One of the greatest cravings of developed and developing countries is to achieve good governance which is a normative and administrative concept. The concept good governance gained prominence in the 90s after the end of the cold war. The World Bank first adopted it as a condition for lending to developing countries like Nigeria.
There is no universally accepted definition of good governance but several attempts have been made to conceptualise it. Good governance concerned the ability of government to create atmosphere that promotes freedom of citizens to participate in government activities, accountability and transparency in government and its decision making process or processes, the application of rule of law and predictability of government actions (Udo, 2004). This conceptualisation portray good governance as a multifaceted government process.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)(2011) described good governance as referring to systems which are capable, responsive, inclusive, and transparent. This means good governance is more about institutional efficiency than individual capabilities. African Development Bank( AfDP)(2008) conceptualised good governance as the manner in which power is being exercised in the management of state affairs and relationships with other nations. This implies that good governance is all about good management of state resources and relationships with other states. It is a responsive government that is capable of promoting inclusiveness, transparency and accountability in governance for the purpose of achieving holistic and sustainable development in a nation or state.
Amongst major triggers of good governance is a leader that will co-ordinate state affairs. There are various means through which leaders could emerge in a societies. This means depend largely on the political culture of the people which the leader pertains. The political culture of homogeneous societies significantly differ from that of heterogeneous (pluralistic) ones.
The political culture of heterogeneous societies is much complex and unpredictable and could generate conflicts amongst the citizenry if not properly moderated by sound ethical mores and or laws.
Plateau state is a miniature Nigeria, a pluralistic society. In the perception of Lijphart (2008), ''A
pluralistic society is one that is sharply divided along religious, ideological, linguistic, cultural, ethnic or racial lines into virtually separate sub - societies with their own political parties, interest groups and media of
communication. He further stated that usually such societies are polarised by ethnic differences and require careful power distribution
and social engineering to avoid outright failure.
Some of the carefully crafted political power and resources distribution strategies, aimed at achieving political stability in a pluralistic society like Nigeria are revenue share formula, federal character and zoning system which shall be the focus of this discourse.
Zoning or zoning system is described in Nic, Eloise Sa'eed (2019), as "A political practice in Nigeria under which political parties agree to split their presidential and vice-presidential candidates between the north and south of the country and also to alternate the home area of the president between the north and south of the country." It is a gentleman power sharing, shifting or rotating agreement between power brokers in Nigeria.
The history of the origin of zoning practice in Nigeria is traceable to the Second Republic in 1979. This followed the return of democracy and the formation of National Party of Nigeria (NPN) which operated on the basis zoning principle which was designed to ensure that no part of country was permanently excluded from power and that political parties were to maintain national outlook at all times (Nic, Eloise, & Sa'eed, 2019).
In the course of time, zoning system was replicated at regional (state) levels although the implementation was not uniformly and faithfully followed by the respective states.
Due to its heterogeneity, Plateau State was one of the states where zoning was embraced is being sustained. There are three zones in the Plateau state namely the northern, Central and Southern zones. In 1999 Plateau Central Zone produced the governor in the person of Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye with a Deputy Micheal Botmang of blessed memory from the northern zone. After eight being in power for eight (8) years, the Northern zone took over in 2007 via Da David Jonah Jang with deputy, Her Excellency (HE), Dame Pauline Tallen from the Southern Zone and later Ignatius Lonjang who eventually became Senator of the Republic but died. The incumbent governor, Rt Hon. Dr Simon Bako Lalong took off from the Southern Zone with a deputy from the Central Zone in person of Prof. Sonny Gwanle Tyoden. This completed the first round with popular understanding that the next governor will come from Plateau Central zone, thereby marking the beginning of a new round of zoning in the state.
It's important to note that the Southern Zone had had Chief Solomon Daushep Lar of blessed memory in 1979 and Sir Fidelis Tapgun in the 90s and Late Joseph Dechi Gomwalk from the present Plateau Central under military regime. The JD's regime cannot be factored into the analysis because there was no zoning in his days. More so that his administration was military and unconstitutional.
The task at hand is to examine the possible implications of zoning system for governance in Plateau State going forward. This is necessary in view of the current media hype on the issue. With the benefit of hindsight, zoning system has not satisfactorily resulted in automatic good governance or rapid and sustainable development even in the zones the governors hail from.
The main thesis of this discourse is that come 2023, the best chance of Plateau State is not in zoning opportunity but to present our best to contest for the governorship seat of the state. When the state gets it wrong at the leadership recruitment level, every other effort made shall be of no valuable consequence!
At best, zoning could help in stabilising the political space but it might not guarantee the best for leadership responsibilities. Give me just one example of state that got it right in governance purely because of zoning arrangement and not the leadership capabilities of those saddled and I will be convinced!
After election, zoning will not mean any good but the capacity of the man on the saddle to deliver good governance to people of the state and Nigeria. Therefore, the citizens must be objectively thorough in the screening and recruitment of those the want to govern them.
In screening and recruiting, here are some basic lead questions simulated to guide our choices:
1. Does he or she has requisite experience to lead and govern under complex chaotic situations?
2. Does he or she has the courage and emotional stability to stay focus to confront our most dare security problems?
3. Does he or she has the strategic plan to change the fortune of the state from civil service to business oriented state?
4. Does he or she has the capability to crack the potentials of the state in the area of tourism and intertainment, mining and agriculture?
5. Does he or she has the stamina to unite, inspire and propel Plateau citizens to selflessly work for the greatest good of the greatest number? If the feedback you got from all or most of these questions is in the affirmative, then there hope in the capacity of the contestant being examined.
Given its human and natural resource endowment, Plateau state is calibrated a civil service state that has experienced ethno - religious and political conflict which occurs intermittently and have lasted since the return of democracy in 1999.
When we keep religious sentiments aside, denominational differences aside, tribal sentiments biases aside and class sentiments aside, there is no limit to the greatness we can achieve as a state.
We have the capacity to collectively change the narrative and put the state on the steady path of inclusive growth and sustainable development.
It was Frantz (1963) who wrote, "Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it." As s a people we must consciously discover what we want and settle for it. The task of making Plateau Work well is a collective responsibility that we cannot afford to betray!
Politics is a decision sensitive endeavour. Using it objectively could be an instrument for holistic liberation. Like cataracts, however, it could also make blind and become leadway to serfdom when played with counterproductive and biased sentiments or considerations. It is in this in light that Harbhajan Turbanator, a Twitter handler on November 9, 2017 tweeted: 'Cataract is the third biggest cause of blindness after Religion and Politics which remained the first two.' If a state must get it right, citizens must watch the brand of politics they play and the religious sentiments the whip.
Citizens especially political actors cannot afford to fan flame tribal and/or religious biases for the purpose of achieving political power and influence and, at the same time, serve as rallying point for all. Credible leadership starts and ends with being fair to all before, during and after elections.
With or without zoning, the greatest chance for Plateau prosperity is imbedded in the extent to which the citizenry is objective in searching and saddling the best possible man whether he or she be from the sun, moon or stars. I don't care if he is from the southern hemisphere, north pole or equator. What matters is achieving good governance and development.
Good politics which could guarantee good governance is the prime focus here. Political stability occasioned by the practice of zoning System is one of the most cherished gains of participatory democracy but certainly not all that there is to gain in Politics. A stable political system which suffocates from bad governance is an accident waiting to happened. God forbid!
*Reference*
Lijphart, A. (2008). Thinking about democracy: Power sharing and majority rule in theory and practice. New York: Routledge.
Frantz, F. (1963). The wretched of the earth. New York: Grove Press.
Nic, C., Eloise, B. & Sa'eed, H.(2019). A dictionary of African politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Harbhajan, T. (2017). Cataracts. Twitter: @harbhajan_Singh.
Clerk H. (2011). United nation development report: Sustainability and equity: A better future for all. New York: UNDP.
Udo, E. S. (ed)(2014). Defining good governance: The conceptual competition is on. WZB Discussion Paper No. 2004 - 005.
AfDB (2008). Governance strategic direction and action plan: Gap 2008 -2012. AfDB.
*(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba Yilgak'ha, May 20, 2021 for SMS: 08116181263)*
