Why Nigeria is weak, fragile — Moghalu

A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Moghalu, on Monday, identified the absence of state capacity as a major factor drawing Nigeria back.

In a series of tweets on his Twitter handle, Moghalu decried the government’s inability to provide basic social services to the people and ensure their safety.

The one-time presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) stressed that the volatile and insecure business environment in the country was due to a lack of the state’s capacity to establish its presence and appear responsible.

He wrote: “Nigeria needs to invest heavily in state capacity – the ability of the state and its agencies to protect its territory, collect taxes and other revenues effectively and efficiently, and to deliver social services to its citizens. These weaknesses have made us a fragile state.

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“We must address issues of capacity and productivity in the civil service, and issues of corruption through transparency and accountability. This is why most things that work in Nigeria are things run by the private sector. And this is relative because of the difficult business environment.

“But governments and governance must work. No country is run by the private sector. The state exists for a purpose. It alone has the responsibility for meeting the security and welfare of the citizens.

“I was amazed when, a few years ago, Hailemariam Desalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, told me about his country’s Civil Service University and its role in providing the training and capacity for a strong and functioning state. Effective service delivery is critical.”

By Abdulkabeer Ambali

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