THE COST OF GOVERNANCE

On Wednesday 13^th July, 2011, the Senate completed the screening of the people nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan to serve as Ministers. By Friday 15th of July, all the Ministers would have known in what capacities they will serve, and whether they will be senior Ministers or Ministers of State. In all, there are likely to be 42 Ministers, with 36 representing States as is provided for in the Constitution, and the rest representing geo-political zones, as in the tradition of the PDP. Last week, 18 (eighteen) Special Advisers were appointed, leaving two more to be appointed, to make up for the 20 the President and his Deputy requested, and was approved by the Senate. Special Advisers have equivalent ranks with Ministers.

          The long drawn-out process of appointing Ministers is being concluded at a time the National Assembly is in uproar over attempts by some sections of its leadership to reduce the total remunerations of its members. As at this moment, it is not clear whether efforts by some of the legislators to accord some respect to public opinion which is generally hostile to the huge cost of supporting the legislature in particular, and of governance in general, will succeed. Certainly, those legislators who argue that their huge pay is a legislated matter, and the only way it can be reduced is by amending the law, are right. It will be difficult to see how legislators, many of whom would have been encouraged by the comfortable financial compensation of the position to seek for it in the first place, would voluntarily review their emoluments downwards. It is more reasonable to expect that the very high take-home pays of our legislators will remain, even though there may be attempts to tinker with some variable expenses in running their offices strictly as a public relations exercise.

          The nation appears to be struck with the extremely high cost of governance, and we may not even have heard the last of this matter, with all the talk about creating additional Ministries to give each Minister a portfolio of his or her own. Yet there are threats of strikes over the refusal of many State governments to pay the N18, 000 minimum wage, which is the law. Political and public office holders earn salaries and allowances that are totally unrelated to the realities of existence of citizens. Life is hard for the ordinary citizen, on whose behalf billions have just been spent to conduct a very expensive general election in April, as a result of which many more billions were destroyed, and hundreds of lives were lost. Government is seriously contemplating removal of fuel subsidy. Electricity tariffs are going up, and the cost of basic fuels such as kerosene and diesel is becoming intolerable. The costs of all basic necessities of life are rising, and unemployment, particularly among youth, is at alarming levels.   

          This is the context in which Nigerians are asking legitimate questions on the cost and value of governance. There are generally-acceptable benchmarks for judging a fair price for being governed the world over. As a general rule, federal systems are very expensive, because they do not only need to operate different arms of government and fund them in such a manner as to ensure their independence; but they also operate different tiers of government. In Nigeria, we have a federal government which has three arms, 36 State governments, each with three arms as well, and 774 Local Governments, each with two arms. All three tiers and arms also have huge bureaucracies. There are many other institutions and agencies of government, military and paramilitary agencies, ministries and parastatals, all of which are supposed to perform one function of governance or the other.  

          The only justification for the huge cost of maintaining a federal structure is that all three tiers of government work in tandem with the principles of federal system. Each tier will have to make maximum possible impact within its mandate, and citizens must derive the full benefits of having all three levels perform different, if related tasks. Then there is the requirement that all governments must operate with the highest levels of competence, so that policies and the utilisation of public funds will make a real impact on the lives of citizens. Furthermore, leaders must have integrity and cultivate the highest levels of honesty, so that public assets and trust are not abused. Finally, government must be run with flexibility and a capacity for being adjusted in terms of its priorities, targets and overall cost for the citizenry.

          The image of Nigerian leaders is not currently at its best due to the general perception that they take a major chunk of public resources which is unearned and unjustifiable. Now that President Jonathan has completed the appointment of his Ministers and Special Advisers, Nigerians can only hope that the new appointees will justify the huge amounts Nigerians will pay them. It is important that everyone appointed resists the temptation to corruptly enrich himself or herself in their new offices. The efforts of some members of the National Assembly to launder its image over its huge take home pay will not impress Nigerians, unless it results in a real reduction in the overall cost of maintaining our legislature. Nigerians have some serious and justifiable misgivings about the cost of our political system. If the cost of governance is not reduced, they may question the value of the types of governments they support with their own resources. Democracy is only useful to a people who can afford it.