Politics
NIGERIA’s poor rating in corruption perception index and other indicators of public probity is a cause for concern, according to Sam Amadi, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission(NERC.) He added that Nigeria is also very poor in the rating of state effectiveness.
He made the remarks as the Guest Speaker at the 6th Annual Lecture of Just Friends Club of Nigeria (JFCN) which held November 5, in Abuja.The topic of Amadi’s lecture was “High Cost of Governance as an Impediment to Development.”
The lecture which was chaired by Olorogun Peter Igho, a former Executive Director (Programmes) of Nigerian Television Authority(NTA) and former Director General of National Lottery Regulatory Commission.
Despite having an array of well educated and nurtured people, the expectation is that Nigeria will be suffused with a high degree of ethics and competence in corporate and public leadership to Amadi, Nigeria faces an acute crisis of values which reflects in the gross lack of productivity in both its private and public sector.
“As a world leading producer of oil, we ought to be richer than we are. But we know that the wealth of nations does not come mostly from natural resources. Countries like Singapore and South Korea are not so much naturally endowed. In fact, they are geographically constrained in many ways. But Nigeria won the geographical lottery in many ways. Yet are in many ways victim of Dutch Disease. Natural resources have not translated into wealth.
They have mostly turned into a curse,” Amadi lamented.
“Natural resources in themselves are not a curse. They are a blessing. But a blessing that call for more work to turn them into lasting benefit to the people. Some of the Scandinavian countries are endowed with oil like Nigeria. They turned theirs into a blessing through smart policies and management. For them, oil resources have lubricated national innovation system that has made them high income economies. Examples are Norway and Finland.”
Amadi, who is currently the Director of Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, remarked that Nigeria’s travail is partly the lack of good leadership that can mobilize citizens toward a virtuous path of productivity. He added that such leadership is often described as transformative or redefining.
He noted that currently, Nigeria has a low-quality public education and a dysfunctional public service structure that weaken the capacity of the Nigerian state to deliver development.
Said he: “Capacity is an important ingredient of development. With low capacity a country may not be able to generate good policies and effectively implement them. Lessons from successful Asian countries underline the importance of state capacity. These countries succeeded because they have capacity to design good policies and implement them with coherence and effectiveness.”
In his welcome remarks, Fred Ohwahwa, the President of JFCN, said the topic was germane for the present time. “From whatever angle you look at it, Nigeria is an apology to its vibrant citizens, the African continent, and the Black race. We are far behind in virtually all metrics of development. And this is in spite of abundant human and material resources the country is blessed with,” he stated.
He added: “Our infrastructural deficit is scandalous; our education, health and other sectors are begging for quality intervention. This unfortunate state of affairs is partly attributable to the high cost of governance. And this is at all levels of government. The time has come for us as nation to review our system of governance with a view to making the people the primary purpose of government.”
The panelists were Ahmed Adamu, an associate professor and a petroleum economist at Nile University, Abuja; Mr. Abdulhakeem U. Mustapha, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) and former member, Legal Committee of the National Council on Privatisation; and Felix Oisamoje, an adjunct Senior Lecturer of Mass Communications at Bingham University, Keffi.
JFCN is a socio-cultural organisation that fosters and encourages the spirit of oneness, companionship and comradeship amongst members and between the club and other friendly associations. The club is also involved in recreation, sports and engages in acts of philanthropy in favour of the needy members of the society at large. Its members are professionals in engineering, communication, accounting, business, legal and other sectors of the economy.
A.I
Nov. 6, 2024
Tags: Sam Amadi
