Democracy, Good Governance and Sustainable development in Nigeria:

Retrospecting the Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic.

Author’s Name: ERUNKE C. E.& UCHEM R.O.

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY, KEFFI
NIGERIA – WEST AFRICA.

Email: erunke@yahoo.com
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 ABSTRACT

The very essence of democracy and democratization and its practices

anywhere in world resolves, and should of course, be contingent on the
aspirations of the people which such government serves. However,the
misfortunes of democratic project in Nigeria since the beginning of
Nigeria’s nationhood is largely bereft of ideas, lack of progress,
arbitrariness and the overall insulation of the people’s rights and
privileges as enshrined in the Constitution. This tendency therefore
corroborates the lack of relationship between democracy and good
governance as the former may not necessarily translate to the eventual
realization of the latter in the real sense of the word. This paper recaps
the importance of institutionalizing a free democratic space where the
people’s attitudes, institutions and ideas are overhauled for the corporate
interest of the Nigerian state. The paper therefore looks at the concepts of
democracy, factors good sustainable governance, civil society
participation for good governance and the imperatives of good
democratic governance in Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic,respectively.The
argument in this thesis points to the fact that non-democratic states of
Japan,Singapore,North Korea,etc, are not democratic in outlook,and yet,
posses vibrant socio-ecinomic base thereby making life meaningful for its
citizens.The paper equally measures the economic perfprmance index of
the Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic vis-avis Nigeria’s GDP growth rates,
educational development and healthcare delivery,respectively.Viable
policy options were also made to serve as a guide for future
administration in the Nigerian state system at large.

KEYWORDS: Democracy, Good Governance, Sustainable Development, Civil Society,

Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

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INTRODUCTION
The relationship between democracy and good governance lies at the heart of this study.
Essentially, the task of any society is to reconstruct and revitalize itself, build its own
capabilities and educate, organize and mobilize the citizens with the view to ensuring that
democratic space is expanded; democratic culture is deepened, and democracy itself is
consolidated and made to become sustainable and irreversible.

Nourished by the milk of liberal constitutionalism and political imperative, indeed the
comfort of human rights, a vibrant democratic structure enhanced by popular sovereignty;
placing powers in the hands of the people, men and women, and their popularly elected
representatives, and in doing so, creates the very conditions which civil society will
blossom and flower (Akindele, 2003:7). Unfortunately, the environmental factor
surrounding the Nigerian democracy makes democratic institutions to remain weak and
fragile, therefore becoming susceptible to collapse when faced with a low level of
political stress.

It has become clear that the sustainability of Nigerian democratic space and good
governance has to be anchored on two policy imperatives and programmes one is
sustainable development which presently cries for a more serious imaginative and
effective management of national resources endowment on the part of the government in
the country. The other is effective institutional capacity building for conflict prevention,
management, resolution, peace-keeping and security which must be adequately put in
place to enhance good governance and economic stability in Nigeria.

This research shows that while some arguably slow progress has been made in Nigeria
relative to the journey towards building a befitting democracy, adopting some form of
liberal constitutionalism and in the process of enthroning an enduring democracy, the
challenge that confronts the Nigerian nation-state in relation to good governance remain
daunting. Hence, this research intends to analyze and frontally address the teething issues
in line with the yearnings and aspirations of democratic rule in the interest of the ordinary
Nigerian.

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
For the purpose of this study, the researcher shall make use of the structural functionalist
theory in unfolding the concept of good governance in the Nigerian state. Uya (1985:27)
wrote that to understand the functionalist theory, one must look into the biological
implications of a living organism as it patterns to the evolutionary theory.

In this simple organism all the necessary functions of life were performed by the same
part, the single cell. Therefore, the development of a single cell gave rise to
differentiation of cells into parts enhancing specialization, adaptation and integration of
the organism to its environment. Thus, the greater the degree of adaptation, the fitter the
organism was to survive. This is the Darwinian doctrine of survival of the fittest.

In applying this to the doctrine of democracy and good governance in the Fourth
Republic, requires a mutual coordinated links between the rulers and the ruled to ensure
effective governance. Thus differentiation and specialization may occur in any of the
parts of society. And this requires that they be integrated with other parts of the civil
society so that the entire polity can adapt to its environment. This tendency can be said to
be a panacea towards safe-guarding societal dysfunction. Consequently, the parts of
Nigerian society are its political and democratic institutions namely, the National
Assembly, the court system, the police, the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), to mention but a few. Thus, the Nigerian Fourth Republic requires the coordinate
working and harmonization of these democratic institutions to ensure good governance in
Nigeria. The malfunctioning of one of the above institutions means the corresponding
dysfunction of the entire political landscape of Nigeria. This can impede growth and
sustainable development in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

However, the Nigerian experience of functionalism sees the ideology as soothed for the
dominant class in the society whose whims and caprices predominates such democratic
institutions. The agenda of governance becomes skewed to one side, hence, Nigeria
experiences high level of what can be referred to as elitist hedonism. For instance, from

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the beginning of the erstwhile Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic in May, 1999, the political
climate has been a function of the powers of manipulations of the few elites in the
society. Developments in Nigerian politics shows that several political parties, 30 of them
in number at that time, duly registered by INEC, out of which two: the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Nigerian People Party (ANPP) held sway as the
remaining 28 became silent in the scheme of things. This is a glaring phenomena of elite
politics in Nigeria.

Waldt (2001) wrote that democracy cannot be enhanced and the various arms of
government adequately work well considering the high level of witch-hunting of the
legislature by the executive through frequent removal of members of the legislature.
Right from inception of the Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic, Nigeria has had not less than
five Senate President in succession. This shows the level of political immaturity and lack
of harmony among the various arms of government. Several arguments have also cropped
up to criticize the manner of selection of the members of the erstwhile political reforms
conference in Abuja. Critics said the characters of delegates to the Confab were mostly
government cronies and sycophants who have got nothing to offer as a way forward for
Nigeria.

By and large, Nigerian Fourth Republic looked forward towards government of unity,
stability and a pragmatic approach towards national integration. This means corporate
organizations, the labour unions, student bodies and non-governmental organizations are
all required to participate in the vanguard towards democracy, democratization and good
governance. This is one way of ensuring political, economic and socio-cultural stability
of our nation in all its ramifications.

THE CONCEPT OF DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA

It is conceivable, however, that in the euphoria and optimism, one may forget that
democracy, though un-arguably the best form of government for any nation, is also
perhaps the most difficult to manage. Democracy, it should be remembered is not a
potted plant which can be transplanted into any soil and grown without work or effort. In

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the peculiar circumstances of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic (1999), as apply observed by
Professor Sam Oyovbaire:
The problem of democracy revolves around how to forge a
development process which is simultaneously participatory
for individual citizens, sensitive to, and protective of
individual rights, freedoms and liberty; accommodative of
multiple and competitive loyalties; and generative of
economic growth and distributive justice (Ogovbaire,
1992:10).

The impact of the above is that non-democratic states of Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, etc,
are even more stable even though, democracy is not in practice there. It is obvious to ask
here whether democracy can be synonymous with good governance. The answer no
doubt, is in the affirmative. Thus, democracy in most Third World Countries (Nigeria
inclusive) is antagonistic to good governance. For instance, the problem of Nigeria is
even more confounded by the tendency, especially election, the May 1999 Presidential
election and of course, the recent 2007 presidential elections respectively. These are all
indices of poor political culture, which cannot be the same as good governance.

As Uya (1999:86) has observed, though the successful conduct of free and fair elections
is an important cornerstone of democracy and good governance, democratization of a
policy involves much more. These include: love of freedom and equality; resentment of
autocracy, freedom of dissent, respect for individuality of each person, creation of
appropriate environment for individual to free himself from the constraints of poverty,
hunger, ill-health, coercion and control; equality of opportunity and access to education,
medical attention and work; equality of all, the ruler and the ruled, before the law; the
creation of an ordered, stable society which guarantees security of lives and property of
individuals; cultivation and inculcation in the citizenry of a democratic temper, an
attitude of service and trusteeships, a sense of civic responsibility, a spirit of fair play and
tolerance of other people’s opinions and interests; absence of arrogance and arbitrariness
and a sense of honest, faithful, selfless, disinterested, impartial and objective service,

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dedicated, selfless, disciplined, patriotic, honest and highly motivated leadership style,
free from social indiscipline, ethnic hatred and jealousies, religious bigotry and the
tendency to personalize rulership and power; and a deliberate and determined move
towards the creation of a society bound together by shared sentiments and out look. All of
these are basic ingredients of good workable governance.

Similarly, the Nigerian democratic project must as a point of necessity involve no less
than a revolutionary overhaul of the people’s institutions, attitudes and ideas. There
should, as well, be a fundamentally, politically, socially and institutionally and socio-
economically restructured society for the over all interests of all. The import of this is that
democracy and good governance in the Fourth Republic Nigeria, can best be appreciated
on the basis of national question, and efficacy of executive, legislative and judicial
functions respectively (Uya, 1999:61).

FACTORS NECESSARY FOR A DEMOCRACY

It is undisputable that sustaining democracy is the function of the citizens. Since the civil
society consists of numerous organizations that covers diverse interest and segments of
the society, it should become the major defender of democracy. Being involved in policy-
making and implementation by the government, civil society will be able to monitor the
democratic process and the performance of institutions and programmes. If it is able to
monitor and evaluate the performance of the democratic project, it implies that it will not
only defend democracy but sustain it (Huntington, 1976:180).

Democracy goes beyond forming political parties, general elections and having a civilian
government in power. It is a process that does not terminate overnight and involves full
and effective participation of citizens in determining policies and decisions which affects
their lives at all levels and at all times. It involves the responsiveness of the government
to the needs and aspirations of the citizens. It is based on the ability of a nation to provide
channels for discussions, consultations, mobilizations and propaganda.

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What we therefore, have in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is a young democracy that is
transiting and suppose to grow to maturity; and the transition is at a crucial state. The
response of the state, civil society and the political class to the inherent contradictions of
the transition to democracy will determine whether it will further develop or decay. This
is the level where the role of the people becomes not only critical, but also paramount.

Consequently, democracy as a process has been in place in Nigeria, since 1999,

regardless of its shortcomings. The civil society and many Nigerians expected high level
of performance from the Obasanjo government. It is their belief that the emerging
democracy gave them the opportunity to elect the people they wanted to rule them. Their
expectations were that these people know their predicaments and should be able to
resolve them. But to their greatest dismay, their expectations have been over shadowed
by political gimmicks. However, Ihonvbere (1995:43) opined that as sine qua non
sustainable democracy in Nigeria, the following factors are discernible.

Firstly, it is paramount that the civil society project in Nigeria should be re-articulated
and reinforced to have nationalist ideas devoid of parochialism and sectional sentiment. If
this is effectively pursued, it will help in terms of inculcating nationalistic and patriotic
values and attitudes not only within the rank and file of the society, but amongst majority
of the citizens.

Secondly, civil society organization, particularly, the pro-democracy and civil right
groups should expand the coverage for their impact to be felt. Having a national outlook
will not only make it more acceptable, but also enhanced in the spread of democratic
values. Furthermore, it is important that sectoral networks of the organizations be
established. Through networking, these organizations could be more effective in their
activities.

Finally, a mechanism should be evolved by the civil society to effectively monitor the
political system and democratic transition at all levels of government. If this is done, the

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civil society will serve as a check on the political system and actors to ensure that there is
no retreat to authoritarianism and subsequent destruction of democratic process.

Through this, it can also check on the credibility of elected officers and other public
officers and also ensure that they are accountable. It should have the power to take certain
measures against such officers whose integrity is questionable and who failed to be
accountable in the fulfillment of electoral promises. The various Commissions should
work in consonance with the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Economic and the
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure efficient service delivery and
transparency in government. This will bring about a sustainable democracy and good
governance in the Fourth Republic.

FACTORS NECESSITATING GOOD GOVERNANCE

Needless to say that the crisis of the Nigerian state far from being managerial has always
been structural and it has its roots in the relations of exploitations, unjust domestic class
structures, external dependency and distortions of the neo-colonial social formations
(Ake, 1986:72). It is all these that produced the contagion effects of the militarization of
contemporary Nigerian society in the past and the negative tendencies this translates into
our development. Consequently, to carry through a successful project of democratization
and sustainable democratic transition in the interest of good governance in Nigeria’s
Fourth Republic, we need to go beyond the prevalent myths about immediate and remote
causes of poor governance to projected solutions to arrest prospective socio-economic
and political decays in Nigeria.

One way of achieving this is to insist on the authentic democratization and empowerment
of the toilers of Nigeria. This is the only condition for peace and progress, and it requires
the institutionalization of a people’s system of government that is responsive to the
imperatives of the collective aspirations of the generality of the people of Nigeria. Our
Fourth Republic democracy must empower the masses of the people, a democracy that
guarantees the survival of the ordinary Nigerian. The Fourth Republic needs a system of
government that empowers Nigerians to do those things that will promote the well being

9
of the nation. The brand of democracy that was being orchestrated by Obasanjo regime
did not guaranteed this. It has only sustained the oppressive system that has destroyed our
collective senses of worth (Oyovbaire, 1999).

Conversely, the ultimate goal of any authentic democratization process in the Fourth
Republic is to institute popular democracy in Nigeria, a democracy that begins and ends
with the people as they develop their individual and collective potentials in the interest of
the country. Democracy and good governance seeks to involve every stake holder in the
control of economic and political power in a way that reinvigorates his or her faith and
commitment in the corporate reality of the nation. This will guide against the monopoly
of state powers by the so-called political god-fathers.

Jega (2002) wrote that to ensure a sustainable democracy and good governance in the
Fourth Republic, the three arms of government namely: the Legislature, Judiciary and the
Executive must be restructured to make them amenable to proposed political and socio-
economic restructuring. The Judiciary, the Legislature and above all, the Executive arm
of government will be required to change their character. This is ordinarily translated into
the radical transformation of the character of Nigerian state. There cannot be democracy
without a viable state just as good governance cannot be attained in the midst of
prebendalism, piracy, indolence and ineptitude.

Consequently, there is need for the restructuring of the nation. This is necessarily
required to give everybody a sense of belonging as a positive motivation to participate in
the process of nation building. One would like to suggest a process of restructuring which
integrates the right to self-determination on the basis of corporate existence of the
Nigerian polity.

The Obasanjo political Reform Conference (CONFAB) that took placed in Abuja could
be applauded in this direction. However, the conference deliberations should not have
lost sight of the diversities of the Nigerian nation, hence, the ideas of carving potions of
deliberations as “no-go areas” this was rather unconstitutional as it undermined the

10
wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian People. Nigeria must democratize on the basis of
social justice and good governance. There is need for equality, freedom of choice, social
justice etc, just as there cannot be democracy without good governance.

Social justice is required to recreate our social system, the one devoid of gender
servitude, ethnic oppression and marginalization and above all, religious bigotry. All
these are challenges to the Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic, which if properly addressed
could place Yar’Adua’s government in a better position to consciously pilot the affairs of
Nigerian state.

UNDERSTANDING GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN

OBASANJO’S FOURTH REPUBLIC
The concept of governance is not new. It has been around in both political and academic
discourse for a long time. In the last decade, however, issues relating to governance have
come to occupy the centre stage in developmental literature. More recently, it gained
currency in the literature of African development. As a result, among other things, the
UNDP (2002) study identifies the crises in the continent as essentially those of
governance. By implication this phenomena can be aptly referred to as the extensive
personalization of power, the denial of fundamental human rights, widespread corruption,
and the prevalence of unaccountable government.

However, four aspects of governance have been identified in the social science literature.
These are reciprocity, trust and accountability. When these elements are jointly present,
the greater is the likelihood of good governance and the opposite when they are weak.
Governance has links with participatory development, human rights and democratization.
As a policy framework, good governance imposes demands on policy makers in their
exercise of power. According to Boeninger (1991) it encompasses
i) An effective state, i.e, one that possesses an enabling political and legal
environment for economic growth and equitable distribution.

11
 ii) Civil societies and communities that is present in the policy making process,
with the state facilitating political and social interaction, and fostering societal
cohesion and stability.
iii) A private sector that is allowed to play an independent role in the economy.

All the three elements, singularly and in combination, together with sound economic
management in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic are essential for sustainable development
(Boeninger, 1991).

There are also the more profound issues of the meaning of development and the precise
relationship between the different components of governance and development.

The concept of development is also by no means unproblematic (Sen, 1974:40). In recent

years, it has become fuzzy and difficult to define especially as the concept of sustainable
development has gained currency. Development involves economic, social, political,
environmental and cultural dimensions. Thus, while economic and social progress and
the elimination of poverty are key objectives of development, the development well being
also encompasses freedom from fear and arbitrary arrest, free speech association, and the
right to run for and hold political office (Sen, 1974:46).

More recently, there has been a return to an older doctrine on the development process.
Development is now seen as a transformation of the society, a move from the old ways of
thinking, and old forms of social and economic organization to new ones (Stiglitz,
2000:87). The new view argues that development and developmental transformation
involve a change in the way people think and the way societies functions – a change in
norms, expectations, and institutions (Stiglitz, 2000:87). The lesson of the 20th century is
that successful development ultimately derives from a home – grown strategy, not from
imported theories. Most industrialized countries owe their success to having developed
their own brands. By implications, governance and development are separate conceptual
entities, yet in practice often affect each other. They have a causal relationship.
Development is now viewed as an uncertain process and by inference, highly correlated
to the quality of governance (North, 1990:257). Economic development and political

12
literature is replete with case of governance failure and development crises especially in
Africa.

It is worthy of note that democracy is not synonymous with political and economic
development. Most countries of the Japan, China, Singapore, North Korea, can be said to
be undemocratic, but the high level technological development among the Asian Tigers
cannot be equated with most democratic states of Africa (Nigeria inclusive). The
contention here buttresses Alexander Pope’s assertion that “for forms of government, let
the fools contend, what is best administered is best………” (Popes, as cited in Tamumo
1974:61).

The implication of this assertion is a function of the character of leadership in Africa vis-
avis the vision to project the values of societal development in the interest of all. This
point to the fact that there is no clear links between democratic forms of government and
economic growth. Efforts to test this relationship empirically have been inconclusive,
contradictory or both (Sirowy, 1990:5).

One can say from the above analysis that these steps have had positive effect on the
political and socio-economic development of nation states across the world. Little
wonder, democracy is now a universal concept for economic and political development
made possible through good leadership roles and dedication to good policy measures.

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN OBASANJO’S FOURTH REPUBLIC

The unfortunate pre-occupation with policies in the few months preceding the national
elections obscured the appreciation of some of the fundamental changes that occurred
during the Fourth Republic between 1999 and 2007. However, the overwhelming
consensus in 1999 was for the injection of economic reforms that would change, in a
fundamental way, the structure and performance of the economy. Consequently, reforms
work when they emerge from a national consensus. Experiences around the world show
that reforms at whatever level of analysis, cannot be forced on the people as in the case of
Obasanjo’s Fourth Republic.

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 The Nigerian economy is still a developing economy characterized by a number of
features which undermine its growth and sustainability. Conversely, development entails
transformation of the forces of production such as scientific knowledge, technical skills,
organizational and managerial ability etc. These determine how much can be produced.
Therefore, underdevelopment in the erstwhile Obasanjo administration was characterized
by the failure of these forces of production. The Nigerian economy continued to be
driven by oil revenue. The instability of the sector however continues to pose a major
problem for Nigeria’s economic development efforts at diversifying the Nigeria’s
economy by Obasanjo’s administration. Non-oil contribution to the economy has been
relatively unstable with marginal decrease in 2002. Thus, while Nigeria has the potentials
of industrial growth, given a populous market, private investment has been low and slow.

However, in spite of a measure of success recorded during the oil boom era of the 1970s,
real economic growth began to decline in the 1990s, though the 2002 projections show a
dip as shown below.
Growth rate %

Fig. 1: GDP Growth Rate (1990 – 2002).

10

6 Key

4 Real GDP
Growth rate
2
Crude oil (%)
1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

0
Years
Non-Oil
-2 CBN Annual Report 2003:6).
Source: Sector (%)
-4

-6 14
From the graph above, the events of 2002 have sent a powerful signal to policy makers
and other sectors that fluctuations of the oil sector and procrastinations over policy could
be costly to growth. Oil is basically the primary sector of the Nigerian economy. It is
engaged in the extraction of renewable and non-renewable natural resources which
dominates the Nigerian ailing economy at the moment. This is one of the characteristics a
developing economy. In any case, the oil sector still holds sway as the same rises above
Agriculture and Mining sectors respectively. This is an economic indicator of a
downward economy. Hence pragmatic steps must be taken to diversity the economy by
the Yar’Adua’s administration.

EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE FOURTH REPUBLIC

Education can be seen as the bedrock of any nation state. This has to do with the quality
and not the quantity of citizens who are highly educated. Consequently, the literacy level
in the country had witnessed considerable deterioration especially in rural areas where the
population of people within the age brackets of 15 – 24 years are illiterate in Nigeria
among the various urban and rural settlers alike between 1999 – 2001.

Figure 1.2: Literacy Rates: 15 – 24 years old.

Year National Urban Rural Male Female
1999 71.9 84.9 62.9 81.4 62.3
2001 64.1 69.8 59.3
Source: Federal Ministry of Education (2001:18).

From the table, the literacy rate for the groups under review shows that 71.9% are literate
in 1991. However the literacy rate in urban areas was higher than rural areas, these were
84.9% and 62.1% respectively. By 2001, the overall literacy rate had decline for male and
female members of the 15 – 24 years age group. The decline among the females was
from 62.49% to 59.3% during the same period. This means to some extent that the
declining trend is not unconnected with the high rate of unemployment, rising income
poverty and the discouraging working conditions of teachers in Nigeria, which constitute
great disincentive for acquiring formal education. In any case, the challenges faced by

15
Obasanjo’s administration in his Universal Basic Education Programme implementation
is that of finance, economic factor, institutional constraints, culture and quality of
instructions. Theses factors deserve urgent attention to overhaul the education sector to
enhance meaningful development in the current Yar’Adua’s administration.

HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN THE FOURTH REPUBLIC: THE NATIONAL

HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME (NHIS)
Equity in the provision of health care to citizens is important. It is evident that the poor
masses lacked access to the basic health services and received low quality medical care
due to inability to pay for quality care. Moreover, government spending went
disproportionately to the affluent in the form of free or below cost care in sophisticated
public tertiary hospitals which was the basis of evolving a new National Health Insurance
Scheme (NHIS). This is shown below:
Fig. 1.3: Nigeria Health Statistics (1995-2001)
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Population per physician 3,707 3,744 3,781 4,977 4,479 4,529 4,675
Population per Nursing Staff 605 617 629 1004 906 920 1,082
Population per Hospital Bed 1,477 1,555 1,632 1,738 1,564 1,6112 2,124
Life expectancy at birth 52 53 53 54 45 45 45
Source: CBN Annual Report and Statement of Account (2002:32).

From the above the maximum population per physician among Nigerians was put at
3,707 in 1995. But later rose to 4,675 in 2001. This indicates an additional increase of
more than 100%. This is due largely to overpopulation as a result of lack of government
policy in birth control. The same case holds true about Nigeria’s population per nursing
staff of 605 in bed and 2,124 in 2001 respectively. Moreover, life expectantly ratio
increased considerably in 1995 and dropped sharply to 45 years in 2001. The factor
responsible for this could be inadequacy of drugs to control diseases in Nigeria.

THE WAY FORWARD

There is no gain saying that the deepest root of development failure is not a lack of
resource for development, rather, it is lack of good governance – the inability or

16
unwillingness to apply public resources effectively to generate public goods. These
include physical infrastructures – roads, bridges, potable water, telecommunications,
public transport to mention but a few. To be sure, development requires appropriate
government policies to foster savings and investment, but it also requires the public
services, civil society organizations and institutions that improve human capital, foster
social trust and thereby stimulate production and exchange. All this is the product of
good governance.

Secondly, good governance entails commitment to the public good through the
charismatic and sterling quantities of the leadership. This is derived through cultural
ethics that appreciates, and a structure of institutional incentives that rewards discipline,
service to the nation or the general community over the use of office for private regarding
benefits. In every modern society, however, it must be (at a minimum), reinforced by
institutions that punish betrayals of the public trust.

Thirdly, good governance means transparency, the openness of the state business and
conduct to the scrutiny of other state actors and of the public. As a result democratic
administrations should manifest the spirit of accountability, responsibility and
responsiveness to ensure good governance in Nigeria.

Lastly, good governance is intimately bound up by the existence of the rule of law.
Governance can only be good and effective when it is restrained by law, when the law is
applied equally to the mighty and the meek, and when there are professional independent
authorities to enforce the law in a neutral and predictable fashion. Both effective
government and well functioning markets require that there be clear rules about what
constitution acceptable conducts in the realm of economic, social and political life. These
are the only ways Nigeria could move forward in her quest to becoming the world’s
largest economy in the year 20–20–20.

CONCLUSION

17
Thus when good governance functions in the above ways, it breeds social capital, in the
form of networks and associations that draw people together in relations of trust
reciprocity and voluntary cooperation for common ends. The deeper a country’s
reservoirs of social capital and the more these are based on horizontal and vertical
relations emanating from both government and public realms, the more formidable is the
entire body polity. The benefits accruing to this not only enhances good governance in
the Fourth Republic, it also transcends beyond the unknown in our overall national life.

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