Regime transformation from below: Decentralization,local governance,and democratic reform in Nigeria

How realistic are democratic-governance strategies that emphasize local governance as a key component? Using Nigeria’s experience in local government and primary health care in the 1980s and 1990s as a case example, the article finds there were substantial shortfalls in local participation and program performance. These were caused by problems in the local political environment and local institutional design, in the national policy environment (particularly in the funding system), and by the stresses of structural adjustment, resource shortfalls, the natural physical environment, and weak leadership. These combined to create poor and inappropriate reward structures and lack of accountability. However, even though the Nigerian case was not successful, most of the specific problems that hurt it are remediable through policy changes at the national level. Several of these were under consideration at the time of the coups of 1992 and 1993.     

Determinants of success in African local governments: An overview

A potentially useful method for determining how to design viable and competent local government systems is to examine local authorities that function effectively. This paper synthesizes the major findings of seven case studies of ‘successful’ local governments in Sub-saharan Africa, highlighting the principal factors contributing to their success and exploring ways in which they could further improve their performance. The determinants of success identified in the studies include: location in an area with an adequate economic base; well-defined responsibilities in a satisfactory legal framework; capacity to mobilize sufficient resources; supportive central government activities; and appropriate management practices, including development of productive internal and external relations and satisfactory responsiveness to constituents. All of these factors are considered to be necessary, but none is independently sufficient to guarantee success, which is a multidimensional and cumulative process of achievement.     

Urban local government finance in Nigeria: The case of Lagos municipal area

One of the most important results of the global reform of local governments in Nigeria in 1976 was to initiate a progressive increase in the amount of monetary transfers to local governments (LGs) by federal and state governments (especially the former). The proportion of federally collected revenues devoted to LGs increased rapidly from less than 2 per cent in 1976 to 15 per cent in 1990. This has enabled Nigerian LGs to play a more visible role in total public expenditures. On the other hand, huge federal transfers have led to sharp declines in absolute and relative terms in locally generated revenues. The two Lagos municipalities are able to generate up to 50 per cent of their total revenues. In contrast, the average for all local governments in the country is 4–5 per cent. The relatively large internal revenue sources in the two Lagos municipalities results in generous surpluses, which they are able to channel into capital development or special project expenditures. The single most important internal revenue source is the property tax, which is not even collected in some other large cities, such as Kano, Ogbomosho and Sokoto.     

Urban local government finance in Nigeria: The case of Onitsha local government

Onitsha, located along the route that connects south-western and south-eastern Nigeria, has a very financially dynamic local government. Over one-quarter of the total revenues of this local government come from its market and motor parks. This is an unusual source for a local government that has perhaps the largest per capita revenue in Nigeria—almost N40, compared with the national average of N4.9. The procedure for collecting this revenue is regarded as highly successful since there is greater reliance on the citizens than tax officials. The volume of revenues collected has allowed the council maintain a large surplus revenue over a long period of time, which enables it to carry out important programmes of primary and adult education. It is also beginning to develop its property revenue collection system in collaboration with the Anambra State government.     

The role of African universities in the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples: A development agenda

Before the emergence of the United Nations at the end of the Second World War, human rights were generally scantily recognised in international law and, even under the UN Charter of 1945, indigenous peoples received merely tacit reference. Since the 1970s, however, several normative instruments have been adopted to give recognition to the rights of indigenous peoples as a distinct component of international human rights law. With the further adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly in 2007, the subject has assumed new dimensions with the possibilities of new vistas. What, for instance, is the role of African universities in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples as critical agents in the global human rights and development agenda? The purpose of this article, among others, is to synthesise the strategic approaches to the rights of indigenous peoples and to accentuate a more informed conceptualisation of what the role of African universities on this subject ought to be, and must be, in the light of the dynamic opportunities of the post-2007 era.     

Capacity building for policy management through twinning: lessons from a Dutch–Namibian case

Three previous articles of Public Administration and Development carried a debate on the contribution of twinning to capacity building in developing countries. Evidence was adduced to show that twinning could be a reliable vehicle for building and sustaining relevant capacity. On the other hand, some other sources contend that twinning is more of a metaphor than an actual strategy for building capacity. As an actual strategy it may be costly and unsustainable. These cases were part of Swedish, Norwegian and Canadian aid programmes. This article adds insights from a project which was instituted at the instance of the government of Namibia with a Dutch development institution. The focus is in‐country training in policy management for senior public officials and is complemented by off‐the‐job training and programmed visits by both northern and southern partners. The project has four 20‐month cycles and is currently into its second cycle as plans for the third cycle are being finalised. It is generally regarded as successful although this article takes a critical look at the potential of this project to fulfil its original mission of building two types of institutional capacities: high‐quality policy managers within the government and the capacity for policy management training at the country's only national university. It highlights the importance of demand‐drivenness, ownership and partnership, effective integration of theory with practice, mutual respect among partners without jeopardising quality. It also suggests possible strategies for tackling some of the emerging problems. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Literature on Nigerian Federalism: A Critical Appraisal

There is a large body of literature on federalism in Nigeriacovering such major issues as the origins of Nigerian federalism,requisites of federalism, federalism versus other forms of association,the number of state units in the federal system, fiscal issues,political parties, distributional issues, and intergovernmentalrelations. However, a number of issues have received relativelylittle scholarly attention, including the economic aspects ofNigerian federalism, population movements and the federal arrangement,language policies, federal ethics, and various critical governmentaland nongovernmental institutions. There is a need to establishinstitutions for the study of federalism in Nigeria and to reduceethnic and ideological biases in research on Nigerian federalism.     

A critique of the rhetoric, ambivalence, and promise in the protocol to the African charter on human and people’s rights on the rights of women in Africa

The desire to formulate a viable treaty framework for women’s rights that will meet the challenges of the sociocultural peculiarities in Africa led to the emergence of the original draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in the twilight years of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Without doubt, the recent adoption of the African Women’s Protocol by the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government in July 2003 is a welcome development coming at a most opportune time. However, if the African Women’s Protocol is to serve its purposes in an effective way, it is absolutely necessary to articulate the normative and structural modalities that would secure the achievement of its stated ends. It is therefore in the quest for defining the strategic parameters of this new-fangled instrument that I analyze the normative promises as well as notable structural and conceptual limitations inherent in the African Women's Protocol with a view to identifying trajectories for its sustained relevance and viability. I address these concerns against the backdrop of the instrument’s provisions. Fighting for women’s rights is a positive struggle which recognizes the quality of women’s contribution to every aspect of the community... I therefore invite all to renew their energies in undertaking practical and creative initiatives to achieve full respect of the human rights of women. Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997–2001).