Jonathan And The Quest For A Leadership Model By Fr. Evaristus Bassey

Whether the operators are aware of
it or not, every business has a
model. Business here is not limited
to profit making enterprises but
entities that render a service with
intended beneficiaries, whether they
pay for such services or not and
where the survival of such entities
depends on the rendering of such
services. It is better there is
awareness of a model rather than
thrusting blindly; for awareness
enhances intentionality and
conscious effort towards putting the
model into use and maximizing
results.
People and different organizations
may be doing the same things, but
what may bring a two pronged job
satisfaction – on one side client/
citizen satisfaction and on the other
leader/investor satisfaction, is the
development and effective
deployment of a sound model. Let
us be quick to say that a model
alone is not magic. If the necessary
systems and processes are not well
aligned to allow its operation, it is
doomed from birth. No matter the
model a leadership may create, if
decisions are not followed through,
if there is room for arbitrariness, if
there are no systems and structures
of transparency and accountability,
if there is no sustainability plan, the
model is dead on arrival. Also if
there is no sense of corporate good
or what is called common good, and
leaders or managers are self-
seeking, no matter the level of initial
success, the entity soon becomes
grounded. I have been wondering
whether the perceived ineptitude of
public institutions and government
is not because there is need for
more conscious effort to adopt
models that work.
John, Christensen, and Kagermann
have observed that in order for a
model to deliver value, there are four
main building blocks (Harvard
Business Review On Strategy, 109).
The first is what I may paraphrase
as client or citizen value
proposition. Basically this entails
answering the questions: What
pressing needs do the client/citizen
have? What are the existing gaps in
providing these needs? What can be
done to ensure the client/citizen
enjoys full satisfaction in the
provision of these needs? With the
way various governments have run
the business of government leaving
in their wake mass dissatisfaction
on the part of the citizenry, each
successful government has a huge
potential for a fresh citizen value
proposition. Take the matter of
electricity for instance and the huge
opportunity that exists in creating a
citizens value proposition. And yet,
gradually it is appearing more and
more to be a missed opportunity.
The second building block is the
profit formula or in the case of a
not-for-profit entity what may be
called the cost formula. The balance
to ensure here is how value can be
created for the entity as well as the
client or citizen. For a profit making
entity the task is to ensure that
there is enough profit while there is
satisfactory service manifest in a
huge clientele. Many businesses fail
in this regard, service is
compromised for profit or profit for
service. A not-for-profit considering
a cost formula would ensure value
for money. Many NGOs have the
temptation of spending money just
because it is available and
budgeted for, without minding if
they would do the same thing if the
cost were to be borne by themselves
or by an entity desiring to declare
dividend. Government may have the
worst of this habit, where money is
thrown at problems even when there
is no solution in sight. At the end
resources do not match results. It is
unfortunate that government
performance is not measured in
terms of profit and loss. It would
have been so amazing to discover
the huge bankruptcy that exists in
our government. To be fair, it must
be acknowledged the changes that
have taken place with regard to the
budget process and implementation
since the Obasanjo era. But these
changes have mostly resulted in
complicated processes without
necessarily leading to great
outcomes.
The third element in considering a
model is key resources. What to
consider here is whether we do have
the needed human resources,
equipment, technology, and
channels to deliver the necessary
client or citizen value proposition. It
is amazing that when Nigerians live
and work abroad, they become part
of the driving force of those
economies. I was delighted when an
American priest friend of mine
remarked that most of the Nigerians
he encountered in the US were solid
professionals. Nigerian Policemen
on missions outside the shores of
this country present an image of
efficiency, not to talk of our soldiers.
Within Nigeria there are tremendous
human and material resources,
sometimes with the latest
technology. If equipment can be
bought, then it can be available in
Nigeria. The issue is not that there
aren’t enough key resources
therefore. Complementing this is the
fourth element: key processes. This
involves mostly the recurrent tasks
such as routine activities, planning
sessions, budget processes,
standard trainings and updates,
routine production activities etc. Key
processes include also the policies
and regulations that guide the
personnel and operations in an
entity.    ;     ;     ;     ;     ;     ;     ;     ;     ;
Nigeria is not in want of processes.
During the Obasanjo years there was
an addition called due process,
which aimed to put a check on the
corrupt, and arbitrary manner
contracts were awarded. It actually
did save a lot of money for the
country, although the major
complaint was that it added to the
bureaucracy and tended more to
slow things down. Several
institutions monitoring government
processes were also established.
Government at some point may have
become efficient. But efficiency
could not translate to effectiveness.
A well-oiled entity would ensure
that processes do not emasculate
intended activities and results.
Nowadays and in several states
where such policies have been
enacted, they have become another
arm of the octopus called corruption
and may have contributed in making
projects executed by government
more expensive and shoddy. It goes
a long way to show that the culture
or the ethic in an environment is
critical to the effective
implementation of any model.
In Nigeria the culture seems to be
corruption. On the 5th December
2012 Transparency International
released its 2012 corruption
perception index and showed that
Nigeria was the 35th most corrupt
nation of the world. Nigeria and
Nepal tied with a score of 2.7,
placing 139th. Although there is an
improvement from the 2011
perception rating, what makes
corruption in Nigeria cultural is that
it has ceased to be something that
happens by chance or something
that needs persuasion to succumb
to. Rather it has become a way of
life, a normal expectation and
practice. While the focus is on the
big ‘goons’, those who sometimes
make life terrible for the ordinary
citizen are the practitioners at the
lower level. The fight against
corruption therefore ought to be
more embracing, with more focus on
a revamped attitude of the ordinary
citizen. It does not belie the
proposition that attitudinal change
is better when it starts from the top.
The truth is that as a country
Nigeria budgets and spends huge
sums of money on key resources,
but if the processes do not become
right, we will still be dancing around
a particular spot. As Jonathan is
desperate to succeed as a president
with a transformation agenda, how
the business of government is
conducted has to become a top
priority to him. He should work
towards changing the perception of
the institutions that ensure checks
and balances as scape-goating
agents to agencies that promote a
sustainable culture of transparency
and accountability. This would mean
granting more powers to operate
independently.
Accountability to results should be a
model for government at every level.
It should not be the number of
contracts awarded or the number of
projects embarked upon but how
these impact on the lives of citizens
that should measure the success of
government. In other climes
elections are enough confidence
yielding tools but in Nigeria we may
require institutionalized citizens’
feedback and regular professional
evaluation by expert bodies where
government would come to know
how it is faring as far as citizens
satisfaction is concerned. No one
can change the primary motivation
of the one who serves in
government except the person
himself. So long as the motive
remains personal financial security
and not service, every official,
appointed or elected, will always
find a way to beat the system. But
strengthened systems and
institutions that are truly
independent will curtail the greed.
As observed by Johnson,Christen
and Kagerman, successful models
‘devise a more or less stable system
in which these elements bond to one
another in consistent and
complementary ways…’ Jonathan
could be a president of his dream
and our dream if he harnesses all
the elements and ensure they work
for the good of the citizenry.
About the Writer
Fr. Evaristus is the Executive
Director of Caritas Nigeria at the
Catholic Secretariat.