By Rukayat Moisemhe

Prof. Attahiru Jega, former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has called for the nurturing and entrenchment of good democratic governance to catalyse economic recovery.

This, he said, would help achieve public goals beneficial to the citizens and place Nigeria on a sustainable trajectory of people-oriented development.

Jega made the call at the 2024 Annual Directors Conference by the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference had as its theme: “Good Governance as a Catalyst for Economic Recovery, Growth, and Development.”

He said that governance was a central feature and indeed, the essential pillar and pivot of all modern nation states.

Jega, however, noted that Nigeria, currently has a crisis of governance at all levels.

He said that processes, structures and institutions of governance were essentially weak, or had virtually collapsed, with regrettable consequences on desirable economic growth and socioeconomic development.

He stated that what Nigeria needed was not good governance but good democratic governance.

This, he said, was because good democratic governance was the panacea for national socioeconomic growth and development and human security in countries that are democracies or aspire to be so, such as Nigeria.

“Over the years, the legitimacy of the state has been vigorously contested on grounds of its inefficiency and lack of competence and especially failure to protect and defend their fundamental rights, and to meet their needs and aspirations.

“Consequently, citizens are, on their part, becoming indifferent to political participation and constructive engagement in the governance processes, even losing hope in democratisation and governance processes, which is even more worrisome.

“Nigeria’s elected leaders and representatives need to appropriately recognise and take into consideration recommendations in the striving to cure endemic bad governance,” he said.

Jega stressed the need for the country in providing good quality leadership to predicate it on knowledge, experience, competence, integrity, vision, and selflessness.

He called for transparency and accountability in policies and decision-making processes to engender trust for government among citizens.

Jega said respect for and compliance with rule of law was required to mitigate excessive impunity and executive lawlessness, which was pervasive at all levels of governance.

He added that efficiency and effectiveness in the management of public resources could go a long way to free resources for prioritisation of citizen’s welfare and social justice.

He also called for participation of citizens in discussing what affects them, based on deliberate inclusivity to drive trust and generate additional ideas and perspectives.

“As colonially created African nation-states, countries such as Nigeria have as desirable objectives both democratic development, nation building and socioeconomic development; and have tried to pursue these.

“But, the evident inadequacies of governance and its weaknesses in forging an overarching national identity, amidst a multiplicity of primordial identities, have been obstructive to stable economic growth and socioeconomic development.

“In a transitional democracy, such as Nigeria’s, whatever else governance could be, it must have a democratic content: it must be participatory, with bottom-up processes and it must have inclusivity.

“That is why it is better to focus on good democratic governance, rather than just good governance as conceptualised and promoted,” he said.

Jega posited that for Nigeria to develop as expected, it required visionary, patriotic and people-oriented leaders.

He added that the country needed those with the capacity, competence and ability to appreciate and manage the complexity of its diversity, on the basis of equity, equality of opportunity, fair-play and the rule of law.

He urged citizens to, in spite of the mounting and demoralising challenges, keep hope in Nigeria alive and participate in the struggles to nurture and entrench good democratic governance.

NAN also reports that Jega was presented with the Anofi Guobadia Award for Excellence and Leadership at the event.(NAN)

Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma