CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Over the years, governance has become a
key concept in international development. Governance assessments vary
according to the interests, needs and culture of the researchers. Some
focus mostly on public sector corruption; others take a broader
approach, which can include elements of human rights and democracy
examined across civil society, the private sector, the judiciary and
government institutions. Many studies have shown that a nation’s
economic growth and quality of governance is enhanced by having leaders
who are well-read, competent with the right leadership skills, exposure
and behaviour. Furthermore, it is a general belief that a well-educated
leadership is a competitive advantage for any nation and there is a
correlation between good governance and leaders’ level of education. It
seems this theory is not working in Nigeria. So what went wrong? Is it
the quality of the academic qualifications? Is it the system? Has having
more educated leaders resulted in the current sophistication of
corruption in Nigeria? It is known that most of Nigeria’s current
leaders attended the best schools in or outside the country. And the
laws, codes of conduct and regulations in the Nigerian governmental
system are modest enough to guide those in power. So, what could be
responsible for poor governance style by our leaders? This writer is of
the view that the “strange” character of an average Nigerian politician
(which is not learned in school) could be responsible.
The absence of an appreciable level of
good governance in Nigeria despite the high educational level of its
leaders is a strong indication that leadership’s array of certificates
doesn’t matter, but the individual character and behaviours. For
instance, a professor who teaches basic knowledge in school, when given a
political position behaves like a motor park tout. With such situation,
one can say leadership is not all about academics but character,
because past leaders in Nigeria with lower educational level have proven
to be more competent and were able to conceptualize sensible ideas
which enhanced all-round national development.
They also governed with broader focus on
public interest than the current leaders who have higher educational
qualifications. Some educationists have observed that political leaders,
who possess high educational qualifications and misbehave, did not earn
such qualifications scholarly. Hence, they display disgraceful
character in positions of political leadership. Other people have also
summed up the reason for the lack of good governance to the fact that
most individuals in leadership positions in Nigeria are never prepared
for the job. Furthermore, the political system is so corrupted that the
easy way to secure an elective office is to have the right godfather;
belong to the political party in power whether at the centre or in State
and during electioneering campaign all that is needed of one is to
climb to the podium, rain abuses on the opponents, shout the name of
your political party and dance. Such system would never produce good
leadership.
Notwithstanding the array of reasons for
the absence of good governance in Nigeria, the highly educated Nigerian
leadership is still not performing as expected of well-read leaders
with global mindset, because everything in the polity is ascribed to
politics. When politicking overtakes policies, leadership degenerates-
and this is the disease affecting the average Nigerian political
leader. The politics we are referring to is when a political office
becomes an opportunity for self enrichment and it is associated with
pride, arrogance and larger than life attitude. Another factor that
leads to the bad governance in Nigeria is; the society sometimes
encourages national leaders to transform into to regional, ethnic or
religious champion after serving at the centre. In addition, some
members of the Nigerian society expect their people in power to have or
to do certain things even if they are wrong; just because one person did
have or did it before.
Despite the established fact that highly
educated leaders develop good policies for economic growth in their
countries, they influence international public opinion towards their
countries and easily attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to their
countries, including separating their personal interest from the public
good, it is puzzling that the more highly educated Nigerians ascend to
political power the more the country experiences bad governance. The
average Nigerian leader can be helped to mend his character “there is a
popular saying that positive character traits can be both taught and
learned. The society needs to disapprove the arrogance, pride, self
enrichment and larger than life attitude associated with public office.
The Nigerian society should celebrate leaders who put more energy into
feasible economic objectives and provision of public good and
infrastructure. And not celebrate leadership that concentrates on
mundane politicking and narrow personal interests which tend to have
adverse effects on the provision good governance. There is no doubt, the
educational level of whoever aspires for a public office in Nigeria
matters, but individual good character and behaviours are essential for
listening and servant leadership.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
In recent years, the discourse on the
relationship between good governance and education has attracted huge
academic interest. Many of the discussions on good governance are
concentrated on the desired objective of nations’ political development
though the basic issues and principles of good governance, however, are
not new. The most prevalent aspect of good governance debate is on
anti-corruption which often assesses the capacity of government to be
accountable, just, fair, effective, efficient, participatory,
transparent, responsive, consensus-oriented, and equitable. These are
the major characteristics of good governance as outlined by the United
Nations. However, the researcher tends to identify the prevailing
factors in education that determine good governance in Nigeria.
1.3 Research Questions
The following are some of the questions which this study intends to answer:
i) what are the factors that influence education on good governance in Nigeria?
ii) what is the prevalence of education on good governance in Nigeria?
iii) what are the reasons for the influence of education on good governance in Nigeria?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to
investigate the causes, effects and solutions to economic recession in
Nigeria among small, medium and large scale entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
The specific objectives are: to;
i) to know the factors that influence education on good governance in Nigeria
ii) to assess out the prevalence of education on good governance in Nigeria
iii) to determine the reasons for the influence of education on good governance in Nigeria
1.5 Research Hypothesis
The research hypotheses to be tested include:
i) there will be no significant relationship between education and good governance
ii) there will be no significant influence of education on good governance
iii) there will be no significant relationship between education and good governance
1.6 Significance of the Study
The significance of the study is to
benefit both the research and readers, for it makes for a very
interesting and educational reading, since the study will attempt to
make everything in detail which will attract readers and researchers.
The research hypotheses and data analysis will also enable the
researcher to determine whether or not there is a relationship between
education and good governance.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study covered respondents like
political office holders and seekers and youths in Nigeria. Variables of
interest were education and good governance. While education is
independent variable, good governance is the dependent variable.
1.8 Limitation of the study
The study focused on investigating the
basic issues in education and good governance. However, the researcher
was faced with the constraint of getting adequate information from
political office holders and seekers and youths in Nigeria due to the
fact that most of them were not willing to reveal adequate information
about them.
1.9 Definitions of Terms
The following terms were used in the course of this study:
Education: This is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research.
Good Governance: This
refers to the processes for making and implementing decisions. It is not
about making correct decisions, but about the best possible process
for making those decisions.
REFERENCES
Amanchukwu, Rose N. (2011). The Challenges of Quality Education and Good Governance
in Developing Economy. African Journal of Education and Technology, Volume 1 Number 3 (2011), pp. 103-110
Zayyad I. Muhammad, (2013). Nigerian Leaders, Educational Level and Good Governance.