First of all, there is a backstory to why this post exists. Actually three.
- In a political group I belong to, I stated that Oshiomohle has been a very poor governor of Edo State. I was digitally slammed by a person who has worked with him in the capacity of an adviser. He came to Oshio’s defence by stating the random road and building projects Adams executed. I retorted by saying road contracts can be automated and are not necessarily evidence of good governance.
- On Twitter, I stated with an air of authority and finality that “when it comes to government administration, El Rufai has no peer in Nigeria.” The “gatherbrushing” I received there was quite vehement. They insisted El Rufai is not above average. A few dozen tweets later, there was no agreement forthcoming.
- It has been one year since the Federal Government and most State Governments began their tenures. There will be a lot of debate about their achievements.
A question I asked myself and sought an answer to: is there a way to objectively assess the quality of governance especially as it is progressing? Can we objectively view the level of governance by governments?
This post is my personal attempt to articulate how I intend to assess governance. In addition, I hope to create a framework whereby any two governments can be compared and assessed.
This post is also serves as a prelude to my response to the “digital gatherbrushers” I spoke of in 1 & 2 above.
Influenced by the popular Business Model Canvas, I created something I’m calling the Governance Assessment Sheet.
Introducing my Qualitative Governance Assessment Sheet for Nigeria
First I have to point out that this a Version 1 of A PERSONAL idea. It is NOT fact, it is not comprehensive and most of all, it needs tons of improvement.
Secondly, this is meant to be a qualitative assessment. I.e., I want a way to lay out information, and allow for analysis. To each their own interpretation of the information.
Finally, no two states are different. No two circumstances the same.
How the Assessment Sheet Works
The first column is the sector column. This is subdivided across all the sectors of the territory. From Security to Education, to Finance, Agriculture, etc. All these together make the state function just like the parts of the body.
The next three columns track the projects as they are implemented across all the sectors. Both physical (construction, supplies) and strategic (policy, laws) projects will be taken into the account.
The fifth column, goals, subdivided across sectors indicate the high level aims to be achieved in each of the sectors.
The sixth column, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are the objective indicators required to note the level at which the projects have met the goals for each sector or not.
The seventh and last column cuts across all sectors. It is the overall vision of the person governing the political entity. It a summation of all the goals of each sector if they all go according to plan.
The bottom row cuts across all columns. This are key standardized economic indicators that show the health of the state. e.g GDP, Unemployment, Life Expectancy rate etc.
Filling the Assessment Sheet
In an ideal scenario, this is aimed to be a self assessment sheet for each governor at the beginning of his/her term.
The first parts to be filled are the factual aspects. e.g GDP, State Population, Life Expectancy. These will adjust depending on the impact of governance.
The most important input in that sheet should be the overall vision of the state and should look about 10 years ahead. An example of a state’s vision can be El Rufai’s “to be the Manchester of Nigeria/West Africa.” (i.e., the center of manufacturing in Nigeria/West Africa.)
Next is the listing of the key sectors that will be important in achieving the overall vision. Katsina might not take tourism s important as Cross River.
After listing the sectors, the goals to be achieved in each sector should be next. A goal is a specific objective intended to be achieved. For example, under the Health sector, “reduce infant mortality by xx%” might be a goal.
The KPI is there to objectively know if you are achieving your set goal. If present mortality is 50/1000 children dying before age 5. You now have a number to measure against.
After filling up the overall vision of a state and goals you want to achieve, the projects come next. So EVERY project should have a rationale. Why are you building that road? How will it allow you achieve the goals and the vision?
The preceding paragraph is why I am hardly impressed with governors that “donate” books, tar random roads or refurbish random buildings. I am hard press to understand how it fits in any grand picture or if there is any grand picture.
All intended projects FOR EACH sector are put into the “to do column” and moved to “doing” and “done” accordingly.
How the Assessment Sheet is to be read Read
This assessment sheet should be updated monthly or quarterly.
Like I said, the intention of the assessment sheet is for self assessment and to give a consistent basis for comparison. The scoring is also qualitative.
So for instance if you have no idea of your favorite governor’s vision, there is a problem. If all the projects are perpetually on “to do,” there is a problem. If a governor’s education project cuts illiteracy by 50% and another’s project hopes “donating 1000 books” will help the illiteracy of one million kids under him, it would be clear for all to see.
For instance, it is the view of many people including myself that Fashola did nothing in his second term. With this assessment sheet, it would have shown the BRT, LASTMA, IPP projects were all done in his first term and the to do > doing > done would be practically idle for his second term.
It may be able to show that while Aregbesola tarred many roads in his state, he may have overlooked various sectors in in the state.
Next Steps
My favorite governor BY FAR is Nasir El Rufai. I intend to use this template to assess his governance of Kaduna in the past one year. My hope is that people can use the same sheet to compare his performance with that of their favorite governor.
The idea is that the layout of the facts could then be a better ways of basing the arguments or discourse. If a person wins “Governor of the Year” it can be asked that this could be used to SHOW why.
More importantly, I hope to get feedback and improve this sheet. I have been asked if I can make it quantitative. Any ideas on that would be helpful.
Here is a link to the sheet. You can download and modify as you wish.
Thanks Banke, for your feedback before publishing