ActionAid Nigeria

1

• BUILDING POLITICAL WILL FOR PG IN CHALLENGING
  ENVIRONMENTS LESSONS FROM NIGERIA
• By
• Otive Igbuzor
• Country Director,
• ActionAid Nigeria
• Otive.Igbuzor_at_actionaid.org or otiveigbuzor_at_yahoo.
  co.uk
• 2348033039797

2
OUTLINE

• Introduction
• Nigeria A Challenging Environment
• Renewed Political Will for PG in Nigeria (1999 to
  date)
• Three Case Studies
• Issues in Building Political Will in Nigeria
• Lessons

3
1. Introduction

• Political will go beyond mere declarations
• Backed with laws or policies
• Supported by administrative systems
• Backed by budgetary provisions
• Devote time and energy

4
2. Nigeria A Challenging Environment

• Long years of military rule (30 out of 39 in
  1999)
• High level of Corruption
• High level of poverty (70 live below poverty
  line in 1999)
• Low capacity- Brain drain (New form of brain
  drain to International agencies)

5

• Poor Governance
• Weak Institutions
• Resource curse
• External challenge- Interest in Nigeria oil,
  impact of neo-liberalism, Bretton Woods
  institutions, International oil bunkering

6
3. Renewed Political Will for PG in Nigeria(1999
till date)

• Return to civil rule in 1999
• Return of the Legislature
• Return of oversight bodies
• Expansion and re-orientation of civil society
• New legislations incorporating some form of civil
  society representation (Oversight bodies NEITI,
  Fiscal Responsibility bill and Public Procurement
  Act)
• Expansion of democratic space (Media, 50
  political parties, FBOs)

7
4. Three Case Studies

• Constitution Making Process Government, Civil
  Society and Development partners
• Budgetary Process Legislature (Committee, Public
  hearing) Civil Society (Budget Tracking), Media
  and Private Sector
• Anti-Corruption Anti-Corruption bodies
  engagement with the public, Legislative probes

8
5. Issues in Building Political Will in Nigeria

• Class Interest and values
• Political Power calculation e.g. Third term and
  amendment of the 1999 Constitution
• Capacity Issues-Operational challenge
• Resource Constraint

9
6. Lessons

• Political will is built for an issue when there
  is a coalition of forces working to pursue the
  issue e.g. anti-third term agenda
• Political will is easier to operationalise when
  there is consensus among major actors and
  interest groups on an issue
• Strategic engagement with interest groups is
  critical to building and maintaining political
  will

10

• Thank You