AN EVALUATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUE ASSOCIATED WITH GOVERNMENT POLICIES IN NIGERIA FROM 2011-2023

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Every democratically elected government is expected to have on a blueprint, intended ideas perceived to be on the interest of the governed. Some of these perceived ideas are best translated in government policies. Government policies are laws, regulations and guidelines aimed at achieving specific goals which could be to improve the wellbeing of the populace or mitigate salient challenges, put in place by the government to streamline actions and decisions. Government policies cut across different sectors of the state which of course include economy, health sector, and foreign affairs education. The list is endless. However, the necessity for policies for smooth running of any system, one outstanding thing with democracy is changes that come with every new administration (European Commission, 2022). Hence, lots of policies formulated in Nigeria since independence have not benefited Nigerians adequately as they face serious implementation challenges resulting in their failures. These challenges owe its reasons to many factors. Many policies fail because of incompetence, corruption, lack of resources, and/or bad governance.  Other identified reasons why some of these government policies fail are as a result of poor planning, clear authentic leadership, stakeholder involvement, and clarity of documentation, resources and awareness of the political environment3 and well as economic viability of such policies.

Nigeria as a territorial Nation state falls within the ambience of nations that has had series of failed policies over the years (Audu, 2021), streamlining to the period of 2011-2023. Of course, the reason cannot be far from the aforementioned factors above. Howbeit, it is pertinent to note that, for the purpose of this study, the researcher is streamlined to understudy and evaluate the government policies in Nigeria within 2011-2023 from the ambience of administrative issues associated with these policies. Worthy to note is also the fact that, within the set timeframe, the country under study has transitioned through two unique administrations and the current (the third) is still ongoing even at the time of embarking on this research work.

In as much as the Nigerian government has been making efforts over the years to implement policies aimed at encouraging economic growth, progress, and prosperity, the country continues to encounter substantial administrative setbacks in policy implementation. These setbacks has contributed or led to poor infrastructural development, persistent poverty and inequality, inadequate healthcare and education, systems sluggish economic growth, rising unemployment,

ineffective monitoring and assessment, poor coordination amongst government departments, corruption and embezzlement, insufficient resource allocation, inefficiency in policy execution, and a lot more

This research work therefore is set out to assess and discuss the administrative challenges linked to government policies in Nigeria between 2011 and 2023, and pinpoint the underlying reasons these challenges.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, also termed the giant of Africa (United For Human Rights, 2019), has so much on paper. As such, one would wonder, why is the researcher looked towards government policies and trying to narrow them down to administration. Obviously, what runs a nation is policies and laws. These policies were put in place by those in relevant authorities, and these people in relevant authorities were a product of administrations that certainly were subject to change within a period of time. Hence, the researcher seeks to galvanize this subject not from a human rights perceptive or civil society standpoint, nor from opinion pull or general populace perspective. Also, as rich as the heritage of Nigeria is, very little has been done in providing a concise study into the said topic, looking at it from the lens that the researcher uses. Given this fact, the researcher saw it as a necessity to contribute to the historiography of Nigeria by carrying out this research.

The effectiveness of government policies in Nigeria has been a subject of significant debate over the past decade. From 2011 to 2023, successive administrations have introduced various policies aimed at addressing critical socio-economic challenges. However, the implementation of these policies has often been plagued by numerous administrative issues, including bureaucratic inefficiencies, corruption, inadequate funding, and poor coordination. Under President Goodluck Jonathan, the Transformation Agenda aimed to diversify the economy, improve infrastructure, and enhance public service delivery was introduced (National Planning Commission, 2011). President Muhammadu Buhari's administration launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to restore growth, invest in people, and build a globally competitive economy following the 2016 recession (Ministry of Budget and National Planning, 2017).

Bureaucratic red tape and inefficiencies have been major impediments to the successful implementation of government policies in Nigeria. Complex administrative procedures, lack of transparency, and delays in decision-making processes have often hindered policy execution (Akinola, 2019). Many government policies have also suffered from insufficient funding. Budgetary constraints and misallocation of resources have limited the scope and effectiveness of various initiatives. For instance, the ERGP faced funding challenges that affected its ability to achieve its ambitious targets (World Bank, 2020). In furtherance, the researcher observed that, though government policies have been discussed by some other researchers and analysts, a careful evaluation on the basis of their being a result of administrative issues was lacking. Hence, the importance of this research is to bridge that gap.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

This research work is set out to assess the administrative problems related to Nigerian government policies between 2011 to 2023. As such, this study shall:

Carefully delve into the core transition of policies from one administration to another, observing if available, continuity in change and change in continuity.

Determine the administrative difficulties Nigerian government institutions encounter when putting policy into practice.

Examine the underlying reasons for these administrative difficulties and how they affect the application of policies.

Evaluate the role of institutional factors, including leadership, organizational structure, and human resources, in contributing to administrative issues.

1.4 Research Questions

What are the visible changes in policies between the administration under study and what policies rolled over administrations?

What unique administrative difficulties do Nigerian government agencies face when putting policies into practice, and how do these difficulties affect the efficacy of policies?

What are the fundamental causes of Nigeria's administrative policy implementation difficulties, and how do these causes interact to affect the results of policies?

How has factors like leadership, organizational structures and human resources contributed to administrative issues.

1.5 Significance of the study

Considering the state of Nigeria in the league of nations within the continent of Africa and seeing how scanty the available literatures are in regards to how changes in administration could affect government policies, this study will serve as a reference point for further researchers who, in due course, will buy into the idea of further researching related topics. 

The study provides information on evolution of policies from one administration to another paying attention to changes that occurred and continuations that followed pattern. The study gives insight into the difficulties different administrations faced in the course of putting certain policies to motion. The also presents a careful examination of underlying reasons these administrations encounter certain difficulties and they affect proper application of these policies. 

1.6 Scope of the Study

This research work revolves around a defined scope, which helps the researcher concentrate his focus. In this way, the researcher considered this study vis-a-vis the time frame spanning from 2011 and elapsing in 2023. This way, the researcher can carefully monitor distinctiveness and pinpoint disparities. This research also concentrates on Nigerian government policies from 2011 to 2023, a span of twelve years, covering two distinct administrations. This study is also bound to assess a range of government policies in several areas, such as the political, social, economic, and environmental domains ranging two administrations.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

In the course of carrying out this research, the researcher faced a couple of limitations that should have affected the study. However, persistence and a more careful approach led to the success of this study amidst the limitations. The researcher was limited by chronological scope. The originating chronology speaks of an administration which also saw the continuation of that administration, which of course carried with it policies, which this study cannot carefully delve into the premise of some. As such, this study had to overlook some policies that were a tag-on from the previous administration, which gave room to the 2011 administration.

Again, this research is neither local nor international research. As such, one would expect the research to provide both primary and secondary evidence. Actually, this wasn't the case here. The researcher couldn't get a hold of the targeted audience or access to relevant primary sources. This was given the fact that this topic was regarded by some as trespassing on classified areas, and as such, information was horded. Given this circumstance, the researcher resorted to secondary evidence, which, given the economic realities of Nigeria, is hard to afford. This gives room for the next major challenge the researcher had while embarking on this study. Not only did the researcher face the challenge of horded information, but he also experienced financial difficulties moving from the point of collating data to the point of accessing secondary evidence. The cost of acquiring accessible evidence was also unbearable for the researcher. Amidst these challenges, researcher pushed on to arrive at a conclusion.

1.8 Research Methodology

Considering the nature of society under study and the nature of research, historical research design is the kind of research methodology the researcher used in this study. To enhance the validity of this work, the researcher adopted and applied the qualitative analysis of gathering evidence, which is the use of secondary method. The researcher used a qualitative study design to comprehend the intricate administrative problems related to Nigerian government policies. Qualitative approaches are ideal for examining the subtleties, situations, and fundamental causes of these problems. This method comprises gathering data from sources such as government publications, textbooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, and online sources, among others that are relevant to the study area.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Administration: according to Merriam web star dictionary, this is described as performance of executive duties. Generally, administration can further be explained as the act of coordinating, managing or overseeing a process. In this context, the researcher choses to express administration as an act overseeing the affairs of a nation state towards planning, coordinating, enforcing the people and their will to meet with laid principles.

Government Policies: This refers to a set of roles, guidelines and modalities put up by the government targeted at meeting a certain goal. The policies could be targeted and the economy, education, health, international or foreign affairs, transportation and so on.

Administrative Issues: in the context wherewith it applies, this can best be explained as leadership challenges toad towards proper management or coordination. This could be economical or political or otherwise.