Nigeria is going through a seismic change in its governance infrastructure and we are all a part of it. Today, it's up to us - individual citizens and affected communities alike - to cease the moment and position ourselves in ways that ensure we all benefit from good governance. Voting without popular participation in governance process undermines development. Our resources as a people are held in trust for us by government and to that extent, it is only natural and proper that the management of these resources are issues of common knowledge and that decision on our resources is collective, inclusive and responsive. Popular participation in governance process and open government afford the latter the legitimacy it needs and the public buy-in needed to support government actions.
The South-East's damaged democracy
Running an open government is fraught with challenges, and is particularly true in Nigeria's South East region. The current trend here mystifies resource management and erroneously presents government as acting 'in the favor' of its people. This gravely distorts the foundational and time hallowed definition of democracy as a "government of the people, by the people and for the people". Open government and budget transparency are constitutional norms, however both have been scarce commodities in Nigeria's South East. Our governance history does not give us much to work with. Long years of military dictatorship has entrenched a culture of exclusion that situates governance miles away from the governed. Democracy over the last 16 years has therefore been a contradiction- we are part of the voting, but not part of the governance process.
Enabling effective governance
Government can only be effective if it is transparent and allows citizens space to participate in decision making process; if it encourages citizens' interaction and opens itself up for citizens' inquest. On the other hand, citizens can only get the type of government they demand. If we don't ask for open government we will not get it. We have every enabling framework to run an open government. What is required here is a little bit of commitment from the demand and supply side. Ewu oha na amu n' ogbiri- if we make governance no man's business, it will never work for us.
The South East's paradox
There is a gross irony to the current situation in the South East today, which is considered the net exporter of human resources (our strongest asset); the risk takers with the 'Midas touch'; the ones who make things happen and watch out for their own. There is no Igbo proverb that does not make the case for communalism and helping one another. The troubling question therefore is that if we have all of these unique qualities that support development and good governance, how come we are where we are today? Why is the average poverty profile a whopping 59 percent when we have more than 60 percent literacy? Why is the infrastructural decay in this region deplorable? Why is youth restiveness and crime constant? For a region richly blessed, we are operating way below our potential.
When it comes to transparency and open government we are greatly suffering. There are no publically-available copies of the annual budget of any of the South Eastern states; government activities are mired in secrecy; citizens are unaware of how decisions are taken or entirely (mis)informed on government projects altogether. The interface between civil society and government is minimal and without any significant impact on government's decision. In this kind of opaque governance system, the people are alienated, corruption abounds and development is stifled. Democracy without development is an anomaly. We are experiencing this paradox in the South East.
Bringing about change
There is no doubt the South East deserves better. And we have the potential to do so; to make it a region with responsive and accountable governance; to use our virile youth population, who are interested in governance process; and to support civic education so we can all become watchdogs holding government accountable. We also have a civil society community that can be encouraged and energized to drive citizens' engagement in governance processes. But to do this, we need to better understand the nexus between development and democracy. We need to put to use our country's Freedom of Information Act - we need to have access to information so we can check on our political leaders' actions. A democracy that cannot lift its people from poverty, give them a sense of ownership of the governance process and be transparent in the process is effectively a questionable democracy.
But this is not all. There must also be a consultative budgeting process between government and citizens. Dialogue must take place when it comes to how funds are used. Budgeting is at the center of good governance and it must be consultative, open and measurable. There is also a need for grassroots project monitoring where citizens can monitor and report on projects carried out by government. If citizens themselves don't speak up, nobody will. If anything 2015 has thought us the power of the vote and the importance of the office of the citizen. Onye aracha ha onu ya, uguru arachara ya onu- if you don't lick your lips during harmattan, the harmattan will lick it for you- this simply means that when you do not take care of your responsibility, you will suffer for it.
Public advocacy, or "naming and shaming" is also essential. Civil society groups must be more empirical in documenting abuse of governance processes and their reluctance in being transparent. We must engage and teach citizens that it is their right to demand accountability and expose the excesses of government to them. Igwe but ike- when we get the people to act, government will have no choice but to listen.
A win-win situation
Perhaps the greatest irony of the current situation in Nigeria's South East is that running open and transparent systems is in the best interest of everyone - government and citizens alike. And it requires mutual effort. Government is a public trust and must be treated as such. Yes, leaders have the constitutional and legal duty to remain accountable to their people. But the responsibility is not theirs alone. From their own end, citizens must pressure government to fulfil their commitments and promises by imposing political and legal consequences when they refuse accountability. People in government still need to use the same roads, go to the same hospitals and live in the same country. So they are actually doing themselves a tone of favor when they run a transparent and open government, because they too will inevitably benefit from their own good work.
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We cannot continue to see government fulfilling its responsibilities as them doing a favor for us. The first step to ensuring transparency is by galvanizing citizens to know that they have a right to know how their government is run. Corruption and opaque government has no beneficiaries. They could be momentary financial gains for the manipulators of the system, but in the long run we all suffer for it. Dibia na agwo otoro, odebere ike ya n' elu?- You are not immune from the mess you create!
This Op-Ed was taken from the 25th of May Keynote Address (at Owerri, Imo State South East Nigeria) delivered by OSIWA's Nigeria Country Officer Udo Jude Ilo at the South East Summit on Budget Transparency and Open Public Finance Management in Post 2015 Era.
Follow Jude on Twitter @udoilo
