Political Scientists Blame Nigeria’s Development Crisis on Self-seeking Leaders

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

Nigeria suffers from good governance deficit and lack of purposeful leadership because the leaders of the country are self- seeking, political scientists in the country have said.

This is part of a communiqué issued by the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA), South-south Zone, at the end of her sixth annual conference which ended on May 12.

The conference, which has the theme: ‘Interrogating Politics, Governance and the. Crisis of Development’, took place at ASUU Secretariat, University of Calabar, from March 9 to March 12.

The communiqué was signed by Dr. Sunday Ibanga, chairman and Dr. Benson Udom, secretary of NPSA South-south Zone.

The communiqué stated that the resources for development is often misappropriated, and the result is development crisis that has affected socio-economic and political development with attendant consequences on national and human security.

Political Science and its association, the communiqué said, need to be more relevant to the Nigerian society by moving from the theoretical realm to practical tool of system transformation.

The association wants political scientists to be involved in the political system by engaging in politics to enable them have a place in governance as a means of implementing their thoughts on how to move the country from where it is to where it ought to be.

The conference observed that political parties and party politics are the major problems of democracy in Nigeria as Nigeria’s federalism is lacking in separation of powers.

The communiqué lamented that there is no institutional framework for our community policing architecture; and advocated that the National Assembly must create enabling institutional framework for the formal operation of community policing in Nigeria.

On the issue of misappropriation of public fund, the communiqué insisted that there is need to make political offices less financially attractive by reviewing relevant extant laws

Rather, the government should strengthen the existing structures that could enable leadership accountability.

The association wants the laws regulating political parties and the election management body reviewed by relevant regulating bodies to create conditions for service-driven party and election management system in Nigeria.

They called on the National Assembly and other relevant entities to review and ensure the full implementation of fiscal federalism in Nigeria.