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In Nigeria, Governance Champions Can Transform Resource Wealth into Development Result
By Joe Abah Article Topics: governance economic-growth stability Nigeria is well known for its glaring inequalities, particularly the disparity between the impoverished northern states and its oil-rich south. This disparity covers more than just wealth and economic growth, as large segments of the country’s 185 million people want for simple stability and basic public services. But just as Nigeria’s economy is powered by more than oil, so the country’s inequities stem from more than just the so-called “resource curse.” While Nigeria’s oil industry is the largest in Africa, in 2016 it represented only 8.4 percent of the country’s overall gross domestic product (GDP). Non-oil
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The other side of GPAC²: Entering government in Nigeria | | UNU-MERIT’s BLOGUNU-MERIT’s BLOG
Fellows on our part-time PhD programme (GPAC2) work for governments and international bodies around the world. Their day jobs land them at the centre of events in geopolitical hotspots, meaning they are often better informed than even the best connected journalists. In this new series, we speak with alumni and fellows about historic events, hot topics and how their PhD research helped them in their careers. This time we asked PhD alumnus Joe Abah about his new role in the Nigerian Government. 1. In your dissertation you studied good functioning institutions in weaker states, with the case study of Nigeria. You graduated
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Whither Nigeria? Who is Afraid of the Question?
Whither Nigeria? Who is afraid of the question? A question is often a request for information, which can be provided by way of an answer. However, questions are not always asked solely for the purpose of obtaining an answer. Questions can be asked for a variety of reasons: to open a dialogue, demonstrate knowledge, show interest in a topic, steer another person’s thought in a particular direction, invite confirmation of a preconception, trigger debate, obtain an answer, or even commence a joke. Some people advise against asking a question when what is expected is not an answer. So when we
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Why I Want To Die On My Government Seat!
Why I Want To Die On My Government Seat! No, not me! I certainly don’t!! Rather, this post seeks to unravel something that, to many people, is a mystery: Why do Nigerian public servants do everything to avoid retiring from their positions, while public servants in other countries are holding protests to LOWER the retirement age? Indeed, Nigerian public servants have been known to falsify their ages just to stay on in office. For some, if you follow their employment records closely, they would have graduated from university at the age of 2 years old! I know there are child
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Budget Padding 101: For Beginners
Budget Padding 101: For Beginners Every good “intellekshual” article should start with definitions. I’m afraid that, having said that, it’s all downhill from here on in. That’s because the term “budget padding” means different things to different people. However, we will start with the basics and take it from there, and see whether we can make some sense of this topic. You see, when someone is appointed a Director-General, Executive Secretary or Permanent Secretary in Nigeria, it is a big deal that is sometimes celebrated with congratulatory advertisements in major newspapers. It is an achievement, not a call to service
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