Impact of good governance on business development
President Bola Tinubu
Good governance is defined as the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realisation of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regard for the rule of law. Good governance is the act of public institutions meeting the objectives of the constitution of a nation. For example, the two major objectives of the 1999 Constitution are security and the welfare of the people. Chapter Two, Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution states that “the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a state based on the principles of democracy and social justice. It is hereby, accordingly, declared that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom the government through this constitution derives all its powers and authority. The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government; etc.” Good governance must, therefore, ensure these two objectives of security and welfare of the people are met.
Governance refers to all processes of governing or leading and managing a people, the institutions of governance, processes and practices through which issues of common concern are decided upon and regulated. Good governance adds normative or evaluative attributes to the process of government. From a business developer’s perspective, good governance refers primarily to the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realisation of economic efficiency with as many residents having jobs as possible. The government must realise that a nation is a system. A system is a unit of interrelated parts, in which the malfunction of a part will affect the performance of other parts and the performance of the system in general. The malfunction of the government institution, business, education, health or transport sector will affect the performance of the economy.
While there is no internationally agreed definition of ‘good governance’, it suffices to say that it may cover the following topics: Respect for human rights, the rule of law, effective participation, multi-actor partnerships, political pluralism, transparent and accountable processes and institutions, an efficient and effective public sector, legitimacy, access to knowledge, information and education, political empowerment of people, equity, sustainability, and attitudes and values that foster responsibility, solidarity and tolerance. According to the United Nations, good governance is measured by the eight factors of participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus orientation, equity and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, and accountability. A good leader who wants to practise good governance must ensure that the government is participatory and that there is the enforcement of laws to ensure peace, fairness and justice.
In summary, good governance relates to the political and institutional processes and outcomes that are necessary to achieve the goals of development. The true test of ‘good’ governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights, civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. But are the institutions of governance effectively guaranteeing the right to health, adequate housing, sufficient food, quality education, fair justice and personal security? In the 1990s, the World Bank became the first international institution to adopt the concept of good governance into lending arrangements for developing countries and introduce the idea to the general public. In the World Bank 1992 report entitled “Governance and Development”, the notion of good governance was written as the way in which power is used to regulate the economic and social resources of a country for development.
Now, the term good governance has often been used by national and international organisations. Good governance aims to minimise corruption, take into account the opinions of minorities, listen to the voices of the oppressed in the decision-making process, and respond actively to the needs of the community now and in the future. The principles of democracy and good governance are aligned in this area if we place the doctrine of “taking into account the opinions of minorities” and the democratic norm of “majority have their way, minority have their say, while everybody has their pay.”
The Saturday, February 25, 2023 general election exercise to elect a leader for Nigeria was a crucial one for business development. Since business is about the production of goods and services, generating incomes and profits for people and income and corporate taxes for the governments, serious governments must take the issue of business development very seriously.
The voters must also take into cognisance the ability of each candidate to meet their aspiration of getting a job and earning income. A corrupt leader can never be a good leader as he or she cannot meet the principles of good governance. Corruption is a double-edged sword for employment and infrastructural development. The ripple effect is unimaginable! While corruption causes indolence in the people, as those close to corrupt leaders see it as a good way of life and wait for their opportunity to amass wealth through corruption and not through hard work, corruption also depletes the financial resources of the community where leaders are practising it. Corruption is, therefore, worse than the slave trade. The caveat about corruption is that it is only education that can solve it. It is, therefore, rampant in communities where we have a low literacy level among the people, a high rate of poverty and a lack of rule of law!
One prominent feature of developed nations is a “high rate of business development.” Any Nigerian leader who can ensure an employment rate of just 40 per cent in his first year in office will be a good leader.
