The imperative of good governance: Nigeria in a global comparative perspective

Being keynote address delivered at the 14th Distinguished Chief Emeka Anyaoku Annual Lecture Series held in Enugu on April 29, 2025.

 

Protocols

IT is not often that I find myself feeling overwhelmed by an occasion but I have to confess upfront that I am filled with positive emotions today to be in your presence at this august gathering holding in the historic city of Enugu. There are many thoughts facing through my mind as I speak. There is, of course, to start with, the heart-warming and effusive hospitality that has been extended to me since my arrival in the Coal City, for which many thanks to His Excellency, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, the pace-setting and game-changing Governor of Enugu State and our chief host. Your Excellency, Daalu. 

There is also the immense joy of reunion with many old friends, associates, and colleagues who have turned out to participate in this 14th annual lecture. Among this distinguished category of people, kindly allow me to single out for appreciation, the Chairman of this lecture, the highly esteemed – and, I might add, ageless – General Ike Sanda Nwachukwu, Officer, administrator, gentleman, and pan-Nigerianist par excellence. Mr. Chairman, I salute you. 

The overflow of emotions I feel is particularly centred on the titan of a person we are gathered here to celebrate through the lecture series instituted in his name, the incomparable Chief Emeka Anyaoku, GCON. First class administrator, erudite diplomat, former federal minister, third Secretary General of the Commonwealth and first African elected to the exalted office, worthy ambassador of the black race, celebrated panAfricanist fondly remembered for his work in continental liberation, fighter for national unity and justice, elder statesmen, grounded community leader, a man of character, courage, and unimpeachable integrity. 

I could easily go on and on outlining what most of us in this audience already know to one degree or another that in Chief Anyaoku, we were gifted with a leader who has been a constant and abiding source of inspiration for his peers and at least three generations of Nigerians and people around the world on account of the dignified integrity which he lives and exudes. You can, therefore, understand why when the leadership of Youth Affairs International Foundation (YASIF) invited me to deliver the 14th annual lecture, I instantly accepted it as a mark of the immense respect I have for Chief Anyaoku and as a call to national duty, in the footsteps of a man who has devoted his life, right to this day in his 90s, to the service of country, continent, humanity, and God. Chief Anyaoku, please accept my respects and fraternal greetings. 

The topic that has been selected as the recurrent theme for the annual lecture series, namely on the imperative of good governance in Nigeria, couldn’t be more fitting and timely. It is fitting because it is a subject to which Chief Anyaoku devoted the greater part of his career and his public service and community engagements after he retired formally from office.  It is timely because around the world, amidst what scholars have described as a situation of polycrisis – the intersection of multiple crisis at the same time- we are living witnesses to unprecedented governance and leadership challenges that seem to presage the end of an epoch in world affairs. 

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the crisis of governance and leadership playing out around the world has been a source of intense and multiple discussions. From gatherings of international political and business leaders to meetings of diplomats, scholars, and civil society leaders, the crisis has been the one topic that has, for various reasons, commanded attention nationally, regionally, and globally. If, initially, there were disputes as to whether there was a crisis in the making at all, recent events particularly in the global North have settled the disagreements as we have witnessed many things which would have once been considered unimaginable playing out in the political systems of the advanced countries. 

From open disagreements over election results, the violent contestation of polling outcomes, and the collapse of electoral integrity to the erosion of judicial independence, chaotic eruptions in legislative houses, and riotous street protests underwritten by an alien rated and irate youth, the world has been exposed to scenes of political instability and decline that were once thought to be the exclusive preserve of the countries of the global South, and the typical characteristics of generalised underdevelopment. These developments have come against a backdrop of the decline in party politics, the fragmentation of political society, deep social cleavages, the collapse of a post-1945 elite consensus in the West, an intensified voter apathy as the state-society social contract constructed after the Second World War slided into atrophy, egregious abuses of power and office by public servants and elected officials, the disproportionate influence of money, including criminal funds, in politics, etc. 

The crisis of governance and leadership that has played out in the global North over the years has manifested in and led to the rise of an extremist populism that is at once an expression of widespread dissatisfaction with the exercise of power by elected officials, deep-seated disdain for practice of politics by the elite, and a marker of the growing politics of anti-politics with a distinct anti-democratic flavour to it. The breakdown of trust has spilled over into the streets of almost all of the countries once qualified as “mature” democracies. In the face of citizen discontent, some of the countries have experienced rapid and frequent turnover of governmental and party leaders. Unusual coalitions among strange ideological bed fellows have also had to forged in order to keep government running. Negotiating such coalitions have taken the countries into uncharted territory and saddled them with caretaker administrations for months. 

Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, in the face of the crisis of governance and leadership that had become undeniable in the global North, scholars competed among themselves to find the best characterisation of what was unfolding. Some spoke about a democratic regression, others preferred to talk about a democratic decline, while others suggested that it was a case of backsliding or a recession. Whatever characterisation they opted for, there is unanimity among them that the governance centre is clearly no longer holding in the way expected. Arguments are rife as to what has led to this crisis situation, especially so soon after the celebration of the triumph of the liberal order – and the end of history – following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of its ideological bloc. 

Some of the observers of the political trends in the global North looked inward to find explanations for the worsening problems of governance bedeviling their countries. From the adoption of prolonged austerity policies designed to tame inflation but which carried collateral consequences in growing unemployment, eroding social policy, declining public services, resurgent poverty, and rising inequality to the decline of ethical conduct among public office holders, outdated institutional arrangements that no longer reflect the will of the populace, and the alienating effect of money politics, dysfunction and dislocation in the political system were allowed to fester until they produced the crisis that is ongoing. 

For other observers, attention was focused on what they considered as deliberate and calculated external interference in the domestic political processes of the countries of the global North. Allegations of interference from such perceived adversaries of the West such Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have been made by various sources, official and unofficial, especially at election time. The claim is that the erosion and even outright dismantling of democratic order in the West is part of a grand strategy to consolidate the authoritarian political systems operated by its detractors and competitors. 

Whatever the explanation of the roots of the crisis of governance bedeviling the countries of the global North, two things are clear. The first is that the crisis has also dovetailed with a moment in world history when the post-1945 global order established under Western hegemony generally and US dominance in particular is giving way to a multipolar world in which re-emergent China, India, and Russia are key players alongside a sleuth of assertive middle powers like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. A new world order is in the making at a time when political systems are also in need of an urgent and a radical remake. It is a season of unpredictability, instability, and insecurity in many polities and in the politics among nations. 

The second aspect of the crisis that stands out clearly is the fact that it has been refracted beyond the global North into the countries of the global South in varying degrees. The implication is that the celebrated third wave of global democratisation which when it was propounded also gave the impression of the end of history and an inexorable march around the world towards liberal democracy as the only viable and sustainable form of administering public affairs did not endure as might have been expected. True, during the decade of the 1990s, domestic pressures had gathered momentum for the opening up of the political space in many of the countries of the global South as old authoritarian systems, military and civilian, ran their course and began to collapse. 

In Africa, that period also witnessed investments in institutional reforms that came under the broad rubric of good governance programmes supported by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and various bilateral donor agencies, with emphasis on the promotion of transparency, media freedoms, judicial independence, the rule of law, and public accountability. At the same time, a political conditionality was applied by donors through which governance reforms, including the abandonment of political monopoly and encouragement of electoral pluralism, were made prerequisites for continued development assistance. 

The combination of the internal and external factors at play led to the return by most African countries to competitive politics. The 1990s into the new millennium were years dominated by a rebirth of multiparty activities and a raft of constitutional reform processes that entailed, among others, the widespread adoption of the limitation of the terms of office for elected officials, especially Presidents. Such were the high hopes generated by the rebirth of electoral pluralism after decades of authoritarian single party and military rule across Africa that some commentators gleefully proclaimed the arrival of Africa’s “second liberation”. If the first liberation was from the clutches of colonial rule, the second liberation, according to its proponents, was from the grips of strongman dictatorships. 

To be sure, several developments in the course of the 1990s gave reason for us to pay some attention to the thesis about the second liberation. Long-standing authoritarian rulers in different countries saw their power severely eroded and several fell in the face of the power of the people united in a determined and highly public demand for change from ancient regimes that had become a liability to citizens and country. The political space was opened up as multiparty politics once again flourished. Electoral rules were rewritten to allow for as much of a level playing field aiming competing parties as possible; not a few long-ruling incumbents were defeated. An efflorescence of associational life was witnessed across the continent. 

The alternation of power from one regime to the other, and, in some cases, between ruling and opposition parties, also became routine in countries such as Benin, Ghana, Zambia, Senegal, and Cabo Verde, to cite some of the leading examples. Observers celebrated the fact that the African continent seemed to have entered an era in which power could only be obtained legitimately from the ballot box – and, therefore, the will of the sovereign people – and no longer by the barrel of a gun – and the whims of a small coterie of self-appointed conspirators. The fundamental human rights of the people and their civil liberties were enshrined in constitutional provisions which also provided guardrails for the independence of the judiciary, election management bodies, and the media. 

Political reforms at the national level were followed and reinforced by the expansion of international, regional, and national election observer missions. His Excellency Chief Anyaoku as Commonwealth Secretary General played a frontline role in enabling the investments that were made in the quest for the enhancement of electoral integrity, among other components of good governance. Remarkably, and in what was a global first, the African Union, itself a product of the transitions of the 1990s, adopted a charter against unconstitutional changes of government, established an African Peer Review Mechanism whose Eminent Persons Group I had the honour of chairing, and committed itself to an Agenda 2063 for an Africa at peace with itself in its march towards a continental renaissance. 

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I have taken some time to review the transitions that we witnessed across Africa during the period from the early 1990s onwards in order to establish what was the guiding framework that informed them. That framework was premised on the thinking that the political authoritarianism that prevailed on the continent in the lead-up to the 1990s and the scandalous underperformance by the countries of the region of their full potential needed as a matter of urgency to be tackled. In doing so, there was a widespread consensus that Africa had not been well served by decades of the post-independence authoritarianism that overtook most countries. If anything, its socio-economic progress had been held back by a political order that that left a legacy of violence, instability, and disorder. The recipe: good governance.

All through the 1990s into the new millennium, various indicators seemed to suggest that Africa was consolidating its march to good governance anchored on a system of electoral pluralism. However, for all the successes registered in the early years, there were also reasons for concern. For one, competitive politics was unfolded in a context that was largely characterised by widespread poverty, rising inequality, growing unemployment, especially among the youth, persistent illiteracy, and expanding informalisation. There was a legitimate expectation that the rebirth of electoral pluralism and the good governance accompanying it would contribute in a credible manner to overcoming these structural problems. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.

At another level, it was soon obvious that while good governance was, at its best, key to the alternation of power that took place through the ballot box, it didn’t necessarily contribute to the diversification of the socio-economic policy direction in most African countries. In fact, what emerged is that regardless of which party, leader, or government was voted into power, and no matter the campaign promises that were made, policy remained essentially the same, derived from the same unchanging orthodox prescriptions of the international financial institutions that continue to dominate the framework and content of fiscal, monetary, and social measures based on their neoliberal vision of the world. The consequence was that power alternation failed to deliver substantive policy shifts and simply came across as an elite game of musical chairs in which plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. Not surprising, the voting citizenry became increasingly apathetic and cynical about governance under elected politicians. 

Furthermore, with the passage of time, even the early gains of the 1990s in electoral integrity, judicial independence, and constitutionalism began in the course of the new millennium to be eroded. In evidence, disputes over the electoral process and outcome became frequent, political violence preceded and followed most elections, the integrity and authority of election management bodies and judicial institutions were deliberately undermined, and limitations on presidential terms were abandoned in many countries. On top of this, there was the increasing role of money in African politics even as corruption became the order of the day in political society. By the end of 2020, some thirty years after the onset of the “second liberation”, elected government began to breakdown as military coups started to rear their head again – to popular acclaim in the affected countries where disaffected youth openly celebrated the fall of elected civilian administrations. 

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the overall picture I have painted of the trajectory of contemporary African governance has been played out in full measure in our own country, Nigeria. The transition to the Fourth Republic in 1999 marked a return to elected civilian government. Since then, we have successfully sustained elected admirations for just over a quarter of a century. That in itself is a record worth noting, marking the longest unbroken spell of elected government in the country since independence in 1960. That period has produced civilian-to-civilian successions, the alternation of power between the ruling and opposition parties, and the occasional display of high statesmanship through, for example, losing candidates gallantly congratulating winners if only for the sake of the peace and stability of the nation. 

There are also good reasons to celebrate the continued vibrancy of the Nigerian media and civil society as key monitors and drivers of good governance through the diverse interventions they make, however unevenly and episodically. And although the system of checks and balances envisaged in the 1999 constitution may not be functioning as effectively as envisaged, there has been no shortage of actors and institutions operating in various centres of power and influence across the country to try to fill the accountability gap from time to time. I must also note that beyond the federal level, we have witnessed some stellar performances by political leaders at the sub-national level, providing a glimpse of what a functioning government can deliver to the citizenry. 

However, few will doubt that much more has been expected by Nigerians from the experience of elected government to date. Quite apart from the structural problems of poverty, inequality, and unemployment that are, as earlier noted, common to all African countries and are present in abundance in Nigeria, there are such challenges as a multifaceted insecurity at the centre of which are various long-running insurgencies, a breakdown of trust in political leaders and institutions, an absence of elite consensus even on some of the most basic issues of nationhood and national development, a broken social contract, a highly fragmented political society, dysfunctional public utilities that have compounded the crisis of governance that is facing the Nigerian project, and a civil service that that is in search of a lost glory.  

In the face of the crisis of governance that the country has been grappling with, it is regrettable to note that there has been a paucity of visionary and pan-Nigerianist leadership at all levels to offer credible options for a rebirth. The consequence has been a loss of faith in the project of nation and state building, and the work of development that needs to be carried out. Narrow and irredentist ethno-regional and religious identities have witnessed a rebound alongside separatist agitations. The sheer amount of violence and killings that are registered on a regular basis across the country call into question that capacity of the state to secure the lives and properties of citizens even as the bulk of the populace are confronted with an historic decline in living standards. 

I am not in any way exaggerating the challenges we face as a country and a people. Indeed, some might even feel that I have been rather mild in my summary of the governance situation in which we find ourselves. Well, you will understand: I am a diplomat!!! And I am comforted by the fact that everyone here today, and across the length and breadth of our country, rich and poor, young and old, and male and female

has a first-hand experience and a personal perspective about what the problems ailing us. 

Excellencies, more seriously and to the point, the challenges that have clouded and overwhelmed our achievements since 1999 point to the urgent necessity for us as a people to take a step back and rethink our system of governance in order to achieve a much needed national reset. In doing so, several action points have become an imperative if we are to enjoy the full benefits of good governance over a sustained period of time. Some of these imperatives are being actively debated in the country already, but I am happy to share a few of them here for reflection and debate as I gradually conclude my presentation. These imperatives serve as the key takeaways which I would humbly love to leave with you. They include: 

• A leadership recruitment process that foregrounds and rewards the visionary, the pan-Nigerian patriotic, the public and service-spirited, the self-respecting and dignified, and the self-effacing.
• A conscious and concerted retooling of the state as a guarantor of security, unity, and the ideals of equal citizenship, with a particular focus on the civil service, social services, and the security services.
• A new social bargain between the state and society anchored on the free and equal enjoyment of all rights by Nigerians irrespective of their place of birth, site of labour, or place of residence.
• The fashioning out of a new elite consensus that is grounded in the idea of a national developmentalist community whose commitment to the structural transformation of the economy and society will serve as the starting point for the organisation of politics, the exercise of power, and the evaluation of performance.
• A radical restructuring of the Nigerian federal arrangement with a view to significantly devolving power to the people at the community level where most exercise their livelihoods. This calls for a more comprehensive attention to the country’s local government system, as part of a bold effort at promoting a new bottom-up approach to governance, development, participation, and security.
• A complete overhaul of political parties as key actors in any governance system in order to ensure that become much more effective in playing their role in leadership recruitment and succession as against simply functioning as disposable special purpose vehicles for winning power. The rules about party formation and functioning, candidate screening and selection, and internal accountability and democracy, and the facilitation of active membership, will deserve to be revisited alongside a much more vigorous effort at taming the influence of money in national political processes.
• The urgent adoption of pro-active measures, including specific quotas if necessary, to redress the scandalous under-representation of women in national politics and governance, including elected offices at all levels. Tackling this lacuna in our journey towards good governance is a non-negotiable imperative that should be placed high on list of our national priorities. It is a matter of justice, equity, and self-respect.
• A much greater attention to constitutionalism in order to ensure that the operators of the constitution spread through the three arms of government and the three layers of our federal system not only under the spirit of the constitution but play by the rules of engagement embedded in it. There are no perfect constitutions anywhere in the world. It is through political education, mutual respect, and a commitment to the rule of law that constitutions are made to work for the common good and for the purposes of checking excesses in the exercise of power.

Your Excellencies, Fellow Compatriots, Ladies and Gentlemen, I know that these are ideas that have been espoused in different forms and on different occasions by our esteemed Chief Anyaoku. Let me, therefore, commend him for his leadership and foresight, and move a motion here for their adoption. I pray along with you that we may continue to benefit from his wisdom for many years to come. 

I thank you for your kind attention. 

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