Governance is the process in which the leaders or the public office
holders of a given society make and implement decisions with the prime motive
of affecting the lives of the citizenry positively. Governance is said to be
‘Bad’ when the outcome is not favourable to the people.
Good governance is accountable; it is transparent; it follows the rule
of law; it is responsive; it is equitable; good governance is effective and
efficient; above all, it’s participatory. Any democratic process that bears the
reverse of the aforementioned qualities or features is referred to as ‘Bad
governance’.
It is apparent that governance is interwoven with democracy owing to the
fact that it is only in a thorough and holistic democratic setting it
(governance) can be observed. Surely, democracy begets politics and in the same
vein, governance is begotten by politics; there are no two ways about it.
To say that governance has been profoundly abused in the contemporary
Nigerian society is merely an understatement. Suffice is to say; the level of
decadence in governance in the various developing nations across the globe,
particularly Nigeria, cannot be overemphasized.
To say the least; since the emergence of democracy in ‘the Giant of
Africa’ sixteen years ago, governance has been perceived by our leaders as an
inconsequential tool thereby making the said society seem not unlike a mockery
ground. It is no doubt a thing of worry for the concerned elite as well as the
patriotic individuals amidst the overwhelming populace.
One may ask; who is actually to be blamed in a nation or society where
governance is not taken seriously or where bad governance is generally absorbed
as a norm? Indeed, such inquiry could be tagged as a ‘critical and very
sensitive’ one, which requires only but an unequivocal response.
In some quarters, bad governance
is solely attributed to the corrupt nature of the leaders involved coupled with
impunity. Whilst, some are of the opinion that it is a product of extreme
insincerity and mediocrity mainly on the side of the members of the
legislature. On the other hand, another school of thought is of the view that
good governance would remain far-fetched in a country like Nigeria until the
country’s electoral umpire becomes thoroughly independent.
Without mincing words; from my perspective, bad governance, which is
peculiar to the African society in its entirety, is mostly not unconnected to
the uncalled and unwarranted attitude of the followers. Someone who’s
interested in further clarification may want to know who ‘the followers’ are.
The followers are the electorate or the general public, or those who are not
occupying any leadership position. In other words, if you are not a leader, you
are definitely a follower.
At this juncture, I put it up to you that the citizens have been the
singular cause of their predicament as regards governance. Yes, until the
citizenry realize that leadership and followership are interdependent, they
will continue to get it wrong. It is high time we understood that without the
followers, the leaders cannot perform. Needless to say that, the leaders cannot
function without the presence or effort of the followers.
This implies that, much as we presume that power only belongs to the
leaders, we ought to also comprehend the fact that the teeming followers have
some elements of power, albeit seemly intangible, attached to their
personalities. The dichotomy is that; the leaders have the power or immunity to
lead while on their part, the followers have the power to sack any leader if
the need arises. Of course, the followers rightly possess the power to move
‘Vote of No-confidence’ on any executive office holder or recall any legislator,
as the case may be.
It is so pathetic that the followers’ power has been bewildered by
various factors such as sycophancy, apathy, vulnerability, and ignorance. It is
obvious to the sight of those who are not mentally blind that the aforementioned
factors, among others, have been militating against the functionality of the
people’s power/immunity.
Most of those who are fully informed have chosen to be sycophants; they
go about singing praises or citing eulogies come rain come shine. Some other
informed ones are invariably marred by apathy with a silly presumption that the
said political cankerworm is indelible. Similarly, another fairly informed
class seems defenceless; this set of persons who appear vulnerable could be
very powerful if they apply ‘synergy’ but their myopic mindset ostensibly
beclouds their sense of reasoning. On the other hand, a certain group among the
followers is not in any way aware that power also lies in their hands;
unarguably, their ignorant mentality has caused them a tremendous fortune.
The most annoying part is that most of the followers in question don’t
know when to tender criticism. They prefer to remain mere spectators over their
so called leaders’ derailment. Even, some of them who call themselves
‘activists’ have in one occasion or the other soiled their reputations.
Perhaps, it is needless to reiterate the fact that good governance will
remain a mirage in the contemporary African society till the electorate
acknowledge fully that leadership and followership are wholly interwoven. Frankly,
the followers have been the architect of their recurrent misfortune. In view of
this singular fact, the civil society organizations, the media, religious
bodies, and what have you, need to intensify awareness on letting the people
realize their responsibility towards actualizing good governance. Think about
it!
(The Media Ambassador)
_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056 Twitter: @fdnnwaozor
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