KADUNA STATE AND THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE GOVERNANCE PROCESS

by 

Yusuf Ishaku Goje

It was the present Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, who rightly posited that the “civil society is the oxygen of any democracy”. This is more evident in advanced democracies where the civil society groups continue to play active roles in the leadership selection and decision making processes as regards governance.


In the case of emerging democracies such as the one in Nigeria; the civil society groups are yet to have the required space to actively and meaningfully participate in and influence the processes of governance.


This can be attributed to the manner in which the civil society has evolved over the years. The civil society has been central in the victory against colonialism and military dictatorship; thereby building capacity and reputation more towards activism and protest.


Due to their modus oparandi, they have been mistakenly equated by successive governments as political opposition rather than partners in progress. What is more worrisome is that till date governments are suspicious, often extremely nervous of or even hostile to the role of civil societies in the governance space.


Those holding elective public offices in government must come to the realization that democracy is not a spectator sport, even though politicians have a consistent way of making a spectacle out of themselves.


 Continuous engagement with the civil society is fundamental to citizen’s ownership of governance and development processes. No matter the developmental vision or implementation plan of a leader in power; the absence of the citizen’s informed input and ownership makes the whole process lose its credibility, purpose and viability.



Globally, the civil society groups are being recognized increasingly as agents for promoting good governance through ensuring transparency, effectiveness, openness, responsiveness and accountability in government. They are expected to facilitate external pressure from the citizens on the system to improve service delivery through freedom of information act and creative engagements. Without the active participation of the civil societies; those holding public office become self-centered and arrogant, thereby becoming a threat to democracy and nightmare to the citizens.



Civil society groups have constitutionally guaranteed rights to occupy a place on the table of discussions on public policies and reforms. This is because public officers, no matter their qualifications or track-record, are only first among equals with the mandate to serve and not to lord over the citizens.



As the cliché goes “nobody has monopoly of knowledge and competence”; so the participation of the civil society is the legitimization ingredient needed to give any government’s action credibility. Furthermore, civil societies are meant to be protective shield for democracy against public officer’s proneness to be power-drunk, authoritarian and insensitive.



As pointed out earlier, no administration, no matter how well intentioned or capable, can achieve the desired success needed without the support of the civil society. This brings me to the case of Kaduna state where the present administration has introduced reforms that are laudable in the ideal sense, but have remained controversial in implementation due to the counterproductive effect on the people. It means on the long run its policies, programmes and intervention might not be sustainable, because it is the civil society that can guarantee its continuity after the tenure of the present administration has elapsed.



This can be attributed to limited input and ownership by the residents of these reforms; as many have come to see them as anti-people, thereby making them want to throw away the baby with the birth water. Some of these proposed reforms are unpopular, due to narrow consultation and input of the civil society groups in the state. They include among others the religious bill at the State House of Assembly, plans to confiscate lands for grazing reserve/ranches and that of the proposed demolition of houses in Gbagyi Villa by fiat (even with a court injunction subsisting).



This issues that have generated so much social tension can be handled in a sustainable and peaceful way only if the civil society groups, that are directly affected, are brought to the table to be part of the decision making processes in resolving them.


The government and the laws are to serve the people and not the other way round. We must remind public office holders that the people voted not for the leader to achieve his or her self-conceived vision or ambition, but to cater for the security and welfare need of the people. As John Maxwell, the great leadership expert puts it, “the followers do not care about the vision of the leader, they only care about how the leader cares about them”.


Many want to belief that this government means well, but some of the hurriedly carried out actions without the expanded input and ownership of the people they should be serving leaves much to be desired. This issue is not about political, ethnic or religious sentiments; it is about delivering good governance to the millions of suffering residents of Kaduna state. Good governance cannot be achieved overnight, but if it is to ever be achieved it has to grow organically from the very roots of the civil society.


The purpose of this article is not to criticize the government, which is the trend now, but to impress on the government the need to adopt a positive attitude towards the participation of and collaboration with civil society groups in the governance processes in state. No doubt, Kaduna state has the potential to be great again, only if the government is of the people, by the people and for the people.


In conclusion, good governance can only be attained by investing in the development of inclusive and sensitive institutions, systems and reforms that will ensure greater accountability to the citizens; with the civil society groups playing the key role of monitoring and evaluation of the impact of government activities on the people.


Yusuf Ishaku Goje
Coalition of Association for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment & Development (CALPED)
greatnessygoje@gmail.com