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political growth.
Recent developments in
Nigeria have made a review of the health of the nation's economy rather
compelling.
The political leaders have always raised the people's hope by
painting glowing picture of their development plans and how to take the nation
to the ‘Promised Land' of true democracy and economic prosperity. They swore
that citizens' empowerment would become their top priority yet they refuse to
fix the infrastructure and institutions that would propel the economy and
create employment for the millions of graduates churn out by the educational
institutions yearly.
It is unarguably a
Herculean task to govern a society, and it becomes much more daunting in a
society such as Nigeria with an uncertain socio-political and economic
environment. The state of the society is, therefore, defined by the
ineffectiveness of the political leaders and poor social institutions that have
crippled the economy and pauperized the people. The myriad problems in the
society are exerting untold pressures on the people who have utilized every
opportunity to pour out their anger and frustration before any person who is
willing to listen.
The various facets of
these problems we face are however alarming and if not curbed, would result
into a catastrophic end which will not be a good leading example for Nigeria as
the foremost African point of interest and model. They are extensively
discussed below.
Good
quality education or ‘value education' that involves ‘educating for character',
good ‘moral values' and civic responsibility shape the character of nations. As
Lickona (October 1992) has noted ‘respect and responsibility are the two
foundational moral values' that a society should teach its citizens. Others
include honesty, fairness, tolerance,
prudence, self-discipline, helpfulness, compassion, cooperation, courage
(the virtues of Aristotle) among other democratic values. And ‘taking
responsibility for the things we do wrong as well as the things we do right' is
important for National development
(Lickona, id).
Though
there are inclusions of subject like Citizenship education, Part of the
problems facing Nigeria is that its educational institutions are not designed
for the modern socio-political upkeep. They lack the tools to produce good
quality graduates to manage the affairs of the nation. Majority of them (the
graduates/workers) lack the skills that drive human productivity. Increase in
productivity would enlarge the nation's economic pie and reduce
poverty and crime. The environment in which businesses or nations operate
determines the outcome of their activities. No nation would make any meaningful
socio-political stride without viable
educational institutions. In its 2010 report on ‘Doing Business in Nigeria
2010-Through Difficult Times', the World Bank ranked Nigeria 125 out of 182
economies surveyed in the Global Doing Business Report. The report also noted
that about 90 per cent of Nigerian businesses that operate in the informal
sector lack access to credit. And in its 2008 Review of World Development the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranked Nigeria 157 out of 177 in
Human Development Index; it was also among the ‘Least Livable' nations.
It
is not sugar-coated lips that matter in developing a nation socially and
politically, but leaders who are up and doing towards the stated utterance! The
leaders appear oblivious of the magnitude of the problems facing the economy.
Although some of the problems facing Nigeria today require common sense
solutions, others would involve sophisticated framework of ideas (debate, discussion
and decision making) and application of modern technologies. As Albert
Einstein has noted ‘the specific problems we face today cannot be solved
at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them' (cited in Dike,
February 1, 2000). For the economy to grow, and for businesses to thrive, the
institutions responsible for human capital development should be properly
funded, equipped and managed to enable them produce advanced skilled manpower
to manage the affairs of the nation.
Leadership Challenges: The leadership problem that has
confronted Nigeria since independence appears to be worsening because the state
of the polity is rapidly deteriorating. As noted earlier, very few of the
leaders, if any, work for ‘common good.' Over the years a wave reform programs
have been undertaken but the society lacks political leadership committed to
implement them to address the problems facing the economy. Thus leadership is a
responsibility.
A
nation’s growth begins with leaders, and if the leaders are not charitable, the
nation’s socio-political growth will be stunted. Leadership, among other
definitions, ‘is a process of getting things done through people'; it ‘means
responsibility'- having ‘passion for the purpose and the mission of the
organization' or society one leads (Northouse, 2007). But the leaders of
Nigeria appear good at prescribing solutions to economic problems without
providing the institutional framework to make it grow (Acemoglu, June 2003;
Dike, October–Dec, 2003; Edison, June 2003). And more often than not, their
policies are hastily put together and poorly executed. The political landscape is
littered with wreckage of unreasoned policies and those involved in such
activities appear to enjoy the nation's underdeveloped status (Dike,
July 22-28, 2006). The activities of the leaders shape the reality the nation
faces today because there is a glaring contradiction in their words and their
deeds. They fail to understand that performance is the only standard by which
leaders are judged. Nigeria's development rests with good leadership and
governance.
With
the gallery of corruption scandals, including contract inflation from
governmental establishments and corporate leadership, this writer thinks that
the struggle against corruption in Nigeria appears like trying to detain the
wind. Because of their insatiable appetite for material wealth and ostentatious
living the youths have the corrupt politicians as role models. For instance,
the erstwhile chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP), Vincent
Ogbulafor was forced to resign recently because of the mountain of fraud
charges against him (BusinessDay, May 15, 2010). Ogbulafor had earlier
challenged the society to prove the 16 count charges against him (Daily
Trust, May 11, 2010). The former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, was
arrested in Dubai recently (BusinessDay, May 14, 2010) on money
laundering charges; and Kenny Martin has about"$97.5m fraud" charge
hanging over his neck (Vanguard, May 20, 2010). It was also discovered
in recent times that over ‘N5bn' was allocated ‘to non-existent agency' in the
2010 budget (Nigerian Tribune, May 20, 2010).
The
other fatal damage being done is the advent of Political Parties without
Ideology: The multitude of political parties devoid of
discernible modern political ideologies is a part of the problems facing
Nigeria today. As a result, the politicians thrive on the people's ignorance.
In advanced economies and true democracies there are inherent ideological
‘wars' among political parties that drive democracy and economic development.
In such nations people of similar ideology congregate under a party, push their
agenda and build a strong democratic government. And in the process of selling
their ideologies (vision, values and beliefs) to the public political parties
help to shape the political culture of nations and promote development.
In
Nigeria, however, the politicians' shuttle from one party to another to achieve
their selfish purpose; and many of them would disappear into the thin air after
collecting their share of government grants. The nation's politics and
democracy suffer because the politicians are not directed by philosophy. The
politicians are thus obstacle to political and economic development as their
activities have negative impacts on the polity.
The other
unforgettable angle is the Social Structure and Value Systems. The
nation's social structure and skewed value system are among the problems facing
the polity. Social science literature has defined social structure as the way a
society is composed or organized, including the ‘social web of relations that
regulate human interaction' (Ferriss, May, 2006). The social structure of a
nation determines its economic system and wealth distribution patterns, legal
system and people's quality of life (id). And social and economic conditions in
a society determine the people's attitudes and their social values. However,
values are conceptions that guide the way individuals act and react to issues,
evaluate people and events, and explain their actions (Rohan, 2000; Rokeach,
1973; Schwartz, 1992). Also, values determine what people believe in (good or
bad). And values vary according to groups (religion, tribes, and ethnic
groups). A person's (or an organization's) values give one ‘structure and purpose'
as it help the individual (organization) determine what is important and
meaningful to him or her. Some people, however, believe that social structure
develop naturally, while others think that it is socially created by the elites
who seek to control the economic systems or institutional structure (Hoff,
2003).
On the whole and
to summarize this discussion, it should be noted that Nigeria's socio-political
challenges have remained perpetually unresolved; and this casts a glaring light
on the inadequacy or incompetency of the ‘home breed leadership. To address
these challenges Nigeria needs a viable
educational sector that can adopt progressive
social policies and values and tame bribery
and corruption, nepotism and tribalism and other obstacles to national
development.
What other ways do you think are responsible for the thwarted growth of Nigeria?
You can use the comment box below, let's hear your view.
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