World over, it is a common knowledge that governments’ businesses should be carried out in a manner that is above reproach and, except as may be authorised by statutes or regulations, with complete impartiality and with no preferential treatment for anybody. The quality and process of decision-making by the ruling class often determine whether a governance will be adjudged good or bad. Considering the take of Unacademy, India’s learning platform, in its study material titled Bad Governance: “External circumstances or decisions, such as violations of central or accepted norms, such as liberal democracy, and poor economic policy, generate unfavourable relationships. Bad governance occurs when governing entities refuse to listen to the voices of those they manage and are not willing to take responsibility for their conducts.”
This speaks volumes about governance in Nigeria where all manners of characters find themselves in public administration.
Something about Nigerian politicians that seek public offices is that they believe governance is a child’s play. By their conduct while seeking the public offices, they believe that they can play their way into the offices; and continue with such plays when they assume office.
That’s why they are more about dancing and abuse of opposing parties during campaigns and are more concerned about their appearances – the styles of their caps, their babanriga styles and being preoccupied with trite and inanities. They hardly know that the offices they sought to occupy will demand of them greater intellectual capacity, business management acumen, well-informed policy making, unusual capacity to tackle poor economic growth and demonstration of corporate financial dexterity.
Their mediocrity often shows immediately they are sworn in, in their attempts to undo their predecessors’ works by embarking on project cancellations, termination of contracts, and other decisions that waste public funds. It never sunk into them that governance is not about self, that it is a structure that must be operated as a continuum, and about the interest of the people first and foremost.
In the report published by The PUNCH Newspaper, February 2024, it was reported that over 60,000 abandoned projects litters the length and breadth of Nigeria’s landscape. A statement credited to the House of Representatives member representing Ijebu North/Ijebu East/Ogun Waterside, Joseph Adegbesan, says: “Available statistics have shown that over 60,000 projects are abandoned in Nigeria, thereby obstructing citizens from utilising their tax proceeds and natural resources, with the total value of these projects reaching trillions of Naira.”
Why would public office holders ‘obstruct’ citizens from utilising their tax proceeds and natural resources that are worth trillions of Naira tied to uncompleted or abandoned projects? It is simply because the current breed of Nigerian politicians are more into bullying, corruption and cancel culture; and are very short or low in capacity when it comes to business shrewdness, financial intelligence, corporate governance, and intellectual deftness. They know little or nothing about due diligence.
It is a way of life for politicians in public offices to see enemies in their predecessors, and their first instinct in reaction is to erase these predecessors’ footprints, if any. That’s why it is least surprising to many when the news broke that some foreign elements has secured injunctions to seize Nigeria’s offshore assets as a result of Ogun State’s business deals and supposed failure to fulfil contractual obligations by the state. The internationally-embarrassing and nerve-rankling Ogun Free Trade Zone contract debacle is just another testament to how poorly the public office holders treat businesses in Nigeria.
It was the same Ogun State that the current eye-in-the-storm Dangote Refinery was first chosen as location before it was moved to its present site in Lagos due to some alleged under-the-table and wholesome demands. Likewise over the weekend, Prof. Pat Utomi apprised the world with his own OPIC experience that plunged him into debt repayment to his foreign partners over failed contractual understanding with Ogun State.
To those in the know, the enormity of what Ogun State missed by rejecting Dangote Refinery is too monumental. In my line of activities as certified entrepreneurship development practitioner, that there are five different ways a project can generate jobs and employment made me shudder at thousands of formal and informal jobs and employment opportunities that Ogun State lost when the state government allowed the refinery to be taken away through the short-sightedness of those in government. They can’t just see beyond their immediate environment, most times, and gratification of immediate needs at the detriment of something more worthwhile and life-long enduring.
It is the same lack of deeper knowledge and shallow understanding of business venturing and honouring of contractual obligations that build terrible treatment of business proposals that are submitted to government offices. Because these public office holders don’t know what goes into business visioning, articulation, and several investments, before a concept can be made into a feasible and bankable venture, public service employees and their politician-bosses easily steal proposals. While many are waiting for approvals, they have been shell-shocked to discover that their proposals have been taken to other goons and are being executed without an iota of variation.
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The process for business visioning and articulation, seeing the end from the beginning before fund is committed, emotional and intellectual investments as well as pre-operation spendings, asking and answering the many Ws questions, consultants’ engagement and commitment of funds, the proposal/business plan writing are too much of an activities that no entrepreneur would want anybody in government to handle just anyhow. It is high time that the public administrators learn the art and science of doing business and stop misbehaving or mishandling businesses through spur of emotions, otherwise we pray someone somewhere someday will not seek to seize the entire country and the people therein.
. Emmanuel is a business planning consultant and founder of Leacent Incorporated Trustee, a network of entrepreneurs and group of cooperatives. He works with a team of international consultants to conceptualise and plan agribusiness and housing projects. As a certified trainer authorised to use the International Labour Organisation’s enterprise development modules, he trains entrepreneurs and organises workshops and seminars for potential and practising entrepreneurs as well as business managers and cooperatives. He also speaks and facilitates at leadership and management workshops on invitation. His book, Business Planning Made Easy: Step by Step Guide On How To Turn Your Idea To Profitable Business’ is the latest of the books authored by him. Tel.: +234(0)9068602954 (call and sms), +234(0)8023257707 (whatsApp only).
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