Constitutional responsibility and service delivery failure in Nigeria: The Nigeria question, by Japhet Olusadum Nnaeto
The efficacy of governments in terms of service delivery depends largely on a tripod of realities; these are policy formulation, policy implementation, and availability of strong institutions to check violations of procedural regularity. Let us look at these cores mentioned above, and in doing so, it is important to note that none of them can stand alone in pursuit of good governance and service delivery to the citizens. Synergy among them is key to government success.
Vital questions should be asked during policy formulation, such as “will this policy provide a solution to the identified socioeconomic problem; is it a people-centric policy; is it a cost-effective policy or one that introduces the avenue for widespread corruption? These questions are vital because every action or inaction of government is first a policy (actions and inactions of government). Government is its policy, and its policy is government; thus, government cannot perform better than its policies. Therefore, it is germane for the government to scrutinise the type and purpose of policies it formulates to avoid pitfalls.
Second, policy implementation is a critical part of the policy process. At this juncture, the government is telling the citizens that it has found a solution to the identified social-cum-economic problems. This stage evokes high expectations, and the citizens cannot endure any contrary result. This stage presents clear specifications on how best to achieve the identified objectives. The government that will get it right has a high premium on the development of administration and administration of development. So many countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), appear to have good policies but poor implementation. Sadly, empiricals have shown that many government officials are in the habit of undermining the efforts of government at this critical stage of national development by allowing personal interests to interfere with official duties. This causes a lowering of the set standard for policy implementation, which directly results in at least two negativities: one, making the government unpopular among the citizens and two, keeping the citizens waiting for actions that can bring transformation to them. It is therefore very important that at this stage, the government should be proactive to ensure that the content of the policy is fully implemented without unapproved alterations.
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Finally, ineffective public institutions, most of which are infested with and controlled by executive and political rascality, have directly or indirectly encouraged the feeling of “actions without consequence” among self-centred public officials. No government can achieve its set goals of good governance and service delivery with a litany of weak institutions. Public institutions must be empowered by legal frameworks to apprehend and prosecute public officials who, for any reason, alter the regularity that Public Administration is known for without legal approval.
In conclusion, countries succeed in governance and service delivery when policies that target the needs of the citizens are formulated, religiously implemented and strong institutions are set up to check any form of infractions during the implementation of policies. Besides, at this stage, politics should play a complementary role, not a supremacy-coated display to avoid conflict of interest in a situation where synergy should lead.
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