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The serious business of governance

 
By Bino Julius Wayamdi, Founder and Lead Consultant, Classic Antidotes Consults, Abuja
 
 
Governance ought not to be an all-comers affair. It is a serious business that should be the exclusive preserve of those who are adequately prepared for it. For a society or a nation to progress in the right trajectory and at the right speed those who are piloting her affairs must be men and women with vision, focus, passion, political will, ideas and foresight. Only the possession of these qualities by a leader can guarantee the delivery of the fruits of good governance.
The serious business of governance is that of shouldering enormous responsibilities by those in positions of leadership for the purpose of transforming the society and the nation at large. The manner in which the responsibilities are discharged will, to a very large extent, determine the level of socioeconomic development and political stability of a nation.
Given our enviable material resources and sophisticated human capital vis-à-vis our slow pace of development as a nation, it is imperative that we begin to clamor for a faster pace of development and keep reminding those who are saddled with the responsibility of piloting our affairs to redouble their efforts in delivering the fruits of good governance.
To be specific, the serious business of governance revolves around the following: ensuring the security of lives and properties as enshrined in the constitution; putting in place a world class infrastructure such as seaports, airports, roads and railways for the smooth movement of goods and services as well as ensuring stable electricity to power economic activities at every economic unit; taking proactive measures to tackle corruption head-on so as to be channeling resources in the direction of developmental projects; provision of quality healthcare through state-of-the-art hospitals, dispensaries and primary healthcare programs and outreaches; ensuring macroeconomic stability through a proper blend of the appropriate monetary and fiscal policies; establishing topnotch institutions of learning ranging from kindergarten to primary and post-primary schools for the purpose of building the intellectual capacity of the human resources of the nation; provision of portable water to every economic unit in the country; creating knowledge-based institutions and encouraging the formation of think thanks who would be providing expert advise and technical support on diverse areas of human endeavor to critical stakeholders; guaranteeing access to credit facilities by entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs; building and maintaining social amenities such as recreation parks, museums, libraries, markets and stadiums; encouraging and sponsoring social activities like sports competitions, cultural events and carnivals for the purpose of promoting tourism and strengthening social cohesion and mutual trust among the people; embarking on civic education and mass literacy as tools for national mobilization; establishing and financing skills acquisition centers; building strong ties and promoting symbiotic cooperation with the international community; enunciating policies and programs that would be unleashing the creative talents of the citizens in the aspects of entrepreneurship, arts, research, science, ICT, entertainment, technology, innovation, and sports; ensuring the sustenance of the environment; giving the electoral umpire enough resources and freedom to be organizing free, fair and credible elections; allowing a free and independent judiciary, media and civil society; marshaling policies and projects to fast-track rural transformation; embarking on sensitization campaigns for the purpose of inculcating in the citizens the virtues of patriotism, work ethics, nationalism, parenting, leadership, followership, integrity, peace, love and unity; guaranteeing the rights and privileges of the citizens; creating an enabling environment for the private sector (which includes SMEs, cottage industries, petty businesses, start-ups, mega corporations, etc.) to spring up and flourish for the purposes of employment generation, wealth creation and economic self-reliance; making available agricultural inputs and technical support to farmers at guaranteed prices; ensuring social justice through an equitable distribution of national resources and developmental projects across board; implementing a fair tax system so that the common man doesn’t get hard hit; providing subsidies where and when necessary; comprehensive harnessing and proper utilization of all the resource in the country in the most transparent and accountable manner for the benefit of every federating unit, every community and every citizen; enacting good laws that would strengthen state institutions; building social housing for the teeming masses; creating social welfare programs to tackle poverty and unemployment; ensuring strict compliance with the laws of the nation by all and sundry; entrenching a culture of merit, hard work and excellence so that those who harness their talent and develop their capacity can attain the level they rightly deserve; and many more.
There’s no doubt about the fact that the aforementioned constitute the basic conditions for a meaningful life, habitable society and national transformation. Hence, those who are in government and those who are aspiring to be in government should always have it at the back of their mind that the provision of these deliverables is their primary essence of becoming leaders. Anything short of this is a recipe for national malaise, stagnation and hardship.
In conclusion, let this clarion call serve as a reminder on the part of leaders at all levels to be doing the needful for the purpose of the growth and development of our nation in every ramification.
Our aspirations is a nation where our resources would be put to proper use so that all of us can enjoy a good standard of living.
So be it and may God help us.
 

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