Rate Your Governor: Smart or Stupid? By Ross Alabo-George
Going thru some comentaries and I ran into this one very enlightening, and i think its something we should share.
Let's see how many will rate their governors high.
I noticed that despite the large pool of educated critics and political observers in Nigeria, too many are often deceived by grandstanding and showmanship of governors. There is no benchmark to rate the performance of governors, since the blame for all things bad goes to Abuja: power, security, economy, unemployment, education and health etc.
It is therefore no wonder that governors who build the most flyovers and roads and bridges are considered golden governors.
To effectively touchstone progress in your state you must consider the balance between infrastructural development, social welfare services delivery and the framework of sustainability. The bane of our development is data. There is little or no data to crunch to establish improvement in poverty, education, health etc. So, we rely on lean statistics provided by agencies of government and skewed generalized report by foreign development agencies. For instance, maternal mortality, poverty and adult literacy data are always done on a national scale. The National Bureau of Statistics has shown severe incompetence is delivering the granular and fundamental planning data for states.
Julie A. Dyer, a UK based Nigerian and a social media pundit wrote a compelling piece titled: 'It's About Making Government Work For Us', and in a well cut abstract, she pointed out the very subtle and lasting impact a governor could have on his/her people. She described her 'hero image' of the Late Melford Okilo, former governor of old Rivers state and recalled his stunning accomplishments as a second republic governor with limited funds. She outlined some transformational projects - those sustained, and till date sustainable and relevant- that fused with the fabric of society: the park, the university with multiple campuses, a gas turbine that still powers her village, the radio station that transformed the Region, the news in pidgin English, school libraries and books etc. I noticed she 'forgot' roads, bridges and other super infrastructures that Governor Melford Okilo put in place. Today, those accomplishments she mentioned may not be enough to rate a governor as golden, but in Okilo's days they were part of a long term development strategy of the old Rivers state that still forms the development framework of Rivers and Bayelsa states.
Too many governors are still in the 70's. Nothing is innovative in their style of leadership: build roads, build schools, health centres, scholarships, set up a few fish farms and poultries... Very unsustainable and sometimes silly strategy aimed at instant gratification, glory and the next elections. Our governors have developed the 'two term mindset'- don't start what you cannot finish. But that is the scourge of our development. Projects are decided not on the basis of strategic considerations but on political interest and expediency. I recommend the Northern Region Development Master Plan drafted under Sir. Ahmadu Bello to all governors, it will help them push open a window into the mindset of transformational planning.
But you see, the reason our governors have continued to wobble is you. You the citizens have refused to demand stewardship. It is about time for you guys to woke up J... and that includes me.
Anyway, I have listed ten tokens to guide the rating of your governor. This list is by no means exhaustive, but if any of these knock your governor, then there is need to begin to demand better stewardship.
I hope I do justice to them before my flight back to Port Harcourt is announced. A caveat: this touchstone is my opinion:
1. If your governor has procured a private jet and there is no airport in your state, your governor is dumb. Furthermore, if your state makes less than N10b monthly in IGR, and your governor appropriated for a private jet, your governor is greedy. (Watch: such a governor will not share the jet with his deputy). He should learn from Lagos.
2. If you live in the state capital and your only source of water is a borehole sunk in your compound, because the water supply infrastructure in your state does not work, your governor is a hypocrite. If that governor has served for three years, and at least 60 per cent of residents in the capital city do not have access to pipe borne water, then forget the hype, your governor is a dumb learner. (The rest of the state will never have good water/sanitation). Learn from Cross River.
3. If your state does not have a comprehensive 20- year(at least) development plan, your state is heading towards a failed state. If your state has such a plan, and it is not available to the public, your governor is not transparent. Learn from Niger.
4. If your governor concentrates on multi-billion Naira mega projects, while the streets of the capital city and other major roads in the state are failing, then your governor needs prayers from a fully packed Redeemed Camp Ground. A good manager of resources understands the value of maintenance. If you have a situation like this, investigate the mega projects- they would be either substandard in quality or the contract figure over-bloated. Learn from Edo state.
5. If your state governor has not completed at least 60 per cent of projects initiated by him and his predecessors and is yet awarding new mega projects, providing more funds for the new projects in the budget, while underfunding projects awarded under past administrations, then your governor is short-sighted. Learn from Lagos.
6. If your state governor is busy building schools without improving the quality of teachers; building health centres without equipment and doctors; and in this age, sending undergraduate students to Malaysia, India, Russia and Singapore to study courses like Medicine, Computer Science, Food technology, Civil Engineering, Political Science, Sociology... when you have a state university. Pray.
b.) If your state government is still building poultry farms, fish farms; raring rabbits and pigs instead of providing expansion facilities and support to farmers in the state, who understand the trade, your governor lacks vision.
7. If the governor has a security vote more than the state's monthly IGR, pray for the peace of the state, your governor is a troublemaker.
8. If your state governor still thinks that he has no role to play in providing power to the state, and has not started planning power sufficiency for the state via PPP in line with the emerging reforms in the power sector; if he is still waiting for Abuja to deliver to his doorstep... No comments. Learn from Akwa Ibom.
9. If your governor has not introduced information technology in secondary schools and entrepreneurship courses in tertiary curriculum, he doesn't understand the future. Learn from Anambra.
10. If your state still largely depends on federal allocation and handout to fund anything more than 60 per cent of its recurrent and capital expenditure, and does not have a plan to cut that significantly by innovative internal revenue drive, tell your governor that your state needs a merger. Learn from Sokoto.
I need to catch my flight... but before then, I'll drop this. I had a chat with a State Water Board director (a south-south state). Having consulted on a few World Bank water projects, I was irked by the apathy most wealthy Niger Delta states have shown to provision of pipe-borne water. While chatting with this director, I pointed to him that if Cross River state, the poorest state in the Niger Delta, has the best Water supply facility in the country, albeit partly supported by World Bank funds which have been judiciously expended, there was no reason why other states shouldn't follow suit. He typed 'LOL' in response, and when asked if anything I had said didn't make sense, he responded: "My brother, these Niger Delta governors will never spend billions on pipes that will be buried underground, they only embark on projects that the people can see".
God help us.
Ross Alabo-George
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters.
Rate your governors via Sahara reporters
Tweets by @Tapiya
Let's see how many will rate their governors high.
I noticed that despite the large pool of educated critics and political observers in Nigeria, too many are often deceived by grandstanding and showmanship of governors. There is no benchmark to rate the performance of governors, since the blame for all things bad goes to Abuja: power, security, economy, unemployment, education and health etc.
It is therefore no wonder that governors who build the most flyovers and roads and bridges are considered golden governors.
To effectively touchstone progress in your state you must consider the balance between infrastructural development, social welfare services delivery and the framework of sustainability. The bane of our development is data. There is little or no data to crunch to establish improvement in poverty, education, health etc. So, we rely on lean statistics provided by agencies of government and skewed generalized report by foreign development agencies. For instance, maternal mortality, poverty and adult literacy data are always done on a national scale. The National Bureau of Statistics has shown severe incompetence is delivering the granular and fundamental planning data for states.
Julie A. Dyer, a UK based Nigerian and a social media pundit wrote a compelling piece titled: 'It's About Making Government Work For Us', and in a well cut abstract, she pointed out the very subtle and lasting impact a governor could have on his/her people. She described her 'hero image' of the Late Melford Okilo, former governor of old Rivers state and recalled his stunning accomplishments as a second republic governor with limited funds. She outlined some transformational projects - those sustained, and till date sustainable and relevant- that fused with the fabric of society: the park, the university with multiple campuses, a gas turbine that still powers her village, the radio station that transformed the Region, the news in pidgin English, school libraries and books etc. I noticed she 'forgot' roads, bridges and other super infrastructures that Governor Melford Okilo put in place. Today, those accomplishments she mentioned may not be enough to rate a governor as golden, but in Okilo's days they were part of a long term development strategy of the old Rivers state that still forms the development framework of Rivers and Bayelsa states.
Too many governors are still in the 70's. Nothing is innovative in their style of leadership: build roads, build schools, health centres, scholarships, set up a few fish farms and poultries... Very unsustainable and sometimes silly strategy aimed at instant gratification, glory and the next elections. Our governors have developed the 'two term mindset'- don't start what you cannot finish. But that is the scourge of our development. Projects are decided not on the basis of strategic considerations but on political interest and expediency. I recommend the Northern Region Development Master Plan drafted under Sir. Ahmadu Bello to all governors, it will help them push open a window into the mindset of transformational planning.
But you see, the reason our governors have continued to wobble is you. You the citizens have refused to demand stewardship. It is about time for you guys to woke up J... and that includes me.
Anyway, I have listed ten tokens to guide the rating of your governor. This list is by no means exhaustive, but if any of these knock your governor, then there is need to begin to demand better stewardship.
I hope I do justice to them before my flight back to Port Harcourt is announced. A caveat: this touchstone is my opinion:
1. If your governor has procured a private jet and there is no airport in your state, your governor is dumb. Furthermore, if your state makes less than N10b monthly in IGR, and your governor appropriated for a private jet, your governor is greedy. (Watch: such a governor will not share the jet with his deputy). He should learn from Lagos.
2. If you live in the state capital and your only source of water is a borehole sunk in your compound, because the water supply infrastructure in your state does not work, your governor is a hypocrite. If that governor has served for three years, and at least 60 per cent of residents in the capital city do not have access to pipe borne water, then forget the hype, your governor is a dumb learner. (The rest of the state will never have good water/sanitation). Learn from Cross River.
3. If your state does not have a comprehensive 20- year(at least) development plan, your state is heading towards a failed state. If your state has such a plan, and it is not available to the public, your governor is not transparent. Learn from Niger.
4. If your governor concentrates on multi-billion Naira mega projects, while the streets of the capital city and other major roads in the state are failing, then your governor needs prayers from a fully packed Redeemed Camp Ground. A good manager of resources understands the value of maintenance. If you have a situation like this, investigate the mega projects- they would be either substandard in quality or the contract figure over-bloated. Learn from Edo state.
5. If your state governor has not completed at least 60 per cent of projects initiated by him and his predecessors and is yet awarding new mega projects, providing more funds for the new projects in the budget, while underfunding projects awarded under past administrations, then your governor is short-sighted. Learn from Lagos.
6. If your state governor is busy building schools without improving the quality of teachers; building health centres without equipment and doctors; and in this age, sending undergraduate students to Malaysia, India, Russia and Singapore to study courses like Medicine, Computer Science, Food technology, Civil Engineering, Political Science, Sociology... when you have a state university. Pray.
b.) If your state government is still building poultry farms, fish farms; raring rabbits and pigs instead of providing expansion facilities and support to farmers in the state, who understand the trade, your governor lacks vision.
7. If the governor has a security vote more than the state's monthly IGR, pray for the peace of the state, your governor is a troublemaker.
8. If your state governor still thinks that he has no role to play in providing power to the state, and has not started planning power sufficiency for the state via PPP in line with the emerging reforms in the power sector; if he is still waiting for Abuja to deliver to his doorstep... No comments. Learn from Akwa Ibom.
9. If your governor has not introduced information technology in secondary schools and entrepreneurship courses in tertiary curriculum, he doesn't understand the future. Learn from Anambra.
10. If your state still largely depends on federal allocation and handout to fund anything more than 60 per cent of its recurrent and capital expenditure, and does not have a plan to cut that significantly by innovative internal revenue drive, tell your governor that your state needs a merger. Learn from Sokoto.
I need to catch my flight... but before then, I'll drop this. I had a chat with a State Water Board director (a south-south state). Having consulted on a few World Bank water projects, I was irked by the apathy most wealthy Niger Delta states have shown to provision of pipe-borne water. While chatting with this director, I pointed to him that if Cross River state, the poorest state in the Niger Delta, has the best Water supply facility in the country, albeit partly supported by World Bank funds which have been judiciously expended, there was no reason why other states shouldn't follow suit. He typed 'LOL' in response, and when asked if anything I had said didn't make sense, he responded: "My brother, these Niger Delta governors will never spend billions on pipes that will be buried underground, they only embark on projects that the people can see".
God help us.
Ross Alabo-George
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters.
Rate your governors via Sahara reporters
Tweets by @Tapiya
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