State Administration and Acrimonious Party Politics

By

Victor E. Dike

vdike@cwnet.com

 

 

Every complex administrative system, such as a federal government, is divided into smaller administrative units for effective management and delivery of public services at lowest possible cost to the citizenry. One of the reasons for the creation of state and local governments in Nigeria is for effective and efficient management of public institutions at the grassroots. But this noble objective has been defeated because of acrimonious party politics that hampers effective state administration.

 

Nigeria could become a progressive society of envy and emulation if the leaders are concerned about the people’s welfare. Because of the structure of Nigeria’s politics and the nature of relationship between political and social institutions and the citizens, the manner with which the people acquire leadership position is not ideal. Most of the leaders are not properly groomed for leadership. And the majority of Nigerians do not “vote” because they believe that the candidates will change the condition of things in the society but for partisanship and personal benefits.

 

After years of political violence and politics of the dead center Nigerians were expecting a new political momentum and a paradigm shift with the new administration but the present malaise in national political leadership has also infected state administration. And after imposing on the society the disputed leadership that emerged from the flawed elections, the present administration assumed a stature of “illegitimacy.” It has been noted that the effectiveness and stability of any government is determined by its legitimacy in the eyes of the people. Although Nigeria has a long history of electoral frauds at the federal, state and local levels, no administration in recent memory was inaugurated with very little public support.

 

Nigeria’s politics has been, and remains dominated by crooks whose stock in trade is corruption; and that is one of the reasons for Nigeria’s wasteful and ineffective governance and acrimonious party politics. For these crooks and their political parties a state could better be destroyed if they are out of political power. It has been business as usual in state administration in spite of all the fantastic campaign promises. With the grim economic and social conditions in the society there is nothing to celebrate after 100 days in office by the new administration.

 

The cast of characters in state politics seem to lack the moral purpose to affect the needed change in the grassroots. There has been no major shift in the nation’s political atmosphere; many of them do not understand the purpose of leadership and politics. Consequently, daily life in the grassroots has been harsh and brutish because like the previous corrupt governors and local government administrators the officials are working for their personal interest. However, because of Nigeria’s acrimonious party politics and corruption their monthly allocations are not being properly utilized.

 

Many working class families still find it difficult to make ends meet because many of the state governors who started out with exciting, but vague promises on how to address the myriad accumulated problems are yet to meet their promises. Corruption and acrimonious party politics do not permit Nigeria’s political leaders to make responsible choices and addressing enduring domestic issues.

 

State and local governments are the bedrock of corruption in Nigeria and that impact negatively on the economy and the people’s living conditions. Most of the State Assemblies are yet to settle down for business because they are playing crude politics in the states across the country. Uncertainty and desperation still mark the lives of most people as there are no meaningful development programs going on in the states. And the administration at the center has been vacillating on policies with the usual echoes of bribery and corruption and disgraceful fist fights (and not good policymaking) in the National Assembly.

 

The grassroots are supposed to be the engines of national development but most of the state governors are not committed to the development of the areas under their jurisdiction. At least in principle state and local governments perform important functions including maintaining local law and order, providing basic sanitation and health services, constructing and maintaining local roads, supplying water, electricity and other utilities, administering local schools, and providing employment for the constituencies and managing the local economy, etc. One would venture to say that some of them lack the skills and knowledge to perform their duties.  It takes good leadership and functional political and social institutions to achieve sustainable economic development. Nigeria’s leaders are nothing but “lootocrats”; corruption is making a mockery of Nigeria’s political democracy. Many of the political leaders are phony; they do not say what they mean and mean what they say!

 

In advanced democracies the people pay less attention to national politics and concentrates on grassroots politics that affect their daily lives. But in Nigeria all eyes are on Abuja where money appears to grow on top of trees for the sycophants. Partisan politics, and not ideology, determines program choices and activities.

 

Acrimonious partisan politics hampers reasoned policy formulation and implementation. For one it has delayed local government elections where the “unconstitutional caretaker committees” are looting the councils across the land. Crude politics and the unending political wars, which lead to unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks, prevent the administrators from providing the resources necessary for economic growth and development. Thus, the people’s poor living conditions are a reflection of bad policymaking and governance.

 

What determines the viability of a state and its economy is not the political party that rules the state, but the philosophy and moral purpose of the staff and managerial expertise of those who pilot the affairs of the state. State administrators should look beyond party politics after the flawed elections and change their nature of doing business without which the people will continue to suffer.

 

Nigeria is yet to escape the endless cycle of political assassination. People are still being haunted, maimed or assassinated in Nigeria because of their party affiliation. There are other politically motivated criminal activities such as the rampant kidnapping of the relatives of politicians for money. Intolerance of opposing views shows that the political leaders are yet to cultivate the democratic cultures, among which is tolerance of opposing political views. Although opposition should be encouraged, it should not constitute an obstacle to good policy formulation and implementation. Everyone should be guaranteed equality of opportunity irrespective of their party affiliation; the people suffer where there is negative political influence in state administration.

 

To improve the local economy state administrators should provide the institutional structures to make it possible and give proper attention to the professionals that have the skills and knowledge to work for public interest. The benefits of democracy are seriously lacking in areas where the administrators give too much attention to the sycophants who perceive political office as a reward to be taken advantage of and not for public responsibility. And to launder their “bad image” and help Nigeria’s democracy succeed state governors should change the way they perform their duties. They should establish viable employment programs to engage the army of unemployed youths in the states. It has been noted that how well a state performs economically, politically and socially depends on the creativity, innovative ideas and visions of the local administrators. Nigeria will develop only when the states are managed by those who are not committed to the development of their jurisdiction.

 

There are business opportunities in the states but most of them lack the requisite infrastructure to attract and retain entrepreneurs and investors. A state governor (or a local administrator) should understand the conditions necessary to develop an area. Like a business manager who determines what should be produced they determine local policies and the pace of development. But to develop and implement reasoned socioeconomic policies, a leader must possess the skills and knowledge and the necessary institutional structures because economic growth and development do not happen in a vacuum. The administrators should effectively manage state resources and eschew acrimonious party politics.

 

To attract new investment the states should have basic social infrastructure and environment conducive for business and human habitation. For this to be possible the state assemblies should make good and enforceable laws and make property owners to build and maintain access roads to their properties because there are no good access roads to the many million-dollar residential and commercial buildings across Nigeria.

 

The states need financial resources for development purposes but Nigeria’s skewed federalism is a clog in the wheel. Nigeria should restructure into a true federal state to enable the states manage resources in their jurisdiction. They should also device effective methods of raising funds (e.g., through property tax, business and personal tax, etc). The federal government should ensure that monthly allocations to state and local governments are being properly utilized. It should provide annual grants to states and communities for development purposes. And banks should provide low interest loans to serious individuals and businesses to enable them invest in economically distressed states and communities.

 

The grassroots should be managed by leaders with moral purpose because Nigeria cannot develop when “thieves” are allowed to manage the affairs of the states. The administrators should change and adopt a new attitude to governance-to serve the people instead of themselves. In other words, they should direct the flow of political events to foster economic growth and improve the people’s living conditions; Nigerians need security and justice. Therefore, rule of law must be allowed to prevail because it is the pillar of good governance and democracy. Without rule of law there will be no peace, security, stability and sustainable development. The judiciary should therefore be truly independent and allowed to function without undue political influence so as to prosecute the “powerful political thieves” who have looted the state treasury without unnecessary interference from party politics. However, only true democrats and leaders with moral purpose could transform Nigeria’s acrimonious party politics into one that could nurture democratic norms and values and train dynamic leaders for effective state administration.

 

Victor E. Dike is the author of Leadership without Moral Purpose: A Study of the Obasanjo Administration, 2003-2007 (forthcoming)