Five Reasons Why Nigerian Government Fail

Posted by Ohikhuare Isuku

     Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world with over 200million people from diverse ethnic nationalities. It has thirty-six states, with a federal capital territory in Abuja. Aside her vast human resources, Nigeria is endowed with innumerable natural resources of esteemed value which are evenly spread across her entire landmass.


     But unfortunately, since her independence nearly six decades ago, the country’s wealth has been plundered, leaving it bluntly stagnant, and even retrogressive in recent times. This stagnation or rather retrogression has developed powerful wings, not because of the earth which makes up her geographical space, nor the clouds which pull over it. Rather, the problem has remained her leaders: their palling attitude towards growth and development which can be rated anything less than zero.

Governors are among this crop of failed leaders. Unfortunately, they go a long way to determine whether or not development would be advanced in the nation due to the power and resources which the constitution has granted them. Sadly, these resources and power have either been misused or not harnessed in the first place by these governors.

Below are five reasons while Nigerian governors fail:

Ø  Corruption: 

       This of course is a problem of no mean gravity, which has continuously brought failure upon most Nigerian governors. They climb to power, taste of its sweetness and then wrap themselves with the livery of corruption. Although their pockets get bloated after tenures, their governments become a total mess.

Ø  Godfatherism:

        This has contributed in no small measure to the failure of many governors in Nigeria. An influential man in the society (Godfather) might decide to sponsor a candidate for an elective post. He may choose to invest all his resources to bring the candidate to power, but once his bidding is successful, he seizes the mechanism of power, dictates for his godson and gradually, because of his greed, brings failure upon the administration of his godson.

Ø  Extravagant Campaign:

         This is very common in developing countries like Nigeria. Politicians vying for positions often throw billions of naira around to garner the votes of the electorate through inducements. By the time, they ascend the glossy thrones; they milk the public treasuries dry in order to pay the debt they incurred during electioneering campaign. This will definitely tell on the economies of the states they govern, and hence, failure will dog their paths.

Ø  Stereotype:

           According to the English dictionary, stereotype is a convectional, formulaic and oversimplified conception, opinion or image. Standing on this definition, it is pertinent to note that if a governor is to stereotyped i.e highly opinionated to fault, he cannot succeed in governance. Although it is very important for a leader to make decisions and defend them, sometimes, they should shift ground once they discover bugs in their decisions. One can’t be right all the time!

Ø  Lack of Preparation:

          Most governors in Nigeria happened to be unprepared for the task of governance, even while they were dishing out their shabby and outrageous manifestoes. This surely leads to failure.

Most governors initially contested for the position, neither because of embezzlement nor good governance. They are clearly undefined as per the reason why they contested. They happened to contest just to be self-fulfilled. Hence, instead of them being emotional about the dealings in government, they tend to be flippant. Thus, at the end of the day, their government crumble like Jericho’s wall.