Just as
bad coins drive away good ones, the bad news and
events of Alam’s bail jump and dramatic escape
from Britain have eclipsed good news in the past
couple of weeks. Not many have taken note of the
new spirit of healthy competition unfurled among
states by a recent performance rating conducted
by the National Planning Commision, NPC, in
collaboration with the World Bank, UNDP, USAID,
DFID and other reputable international
organisations. In that report, Enugu stood out
as the best in the areas of budget and fiscal
planning, service delivery, policy formulation,
communication and transparency in governance.
The Federal Capital Territory came second, while
Osun, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Ondo, Lagos, Kaduna,
Anambra, Cross Rivers and Yobe, were rated in
that order, among the first 11 well-governed
states. Taraba came last while Alam’s Bayelsa
opted out of the competition.
The
governor of my state, Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola
is still savouring the goodwill from the rating
of Osun as the third best state. Governor Fayose
of Ekiti is happy that his state is ranked
fourth and has promised to do more to enhance
his state’s future rating. The government of
Ogun state has, however, expressed its
dissatisfaction about its relatively poor
ranking. It complains about the failure of the
assessment to recognise the giant strides of
Governor Gbenga Daniel in the delivery of
welfare programmes to the people.
But
many were not surprised when Dr. Chimaroke
Nnamani’s state led other states in that
assessment. When 13 European union ambassadors
visited the Ebeano state between 22 and 24
September 2005, they all spoke glowingly about
the capacity of the administration to deliver a
sound environment for wealth multiplication. The
British High Commissioner, Mr. Richard Gozney,
for instance, remarked that, “My own impression
and the one we can see to enlighten the outside
world is of the dynamism, the optimism and the
ambition of Enugu to be different and to
introduce programmes, infrastructure and other
elements for the future which will make this
state a driving force, a motivating force in
this part of Nigeria and perhaps for Nigeria as
a whole”. Other ambassadors were equally full of
praise for the governor’s efforts.
Let
this rating serve as a wake-up call to other
states that have not performed so well. It was
healthy competition among the regions that
galvanized the nation to greater heights in the
first republic. Instead of grudging Nnamani’s
excellent score card, other governors should try
to learn from him. The question to ask is : What
is Nnamani doing right?
Those who have
been there say the Ebeano state is like a
gigantic construction site, with many projects
at various stages of completion. The sprawling
staff quarters and hostel facilities at ESUT,
the Loma Linda, Golf, and Ebeano housing
estates, all testify to Nnamani’s effort to
provide decent shelter for the people. Apart
from the provision of well-equipped clinics
there is the ultra-modern Enugu State University
Teaching Hospital Complex which is nearing
completion. There are completed and on-going
water and road projects. Enugu state started its
school meal programme long before other states.
Good governance in poor countries is
about the capacity of government to provide
basic welfare services and institutions that
empower the people for wealth creation. From all
indications, Gov. Nnamani is moving in the right
direction.
... no permanent friends,
please
When Alam suddenly showed up in
Yenagoa few days ago, EFCC said the embattled
governor forged travel papers and disguised as a
woman in a desperate bid to escape.
There are fresh indications, however,
that Alam did not have to go through all that
trouble. Britain had nothing to lose and
everything to gain by looking the other way as
the man took to his heels. When Nigeria, through
the Minister of Justice, asked Britain to hold
Alam on money laundering charges, what was
uppermost in the calculation of Britain was the
safety of hundreds of its nationals working for
Shell in the Delta region. Alam’s alleged N10
billion asset was also a temptation. The
governor was just too willing to forfeit the
assets in exchange for freedom.
It is
unfortunate that OBJ had to write a strongly
worded letter to Blair on the matter. But let
the lesson be learned now that, in
“international relations, there are no permanent
friends, but permanent interests”. In helping to
fight graft, Britain simply refused to cry more
than the bereaved.
