Nigeria needs an overhauled system of governance, says IoD

The Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria has said that the country needs an overhauled system of governance that is built on the foundation laid by the nationalist political leaders.

The institute said the need became necessary, following the declining capacity of political leaders to ameliorate systemic challenges such as election fraud, terrorist attacks, herders-farmers conflict, armed banditry and police brutality, among others.

President and Chairman of the Governing Council, IoD, Dr. Ije Jidenma, said this during the 38th yearly general meeting of the institute.

She cited the World Governance Index, where she mentioned that Nigeria had consistently ranked low in areas such as, government effectiveness, political stability, violence and terrorism; rule of law and control of corruption.

She maintained that the crisis of governance, which became the core of Nigeria’s systemic failure, manifested in the declining capacity of the state to cope with a range of internal political and social upheavals.

For the IoD chief, she said there is an expectation for political leaders to recognise systemic risks and put in place the necessary infrastructure to gather relevant data for problem solving.

According to her, the insufficiency of political savvy required to navigate the challenges that Nigeria faces has unleashed unrest across the nation and exacerbated existing tensions.

She maintained that Nigeria needed a new model of governance in which political leadership is based on the knowledge and competence of both political leaders and the electorate.

“However, one cannot ignore that such thinking originates from societies where civic education is high and the electorate can make informed choices about leadership. In Nigeria, most citizens are uneducated on political issues. Simultaneously, those who are highly educated are increasingly becoming indifferent to political participation. They seemed to have lost faith in the power of their votes and the integrity of the political system,” she said.

For the system to work in Nigeria, Jidenma said: “There must be significant improvement in literacy levels so that citizens are educated about the issues and can use their knowledge to make informed decisions about Nigeria’s political future. As the voice of corporate governance in Nigeria, the Institute of Directors in 2021 engaged in various advocacy programmes in this regard.”

The IoD boss, who spoke on how the institute had fared during the period under review, also spoke on collaborations and partnerships with other organisations and institutions.

She said the institute’s membership base had continued to be improved through its effective management and engagement of existing members across branches and zones.

On training and capacity development of directors, she said the training programmes conducted by the IoD Academy from January to December 2021 attracted a total of 1,284 participants, representing an increase of 36 per cent when compared with the corresponding period in 2020.

She commended members on the past year, which she described as being impactful and filled with activities, pledging to be more productive and beneficial to the growth of the Institute in the next phase.