Ugo Aliogo
Research carried out at Harvard University has revealed that bad politics remains the root cause of governance and policy failures on the continent, which makes a case for training future public leaders to be disruptive change makers.
This was contained in a statement by the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG), which advocated for increased active citizen participation in governance.
The SPPG is a FixPolitics initiative that provides 33 weeks of thorough politics and policy training to cover all aspects of the leadership problem, with disruptive thinking as the requisite expertise needed to govern well.
Citing data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the SPPG identified causes of low voter turnout in Nigeria’s 2023 general election through a rigorous scientific method of data collection and research analysis.
The statement also noted that despite widespread enthusiasm, with over 10 million newly registered voters out of the total 93 million registered voters in the election, a meagre 27 per cent voter turnout was recorded post-elections, adding that this makes it the lowest voter turnout in Nigeria’s election history in 44 years.
The statement further explained that the SPPG training culminates in a capstone project as part of a community of practice (CoP) for the Certificate in Public Leadership and Policy (CPLP).
It noted that the values, knowledge, and skills help graduates develop a new model of value-based political leadership with the required competency, capacity, and character to help transform governance at all African levels.
Co-Lead of the CPG-1 Capstone Group Research Development Committee, Evelyn Dan Epelle, was quoted to have said: “This research was enlightening because it helped illuminate the root causes of low voter turnout, like disillusionment, socioeconomic strain, poor electoral infrastructure governance, and voter suppression.
“A key insight is that the low participation of citizens in politics and governance in Nigeria is not necessarily low enthusiasm. Nigerian citizens are more than willing to hold their leaders accountable.
“They need to learn how, and that’s what our capstone project presents, a research methodology for actively participating in governance.”
The statement espoused that Citizens’ Participation in Governance referred to the active involvement of citizens in the decision-making process and implementation of policies and programs that affect their lives and the overall development of their society.
On his part, the Group Co-Lead, Dr. Samson Abanni said: “Active citizens’ participation in governance is the cornerstone of a vibrant democracy as it makes for accountability, transparency, and inclusiveness. We believe that the voter turnout of 28 percent merited investigation and that no sound conclusion should be reached without data.”
