Nigeria's been ranked third worst governed country in the world, WHY?

Nigeria has been ranked third-worst governed country in the world, according to a report published on Monday by the Chandler Good Governance Index (CGGI),

The ICIR takes a look at some of the reasons for the poor ranking.

The index rankings were based on seven pillars, which included: leadership and foresight, robust laws and policies, strong institutions, financial stewardship, attractive marketplace, global influence and reputation as well as helping people rise.

According to CGGI, the points ranged from zero to one, zero being the lowest and one the highest, Nigeria, which is the most populated African nation, did not score up to 0.50 in any of the indices.

Nigeria has more than 200 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) but it was ranked 0.19 in Strong Institutions. Lack of accountability and transparency, corruption and other negative vices have characterised government agencies.

The 2019  report of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federal (OAGF) had indicted several government agencies of non-remittance of revenue, illegal withdrawals as well as other disregards for financial rules.

In Leadership and Foresight, Nigeria scored 0.24, a reflection of how the country has been torn in ethnic crises and clashes while the government is unable to proffer a solution that would unite its over 200 million population.

President Muhammadu Buhari

Frank Umeh, a civil society leader based in Enugu, South-East Nigeria, explained that the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had been unable to show leadership in fighting insurgency and uniting a deeply divided nation.

Most of Buhari’s appointments have been one-sided, with the North occupying the majority of critical positions. The ICIR reported how the North occupies 60 per cent of NNPC senior positions.

Nobel Laurette Wole Soyinka has consistently complained that Buhari had not showed leadership in the face of farmer-herder crisis and other security threats.

The CGGI report also scored Nigeria 0.35 on Robust Laws & Policies. The ICIR had reported how several Nigerian laws had become obsolete, including those that were critical to the development of the country.

A team of consultants under the auspices of the Department for International Development (DFID) led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria Paul Idornigie had recommended to the 8^th Assembly that 54 Nigerian laws were obsolete and needed amendment, but no changes have been made hitherto.

Others are: Attractive Marketplace, 0.40; Global Influence & Reputation, 0.35; and Helping People Rise, 0.33.

According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) titled ‘2019 Poverty and Inequality in Nigeria,’ 40 per cent of the total population, or almost 83 million people, lived below the poverty line.

On Financial Stewardship, Nigeria was scored only 0.37. The country has spent billions on financially unsustainable projects, including the just awarded $1.5 billion on the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) which has recorded several years of losses.

Attractive Marketplace – Nigeria scores 0.40

The report scored Nigeria 0.40 in having an attractive market place. The ICIR had reported that the United States online retail company Amazon and a social media giant Twitter ignored Nigeria in locating their African headquarters.

Amazon had concluded its plans to locate its African headquarters in South Africa while Twitter has headed for Ghana, leaving out Nigeria – the most populous concentration of Black people in the world.

Truworths and Shoprite, two South African retailers, have also exited Nigeria.

With the ranking, countries like Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mozambique are better governed than Nigeria.

CONSIDER THIS...

 I was just watching an Italian movie titled “Gomorrah” and something struck me about money. Money is good and essential to having a good standard life but do you know there is a limitation to what money can achieve? All that money can build for you is a material world.

With money, you can afford to keep people around you but you can not buy their love and loyalty, you can buy an expensive house but you can’t buy a home, you can buy the most beautiful clock but you can not buy time, you can get the most comfortable bed but you can not buy sleep, you can buy various food but you can not buy appetite, you can afford to get the best doctor but can not buy good health, you can even buy insurance but you can not buy safety.

 

So, you can see that having money alone does not give you all things? Where is your sense of humanity? Beyond what money can buy for you, you love, faith and loyalty can get you more. Think about these things…

“Amukun eru e wo, oke le nwo…e o wo isale”.

The Yorubas have a saying that goes thus: “Amukun eru e wo, oke le nwo…e o wo isale”.

Literal Translation: A shout out to a K-legged person carrying a load on his head that the load is bent, he replies back by saying you are focusing at the top alone and neglect the below

Contextual Translation: A distorted state of affairs can often be traced to an equally distorted foundation on which the affairs are being conducted”.

This is the state of the people of Nigeria clamouring for the division of the country from submissions that a particular sect out of many are actually the cause of the set back in the development of the country. To begin with, where do I stand as a person? Do I also long for the division of the country? My response to that is a strong YES. I strongly believe that the division of the country is a step forward to accessing the liberation and good life that the citizens of a good nation deserve. But I also believe that the division in itself alone can not take us anywhere progressive as most people present it when they talk. So, what is the way forward? 

That is where that adage becomes relevant and sends us all to fall back to dealing with our problems from the root foundation and stop addressing it from the top. I will be so particular about the Yorubas, to whom I belong to, in this write up.It is an error to state that the Hausas and the Fulanis are the only problem of the current Nigeria. Of Course they constitute a great deal but come to think of this;

    *Are the Hausas and Fulanis the ones ruling in all the 774 local governments in Nigeria?

    *Are the south-west governors from the Hausa or Fulani tribe?

    *Are all the south-west Senators and House of Representative members from the Hausa Fulani tribe as well?

    *Are all the south-west members of  House of Assemblies from the Hausa or Fulani tribe?

    *Are the Hausas the ones stealing our collective money and allocations given to each state?

    *Are Hausas the ones refusing to build our roads, schools and hospitals in the south-west region even though the Federal Government has awarded the contracts to our own people?

    *Are the Hausas the ones robbing people in Yoruba land and grabbing lands?

    * Are the Hausas the ones littering our streets and blocking our drainages in the south-west?

    *Are they our Local government Chairmen, Councillors, Kings and Obas?

My submission is this, while we agitate for seceding from the current Nigeria, can we start planning for structuring a better nation from the foundation. "ina esisi ko ni jo wa lemeji o" Omo Yoruba ronu oooo.

WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?

The question of identity is very vital in fulfilling our God giving purpose in life. For Jacob, he almost missed it, save God's grace that pulled him through. We must all come to a point at which our identity perspective of ourselves must align with who God says we are before lands begin to break for our course.

WHERE IS YOUR FATHER’S HOUSE?

 “…in my father’s house…” such was the phrase proceeding out of a prodigal boy’s mouth, having just realized that he was a fool but I say, he was a compound fool. “For he who does not know and knows not that he does not know is a compound fool”. He was at his father’s house where there was provision for all; thereby made him to own it all. Little did he know the wealth of knowledge in the house for him to learn from, so, he decided to acquire his own portion of inheritance from his father and left for a strange city where he changed level from owning it all to losing it all before coming back to his senses.

Come along with me as we explore what a great deal of wisdom and knowledge awaited him to suck up into himself from the house but instead, he made off from them all for frivolities of life.

The very first thing to note is the fact that in the father’s house, there are rights, privileges and responsibilities for him as a son. His eyes were only on the rights and privileges and not on the responsibilities. He had the privilege to demand for his rights and also to either fulfill or neglect his responsibilities, so, he made his choice. But it will amaze you to discover that it was in his responsibilities as a son rested the procedural steps to develop and make him fit, capable and ready to handle judiciously his inheritance to continuously multiply maximally. How foolish he was. If only he had known earlier, he wouldn’t had taken such a stupid step which only when retraced could earn him just the upkeep till his father passed on. So, here comes the question for you, “where is your father’s house?”  Is it your office, rented apartment, classroom, parent’s house, or the business you are managing for someone else? Whatever platform it is, know that there are privileges, rights and responsibilities therein for you but focus more on carrying out your responsibilities well enough for that is your making and building platform for your own future fulfillment. Remember Joseph going through the enmity in his father’s house, serving his foreign master and living in the prison. In it all, he was hopeful and cheerfully discharging his mandated duties, in that way, getting his heart cultured not to hold offense against anyone for they were only tools to shaping him as an instrument in God’s hand for an appointed time. That was why he could say to his brothers at the end that, “…fear not: for am I in the place of God?  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive…” What a correct and perfect state of heart?