Wanted: Entrepreneurial governors

A critical weak link in Nigeria’s democratic structure resides in the governorship seat, the head of each of the country’s 36 states. There are only a few states where the governors have used this seat to the benefit of the generality of their people across their states. This has added to the impoverishment of the […]

A critical weak link in Nigeria’s democratic structure resides in the governorship seat, the head of each of the country’s 36 states. There are only a few states where the governors have used this seat to the benefit of the generality of their people across their states. This has added to the impoverishment of the Nigerian people, especially in the rural areas. 

The governor is the Chief Executive of the State, according to Section 176 (2) of the Nigerian Constitution. By this singular provision, the law of the land puts the fate of a state squarely into the hands of the governor. It puts the resources of a state at his disposal. It leaves the management of such resources to the capacity of the governor. Thus, as in the case of a corporate body, the state rises and falls on the nature, the makeup, and idiosyncrasies of whoever becomes the governor. 

However, unlike in the corporate environment where there are regulatory provisions to check executive excesses, these are largely lacking in our political structure. Despite the doctrine of the separation of powers, the reality is that the executive governor tends to dominate the power terrain.  Thus, this exalted position of the governor, without a corresponding provision for an effective control framework, has short-changed the citizens whose welfare is sometimes left to chance. 

The state stands between the federal government and the local government councils. But rather than enhance a smooth flow of resources to the third-tier level of government, a faulty state structure impedes it, stifling grassroots development in the country. 

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The governor is the state’s Chief Security Officer and, by default, the Chief Accounting Officer in the real sense of the word. He takes more than a casual interest in the safety of the state because it is in the safety of the state where its economic viability lies. He has at his disposal a Security Vote that nobody else knows about. The governor has to know the financial position of the state at every point in time so he can plan properly to ensure the state’s financial soundness.  This is where the tragedy lies. We have chief executives of states some of whom do not think like entrepreneurs. 

This failure at the state level in Nigeria has contributed immensely to the country’s stunted progress. Many governors have become dormant seas that receive resources from the federal government plus the much-taunted internally generated revenue, but do not allow such resources to flow freely into the entire state to lubricate the wheels of development in their domains. 

They are executive governors, so they hold the proverbial knife and the yam. It is whoever they cut for that eats of the yam. This may not change in the foreseeable future unless there is a change in the powers of the state governors.   

This explains why, in many of the states, the story remains the same because there is a new story only when there is a change.  Such states would be better off today if they had the luck of being governed by a good man or woman, a good manager of men and materials. But because such states have had the misfortune of being ruled by value destroyers, they have retrogressed instead of making progress. 

Despite this, some of Nigeria’s states have become better places today because of the people who have governed or are governing them. Such governors have turned around the fortunes of their states. In the process, they have raised the tempo of economic activities and impacted positively on the lives of their citizens. In some cases, their citizens living outside the state or even outside the country, have relocated home. 

Thus, after the recent decisions by the Supreme Court on gubernatorial elections in several states, Nigerians expect to see action commence in the affected states by these governors who were declared victorious. The twists and turns of events at the Election Tribunals and Appeal Court had perhaps dampened optimism in some of the affected states. This became the alibi for the lethargy experienced in the pace of governance, as the embattled governors focused attention on ways of reclaiming their mandates. 

Now that the mandates have been restored by the highest court in the land, could the governors roll up their sleeves and go to work for the people who voted them into power? Governance is a serious business. Its quality affects the quality of life for those who are governed. 

But what is the value of the mandates if not for impacting the lives of the ordinary people they govern? What is a mandate given to a governor through the ballot box if not to provide synergy in the process of converting resources into benefits for their citizens? 

Entrepreneurial CEOs are value creators. They are not value destroyers. They grow their states, both qualitatively and quantitatively.  They plan, they budget, they control, they invest, and they manage resources. 

Our governors should view themselves as chief executives of companies listed on the stock exchange. The overall objective of the company is to increase the value of the company for the greater benefit of the stakeholders. This is the criterion on which CEOs are evaluated by the market. When they do it well, the market rewards them. Demand for the company’s shares rises, and as this rises, the market value of the company increases. This is the concept of value creation through the mechanism of the market. 

Turn our states to the marketplace. Let our states create value, and let the reward for CEOs be based on the value they create, not how long they occupy the seat at the state house. We have seen a couple of governors make strides in elevating the status of their citizens. Many are turning around the fortunes of their citizens, whose fortunes were battered by previous administrations. Nigerians in various states watched in dismay as value destroyers in the garb of governors wreaked havoc on their collective resources leaving their states bare. 

Now is the time to rebuild our states. It starts with entrepreneurial governors.