George Honadle, a famous author wrote that, "Implementation
is the nemesis of designers, it conjures
up images of plans gone awry and of social carpenters and masons who fail to
build to specifications and thereby distort the beautiful blue prints for
progress which were handed to them...(1979)."
There is no gainsaying the fact that many developed and
developing countries emerged as a result of the effective implementation of
their policies. Nigeria is often considered a developing nation, yet she ranks
low among other developing nations like China, Argentina and Brazil to mention
a few. I am a Nigerian, and I am not trying to defy the government's ability to
devise good policies. In fact, Nigeria is as blessed with brilliant minds as it
is with natural resources. However, the problem of implementation stands out to
frustrate these lofty policies, and obviously denies Nigeria its rightful place
among the developed countries.
For the sake of clarity, a public policy is a government
action plan or proposed action directed at achieving certain desired goals or
objectives (Ikelegbe, 2006). Public policies are usually made by the
legislative arm of the government in both the federal, state or local
government tiers and implemented by the public bureaucracy or designated
private institutions. Anyone would agree that this is a organised system of
achieving policy goals. Nevertheless, there exists a huge gap between these
goals and their achievements in Nigeria as a result of ineffective
implementation. For this reason, there is a high and urgent need to realize and
tackle the hindrances to the effective implementation of these policies.
Basically, corruption is a setback for any policy implementation
process in Nigeria. Corrupt political leadership, under which the public
bureaucracy thrives, has a negative effect on the the content and quality of
policies at the formulation stage as leaders tend to make policies for their
selfish and egoistic gains. Some of these policies are overambitious in nature (e.g
the provision of free education or health care services for all citizens in
some states in Nigeria), and there are usually inadequate financial, human and
technical resources for the public bureaucracy to implement them. This might be
as a result of the inadequacies in the government budget or the
misappropriation of funds by government officials through the cost escalation
of projects and so on. Without doubt, there will be a deterioration in the
quality of the services, and because these policies lack well defined
objectives and programmes for their effective implementation, and are not stated
on existing data, they are usually abandoned halfway.
On the issue of inadequate human resources, a principle
known as quota system is applied in Nigeria and it goes a long way in
determining the success of policy implementation. Quota system involves putting
people in job positions where they do not have sufficient or basic skill and
competencies. It is in this context that (Nnamdi, 2001) notes that development
policies has, in contemporary times,assumed complex and sophisticated dimension
that require highly skilled and experienced bureaucrats for their effective
implementation. Therefore, where ability exists, policies would be formulated
with a reliable assurance of effective implementation.
Also, as a result of quota system, bureaucrats may be forced
to dance to the whims of political figures whose aim is to influence the
implementation process probably because they consider the policy unfavourable,
that is, affecting their personal and ethnic
interests and aspirations. In some cases and for the same reasons, bureaucrats
may implement policies with no zeal, thereby rendering it ineffective.
It is a common
experience in Nigeria that new political leaders are mostly concerned with
making their own impression on public projects. They have a innate selfish
desire to associate policies nominally with their political leadership. As a result, certain policies which are
already being effected are shelved. For
example, the 'Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) ' which was former president, Olusegun
Obasanjo's idea was abrogated in Sheu Shagari's regime for 'Green Revolution.' President
Muhammad Buhari in his previous regime also abrogated Green Revolution for the
'Go back to land policy' and the 'Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural
Infrastructure (DFRRI).' As a matter of fact, all these policies are aimed at
improving food production. Why then were they abrogated?
These hindrances, without doubt, deter the development of Nigeria.
They are the fundamental reasons why there have not been tremendous social and
economic changes in the country despite the given number of policies that have
been formulated to bring about these changes. In essence, there has been a wide
gap between the development goals of a policy at the formulation stage and the
realization of such goals on implementation. To close this ever-widening gap,
the government should take steps to curb the influence of these hindrances on implementation.
Government should ensure the evolvement of purposeful,
visionary and responsible political and bureaucratic leadership at the heads of
the various government tiers and public bureaucracies respectively. This could
be achieved by upholding the principles and functions of democracy, and having
zero tolerance for corruption. The rule of law should be upheld regardless of
the title, gender and position of the offender. This would not only go a long
way in the formulation of selfless and appropriate policies to address national
problems, but also allow for the effective implementation of these policies by
the public bureaucracy.
Furthermore, Nigerian government should abolish the quota
system and employ people based on their skills and competencies instead of
primordial relationships; they should put in place adequate machinery to address
the inadequacies of previous policy implementation strategies; and give
bureaucrats incentives as this would help build their morale, commitment and
zeal to implementing policies. This would also reduce the tendency to
misappropriate funds, especially when the incentive is monetary. It is on this
note that Charles Kenedy, a British Liberal Democrat politician said: "Valuing
public servants would boost morale among those on the front line of
implementing government policy."
Nigerian government should work towards the
dichotomization of administration and politics in order to create room for
public bureaucracy to operate and implement policies based on the laid down
principle without the fear of infiltration by political leaders. This would
allow for the effective and proper implementation of policies by the public
bureaucracy.
Lastly, the national and state assemblies should enact laws
to ensure the continuity of existing policies in order to discourage the
abrogation of such policies by new political leaders. However, there should be
a condition for the abrogation of such policies if their implementation is considered,
for developmental reasons, unnecessary or impossible.
Without doubt, the speed at which development can be realised
is based on the government's ability to formulate good policies and effectively
implement them. Therefore, in a country like Nigeria where the need for
enhancing development is high and urgent, the government needs to take quick
steps to curb the hindrances to the effective implementation of public policies.
References
Honadle, George 1979. “Implementation Analysis: The Case
for an Early Dose of Realism in Development Administration” in, International
Development Administration: Implementation Analysis for Development, George
Honadle and Rud Klauss (eds.), New York: Praeger.
Ikelegbe, A. (2006) Public Policy Analysis: Concepts,
Issues and Cases. Lagos: Imprint Services.
Kennedy, Charles. Brainy Quotes. n.p, n.d.
Web. 24 July 2017.
<https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/charlesken720273.html?src=t_boost>
Nnamdi, H. (2001) Comparative Public Administration.
Benin City: Trust Publications.
Tags
Essay
If only they can think! May God save us
ReplyDeleteAameen
Delete