International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management THE SYMMETRICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT (original) (raw)
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Democracy, Good Governance and Development: Nigeria’s Experience
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science
The quest for democracy, good governance, and development has long been in the minds of many African leaders including Nigeria. Yet not many have achieved this neither do they have what it takes to make a government good and democratic. Using content analysis, the paper reveals that democracy has even in advanced countries not been practiced free and fair, though it is not dominated by many flaws as it is the case in Nigeria. This has prevented development from taking place. The paper examines the link between, democracy, good governance and development in Nigeria and submits that good governance reinforces democratic norms and practices while democracy offers the best prospects for good governance. However, democratic governance is not synonymous with good governance and development. Therefore, the mere existence of democracy does not translate into good governance and development. It however, follows that good governance is enhanced by democracy just as the former is a precondition for the realization of development. The paper clearly demonstrates that development efforts in Nigeria have failed because the tenets of democracy and features of good governance have been thwarted by state apparatus among other factors. The paper concludes that the hope for reconfiguring Nigeria lies in promoting good governance through the principles of democracy to ensure development.
The crisis of democracy and good governance in Nigeria
The practice of democracy in Nigeria over a decade ago has not yielded much needed good governance. This is because democracy is practiced in such a way that responsible and competent people are scared away. Scholars and keen observers have attempted at unraveling the factors militating against translating democracy into good governance. The paper revealed that democratisation in Nigeria is pervaded by electoral violence, manipulation of election results and political participation constraints. These identified challenges have made it impossible to attain consolidated democracy that can, in turn, facilitate good governance. Democracy is a catalyst for accountability, transparency and responsive government which brings about good governance. The paper insisted that governance collapse in Nigeria is reflexive of the perfunctory role of the political actors and it adopted elite theory to reinforce this argument. The paper adopted content analysis as a means of data gathering. It dwelt extensively on the synergy between democracy, political participation and good governance but queried the artificial gulf between them in Nigeria. It concluded by putting forth viable and pragmatic way forward. : In Press ISDS www.isdsnet.com 3 fundamental condition for development: responsible government-that is government that is committed to the advancement of the public good, rather than the private interests of its own officials and their families and their cronies".
Contemporary debates on democracy, good governance and development are greatly inspired by the significant political transformations that have taken place in Africa. In countries like Nigeria where the democratization process is work-in-progress, the intellectual preoccupation has been to reflect critically on how the prevailing political conditions can foster good governance and sustainable development. This paper offers a perspective on these debates. It observes that the ongoing conversations on the democracy-good governance-development nexus are a consequence of the liberalized political environment that permits dialogue and engagement. However, the bad news is that after almost two decades of democratization, the political leadership of Nigeria is yet to grapple with the development challenge. The paper argues that the democratization process has endured to the extent that the goal of good governance is not too far-fetched. Drawing extensively from available literature and against the backdrop of subsisting reform policies, the paper concludes that the good governance project should be considered as work-in-progress. This work in progress must necessarily crystallize into an approximation of the collective hopes and aspirations of Nigerians. To this end, the paper recommends the social democratic option -one that can set in motion a democratization process that places emphasis on the people's active participation in the development process.
Democracy and good governance: Nigerias dilemma
African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 2010
Despite its enormous resources and huge potentialities, Nigeria remains grossly undeveloped. Consequently, political instability, abject poverty, acute youth unemployment, heightened crime rate, poor health prospects and widespread malnourishment have been the main features of Nigeria's political economy. The development tragedy in Nigeria fits into the trends of political instability for which Africa has become infamous for in the past three decades. This further lends credence to the arguments by some students of African politics that governance is one of the major problems in Africa. This paper argues that the problem of development in Nigeria is a problem of governance; when defined in term of the proper, fair and equitable allocation of resources for the achievement of the end or purposes of the state, which is the promotion of the common good. The paper submits that for good governance to be feasible in Nigeria, sound anti-corruption policies devoid of mere speeches must be put in place. Furthermore, the paper recommends a functional legislature, a viable and independent judiciary, and the attitudinal transformation on the part of the political elite, the absence of which good governance and development will continue to be a mirage.
Democracy and Good Governance: The Missing Link in Nigeria
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
At the minimum, democracy refers to a political system that guarantees opportunities for citizens to choose and replace their leaders or representatives via free and fair elections; that respects and protects socioeconomic , political and cultural rights of citizens as well as guarantee acceptable level of active involvement of citizens in decision-making. In any good sense of the word, in terms of its ability to bring changes to the living conditions of citizens, it is a form of governance that holds this truth that the people are the most that matter. This implies that both civic engagement of citizens and responsiveness of the state to citizens' promptings and demands are key ingredients of democratic governance. However, except in very few countries such as Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, democracy appears to be rare for most of Africa. Against this backdrop therefore, this paper seeks to examine based on direct observation and grand narratives found in literature, the missing link in the actualization of citizens' aspirations in the supposed democratic states of Africa, focusing on Nigeria. It argues that good governance is virtually, the missing link in Nigeria's democratic experience since 1999. Furthermore, it posits that the institutionalization and realistic intensification of the crusade against corruption remains the basis of ensuring good governance only if the anti-corruption institutions will themselves be subject to democratic governance and the oversight powers of responsible civil society.
Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria: Roadmap to Sustainable Development
KIU Journal of Social Sciences, 2021
This paper set out to discuss issues of democracy, good governance and development in Nigeria. The paper begins by conceptualizing the concepts of "democracy", "good governance" and "sustainable development". It utilizes secondary source of data collection, while, the approach used in the paper is descriptive and content analytical. The paper adopts the Marxist political economy strand of conflict theory, and argues that there is the problematic of poor leadership and bad governance as democratic practice and governance in Nigeria is not practiced in tandem with basic democratic principles and values of good governance. This trend of governance, has no doubt impedes development efforts of Nigeria as a nation. To evolve virile and viable democratic governance, emphasis should be on strict adherence to democratic values and good governance /leadership such as accountability, sound economy, virile and viable civil society, among others.
Fundamentals of Good Governance: The Panacea for Development Performance in Nigeria
Journal of Public Administration, Finance and Law, 2021
A system of governance is good when it is legitimate, participatory, transparent and accountable, operates by the rule of law, efficient and effective in the use of resources, responsive to the needs of the people and promotes equity and equality. In Nigeria, years of economic exploitation, mal-development and bad governance have continued to fan the ember of conflicts and crisis in the country. A failed, corrupt and inept leadership coupled with inclement domestic socio-political environment have plunged development performance into the abyss. To progress from bad to good governance and from weak to strong development performance, Nigerian political leaders must adhere to the core fundamentals of good governance without which socioeconomic and political development will continue to be an illusion. The cardinal objective of this study is to demonstrate that core fundamentals of good governance impact significantly on development performance. This study adopted qualitative research design as data were collected from secondary sources. The technique of content analysis was applied to analyze the data collected which helped us to make interpretations coherently. The study revealed among other things that governance issues are the bane of development performance in Nigeria. The study therefore, recommends among others that for good governance and strong development performance to be feasible in Nigeria, transparency and accountability, rule of law, electoral legitimacy, efficient and effective service delivery, administrative competence, civil liberties and participation must be guaranteed.
Reviewing the Crisis of Governance for Development in Democratic Nigeria
Lapai International Journal of Politics LIJOPOL Volume 5 Number 4&5, 2019
Governance is an important instrument for accelerated development in all sectors of the nation. It is therefore imperative for states (Nigeria inclusive) wishing to realize, maintain or promote political, economic and social development to imbibe good governance which is indicative in rule of law, transparency, accountability, religion tolerance, social cohesion and absent of legitimacy crisis. While it is widely believed that bad governance is prevalent in autocratic and oligarchic system, it is evident now that bad governance does exist more in democracies particularly with African experience. The paper therefore reviews the concept of governance, and development in Nigeria using secondary data. The study revealed that, absence of good governance in Nigeria occasioned by corruption, violence, legitimacy crisis, religious and cultural disharmony and under development has been responsible for the failure of the country to achieve the desire development. The study concluded that until proactive measures are taken for the enthronement of good governance, transparency, accountability and rule of law, development will continue to elude the nation and the corporate existence of the nation will remained threatened. Key words: Governance, Leadership, Legitimacy, Crisis, Development
Governance and National Development: The Nigeria Perspective
2017
This paper empirically contributed to the debates on whether good governance promotes development. The paper specifically examined relationship between six governance indicators and national development of Nigeria using the time series data spanned 1996-2014. Data on governance indicators which include: Control of Corruption, Government Effectiveness, Political stability or absence of violence/terrorism, regulatory quality, rule of laws and Voice and accountability were collected from World Wide Governance Indicators. Data on National development proxies with per capital income were collected from World Bank. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationship between the variables. The findings of the regression results revealed that control of Corruption negatively correlate with national development (Natdev) but only significant at 10%. Similarly, regulatory quality positively and significantly correlates with national development both at 5% and 10%. However, governmen...
International Journal of Science and Business, 2019
Since its debut in the Greek city-state of Athens in the 5th century, Democracy has grown to become one of the most popular forms of government among nations of the word. Overtime too, a common notion suggestive of a positive correlation between democracy, good governance and development seems to have emerged amongst scholars and politicians such that democracy is now considered as a measure of good governance and a catalyst for development. Nigeria chose the path of democracy at independence in 1960. Since then, Nigeria has had four attempts at democratic governance amidst fits of military coup and interregnum. The aim of this paper is to test the veracity of the seemingly held notion of a positive correlation between democracy, good governance and development against evidence-based positions in the nascent democracy of Nigeria's fourth republic. The study observed some deficits of some vital ingredients in the nature and practice of democracy in Nigeria and the fundamentals being the issues of accountability and transparency needed for growth and development in any nation. The study situates the low-level development and lack of a positive correlation between democracy, good governance and development on the problems of accountability and transparency in the practice of democracy in Nigeria. The study submits that these problems are not the result of lack of requisite statutes but of statute enforcement. Appropriate recommendations were provided to tackle these problems in order to facilitate much needed growth and development in Nigeria. IJSB