Good governance goes beyond provision of basic amenities-Baba Yusuf

The independent National Electoral Commission and some civil society organisations have called on political parties and their presidential candidates to focus on issue based campaigns ahead of the 2023 general election.

Both INEC and the civil society group say political discourse must be centered around issues affecting the average Nigerian, like insecurity and poverty. And also the manifesto’s of each candidate should state in simple unclear terms how these problems will be addressed. They say this will enable Nigerians vote for the right candidate.

Speaking on today’s edition of TVC Breakfast, Baba Yusuf, Strategist and Policy Analyst/Group CEO, Global Investment and Trade Company (GITC) said good governance begins with leadership. Leadership with integrity, capacity, competence, as well one that listens to the people, because only by listening to the people can leadership deliver what cab be contexualised as good governance.

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He noted that good governance goes beyond provision of basic amenities, such as water, road, health care facilities, education facilities and the likes.

According to him, these are needs which are supposed to be made available to Nigerians as their rights.

He added that good governance also means being accountable, delivering the good dividends of democracy.

“looking back four years, eight years or looking ahead four years, eight years and beyond, people can see progression, people can see development.

“It is sad that for the past 22 years, since the return of Nigeria to democracy, we are still hearing sound bites during campaigns about delivering roads, delivering water and education.

“We were thinking by now, as in 1999, that people were looking forward to looking at long-term sound socioeconomic development happening in the country at this point in time, 22 years later.”

“As of 1999, we believed that people were eager to look at the long-term, sound socioeconomic development taking place in the nation at this time, 22 years later.

He added that good governance is very critical for nation building and for nation development.

Speaking on the challenges governance in Nigeria, Mr Yusuf said despite the quality of leaders the country has had, the question remains, that has Nigeria been having the same quality of leaders at the helms of affair and have those leaders had the support system to help them enable them deliver the good governance.

According to him, part of the issues we’ve been having right from time immemorial, which, if not addressed, will continue to bedevil development and progress of Nigeria is the failure or erosion of leadership value chain.

“A leader at the top, especially in the democratic system, as good as he may be, can only do as much as he could within his capacity, of course, within the realm of his power.

The strategy and policy analyst added that good governance also entails collaboration within the leadership value chain.

“There are people that I call within the leadership value chain the focal point leaders.

“The focal point leaders are the president, the governors, Senate president, Speaker, House of representatives. Those are the focal point leaders sitting at the top, driving things. But they can only drive those things with the support of other leaders across the strata, vertical and horizontal.

“If there’s a failure within that leadership value chain, whereas that leader may not have the leverage to enforce or to ensure that which needs to be done is done, then you have failure leader.

Mr Yusuf added that good governance has been a long standing issue in Nigeria

He pointed out that one of the problems we have in Nigeria isn’t just a result of systemic failures at the top, but also throughout the entire leadership value chain.

“If along the layers of the civil service or public service you have corrupt leaders, whether they are permanent secretaries or deputy directors, assistant directors that sit on their hands or circumvent the system, the system will fail.

“If there is a conspiracy of collusion, of corruption, the leader at the top will not able be to deliver.

The strategy and policy analyst went on to say that the dramatic erosion of our value system as a nation and as a people is one of the challenges that good governance in Nigeria faces.

Mr Yusuf said Nigeria as a nation should recognise that we can have the best of leaders at the top, but there is need for that leadership value chain to sink and synergise for us to be able to make progress.