PUBLIC POLICY

Today, one may dare to say that the Nigerian public sector operates with a different set of norms than the rest of society. Recruitments appear to be based on connections rather than merit; promotions tend to be based on tenure of service rather than performance; contributions are made on the basis of hierarchy rather than knowledge; processes are designed to be convoluted rather than simple and the concept of accountability is scarcely enforced. The civil service appears to be attracting those who want to do the barest minimum and exploit the system, some who cannot find employment in private corporations and others who crave the assurance of life-time job guarantees. This is in stark contrast to the 1960s and 70s when the civil service and education sector attracted the best minds in the country. The quality of governance today reflects this downward spiral in civil service norms.

As we reflect on ten years of pension reform in Nigeria, we celebrate the achievements of over five million contributors and four trillion naira in contributions. However, one is reminded of social changes that have occurred over the past years, amidst an almost absent social safety net, and thus resulted in widened inequality amongst the people. There remain over 75 million adults in Nigeria who do not participate in the current pension scheme, an estimated 30% unemployment rate and a high incidence of underemployment, disability and poverty. The near absence of functional public goods keep a majority of the people scrambling to meet the most basic of needs. These staggering statistics and our societal reality make the case for discussing social protection in the Nigerian context.

When Governor Godswill Akpabio amended the pension laws of Akwa Ibom State, what was most perplexing to me was the whooping sum of N100 million that was set as the limit for annual medical benefits for each ex-Governor of the state. Like many Nigerians, I wondered how many hospitals could be better funded with that sum, how many thousand lives would be saved with a fraction of this amount and what ailments these ex-Governor’s might be treating to warrant spending such an obscene sum of money annually. Sadly, the healthcare system in Nigeria will not be better for the spending by these government officials, as most of it will be in countries that have prioritized their healthcare and have a system to offer to the world. 

Imagine 84 million hectares of arable land, 230 billion cubic meters of water and very clement weather all year round. Then imagine the same place with over N1.3 trillion of food imports in a year, over 50% post-harvest waste and 40th of 56 positions on the global hunger index. This disconnect, on one hand is cause enough for alarm and on the other a call to opportunity. Over the past forty years, there have been various government initiatives to improve the agricultural sector and some of these include:

Last Sunday I arrived in Seoul to the most unusual welcome. The plane docked, the doors opened and an official of the Korean government came on board and asked everyone to return to their seats. Once settled, he reeled out the names of all ten Nigerians on board the flight and asked us to follow him. We were not traveling together, so this must have been a coordinated process of sifting, between the airline and the government. The official led us to a screening desk where thermometers were inserted in each of our ears. A rather unhygienic process as the official would undo the disposable cap once both ears of each passenger was checked and then screw on another cap for the next passenger. For once, I realised how effective and hygienic the processes at Nigerian airports were and could only hope that Korean officials had not transferred germs from their masked fingers to my ears. Following this check, the health screening forms, which had been distributed while on board, were collected along with our passports and temperatures recorded on them. If I thought this was the end, I was to be shocked over the next hour. 

Voting has come a long way in Nigeria, especially in the 15 years of our democracy. The number of voters has increased and the voting process has improved. In 1999, almost 58 million people registered to vote, with a 53% turn-out at the polls. The 2011 elections saw an increase in the number of registered voters to 73 million with a 54% turn-out and was considered relatively free and fair by observers. This was in stark contrast to both the 2003 and 2007 elections, which were said to have been plagued by a systematic manipulation of results. Towards the 2015 elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has so far registered an estimated 70 million voters and counting. Commendably, it has deployed a biometric data system to reduce electoral fraud, and has already released a timetable for the 2015 general elections. However, past experiences becloud these achievements and many remain sceptical about the resolve of INEC to deliver a hitch-free and credible set of elections in 2015. INEC has been marred with allegations of corruption and partiality in its conduct of past elections. Its 2012 – 2016 strategic plan identifies some of the commission’s challenges to include late preparation for elections, poor record management, inadequate communication between its headquarters and state offices and poor quality of adhoc staff amongst others. In the context of the improvements already made, challenges identified and closeness to the general elections, I posit that there may be a few things that we can learn from various places to further improve the election’s process. I do not advocate copying and pasting solutions, but encourage us to learn from those that have implemented solutions that work. After all, according to a Nigerian proverb “he who cannot learn from the experiences of his neighbour should be pitied.” Learning from India From April to May 2014, India conducted the largest general election in the world. 815 million people registered to vote and 66% turned up at the polls. The process was considered free and fair with almost no post electoral violence recorded. The Electoral Commission of India adopted a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), an automatically generated receipt given to each voter after casting a vote to show who and what party was voted. This process reduced ambiguity over the candidate and party voted for by each individual. In essence, India leveraged technology to increase the credibility of voting during the country’s general elections. Likewise, INEC can look to adapting technology to improve the voting experience and reduce electoral fraud. Learning from Brazil In October 2014, Brazil conducted its general elections with eleven candidates challenging the incumbent President Dilma Rousseff. Of the 142 million possible voters, 81% turned out to cast their votes and the results were released within 48 hours. Electoral laws in Brazil indicate that a candidate must obtain over 50% of the valid votes in order to win. The incumbent president obtained only 41.6% of the

As the country gears up for the 2015 general elections, emotions are stirring up, factions are forming and ordinary citizens are retreating to the thought that these elections may tow the paths of the past ones; times when politicians systematically and deliberately attempted to manipulate both the process of elections and the electorate. As parties head towards their respective primaries, we are yet to hear much about ideology and principles or about creed and deed. Rather, the same tactics are being employed by candidates: traveling round the country, inducing delegates and prospective voters with cash, putting up colourful posters with their photographs and declaring at rallies that they are best placed to represent the people without providing evidence to back up these claims. Unfortunately, hunger and poverty have weakened the voice of the electorate. Many of us exchange our right, (that sacred vote) for what could go into our bellies. We significantly discount our future for the little we see today and make decisions based on worthless sentiments. We sit and complain, criticizing the government without using our voices and votes to make demands for accountability and improvement. It therefore belies the thought that we, the electorate, fully understand the power of voting and as such can exploit its powers to change the country. When we go to the polls, I fear that many of us may go blindly. We do not know enough about the candidates or their philosophy to make credible decisions. We often rely on second-hand information, hearsay, in forming our opinions. We go to the polls without knowledge and without a basis for clearly selecting a candidate. We do so on the basis of religion, tribalism, ethnicity and hearsay. We do not follow the news on issues or follow through on evaluating the performance or lack thereof of candidates. We significantly discount history and make lifelong decisions on what we feel today. We depend more on our emotions than we do on evidence. If this is the plight of the majority of voters in Nigeria, then we are to be pitied amongst men for not seeking and leveraging knowledge and should be blamed for the things that do not work in this land. My vote, as an individual, is my right to make a selection for which of the alternatives I prefer. It is my affirmation of who I would like to lead me. More importantly, it is my prerogative to determine the things that should happen to me and my community in the coming years. If I do not cast my vote, I should not have the right to complain. When I cast my vote and the overall selection is not my choice, it does not mean that I wasted my time but that there are things that the collective see or know that I am not privy to or more that they should be educated about. I can choose to become an influencer, to use my voice to convince others of my opinion or to become the influenced, to switch opinions based on new evidence. However, I am part of the process and an important one at that too. Many have dreamed of an election cycle where candidates would hold debates and present themselves in their entirety. Attempts have been made in the past but no structure has been instituted to ensure that this is enshrined in the electoral process. Candidates must

Amidst the huge opportunity for growth, high returns on investment and positive socio-economic trends, one can scarcely forget the high cost associated with running businesses in Nigeria. Physical infrastructure is being improved around the country, but still remains inadequate for businesses to fully rely upon. Business protection is abysmal, the regulatory framework is uncertain and the risks of doing business are compounded by factors I will enumerate below. In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report of June 2013, Nigeria ranked 147th of 189 countries globally. Compare this to South Africa which ranked 41st and Ghana which ranked 67th over the same period. 

Nigeria is the only secular country in the world where the government regularly pays for her citizens to attend religious pilgrimages. In 2012, the Federal Government spent NGN766m on Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and NGN577m on the Jerusalem pilgrimage. In addition to direct funding, the Federal Government provides subsidy of approximately 10% on exchange rate to pilgrims. Furthermore, most State Governments in the country, except a few such as Kano State, which recently stopped, also fund pilgrimage operations annually. According to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Kano State abolished the funding of pilgrimage in 2011 and saved over NGN1billion in that year alone. Likewise, Niger State spent over NGN5.1billion in six years on Hajj pilgrimage only. Funding of pilgrimage is only one example of the decadence resulting from the meddling of government in religious affairs. 

In order to save the lives of those who had become infected with the deadly Ebola virus, the Nigerian government reached out to the United States of America to share its experimental drug, Zmapp. Zmapp was developed by the United States military and has thus far proven effective in the fight against the dreaded Ebola virus. Similarly, the Nigerian government reached out to the world and in particular, the United States for help in fighting insurgency and locating the missing Chibok girls. Whilst the girls are yet to be rescued, their location was established, and now, more targeted tactics can be deployed to rescuing them. A high incidence of cybercrime has been linked to Nigeria and once again, we remain dependent on the rest of the world for solutions. With the deepening of financial transactions through electronic channels, the evolution and cross-border spread of strange deadly diseases, increasing insurgency by Boko Haram and stiffening competition from Asian manufacturers; the need for significant increase in basic and applied local research cannot be overemphasized. 

It may appear strange to focus on service at a time when the nation is grappling with secession of territory to the Islamic caliphate of Boko Haram, a widening spread of the Ebola epidemic and unprecedented political shenanigans in the run-up to elections. However, it is my view that as each day unfolds with its own trouble, today is the best time to discuss service delivery and its linkage to economic development. The delivery of good personal service is not a function of economic, social or political challenges. It is a reflection of the value that we place on human interactions. I posit that service can be a tool for improving living standards and deepening international trade, which consequently hasten economic development. When one speaks of service quality, many people are inclined to immediately think about product service and most probably recall times that telephone network service quality was abysmal or other times when payment platforms such as POS have caused them some embarrassment. The discussion today will focus on personal service, which each of us has full control over and not product service, which may be dependent on factors such as technology. Every one of us gives and receives some level of service daily. We encounter at least one person and our interaction, whether verbal or non-verbal, creates a pattern of emotions which trigger reactions. Retailers in more developed countries have studied this interaction and reaction and found that service quality is extremely important and has a direct impact on the bottom line of their businesses. In the first stanza of our national anthem, there are two rallying calls within the four lines for Nigerians to serve. We are called to serve with love, strength and faith and again to serve with heart and might. Likewise, the national pledge in its third line calls us to serve Nigeria with all our strength. Despite the emphasis on service and the importance of it, many of us are guilty of giving and accepting poor service. Many people no longer have any expectation of getting good service. We are impolite to one another and trivialize impoliteness with the demons of local parlance ‘no vex’, ‘manage am’ and ‘e no matter.’ ‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ have become estranged from our vocabulary and where they exist, they are delivered with poor attitude and body language. Poor service is deeply rooted in our mentality. Many of us are loud, often argumentative, rude, quick to fight and ostentatious. We look down on others and assess people based on appearance before serving them. We keep choice seats for the wealthy, celebrate mediocrity and sing the praises of thieves. We believe that respect is one-directional i.e. from the lowly to the rich or from the young to the elderly. We associate being loud and rude with being in charge and see power as a tool for oppression rather than service. We seek the shortest route to achieve our objective and often blatantly jump queues and process, as well as, engage in illegal activities cause we think we are smarter than others. We fail to set good examples for our children and staff and therefore perpetuate a downward spiral of poor community behavior and bad service. In social interactions, it is common to pay a retailer and he/she has no change and will make no effort to find it. Many frontline officers do not know how to greet customers who approach them. Sales staff wear a scowl on their faces and often speak carelessly to prospective customers. Hairdressers and barbers ‘gist’ loudly over their customers heads and often watch television while delivering service. Many private sector firms have not

As the tenure of the current administration and most political leaders draws to a close, one is inclined to consider how heads of government have performed and whether such performance will have an impact on the forthcoming elections. In assessing achievements, many Nigerians have formed their opinion on the basis of newspaper adverts, social media campaigns and some propaganda. Others have had the privilege of visiting various communities over the years and can therefore attest to structural changes, good or bad, that have occurred over time. It is noteworthy that there is no country-wide unified measurement framework, to enable people determine the performance of their leaders vis- a-vis budgetary allocations, resources and opportunities. This absence of such a defined performance measurement framework leaves room for diverse interpretation of what is considered an achievement and gives leaders the latitude to tell their stories how they deem fit, or claim accomplishments where very little has been delivered.