Nigeria's development challenges extend beyond the creation of policy frameworks, institutions, and rules. The country faces a more persistent problem of translating formal arrangements into real outcomes. A recent series of articles from Yaba School of Thought contributors highlights this issue, examining the gap between policy formulation and implementation. The articles cover various topics, including the Dangote Refinery IPO, early childhood education policies, waste management, and foreign aid regulation.
The contributors argue that Nigeria has spent years developing policies, standards, and guidelines, but the implementation remains weak. Edem Dorothy Ossai's examination of early childhood education reveals that despite existing policies, children face unequal access due to financing, workforce capacity, coordination, and accountability issues. Similarly, Martins Owadasa-Olusola argues that adding another regulatory layer to foreign aid may not solve the underlying institutional problem.
The existence of an asset or opportunity means little without the institutional arrangements needed to unlock its value. Ogie Eboigbe's article on the Dangote Refinery IPO questions whether wider share ownership will amount to meaningful participation when control remains concentrated. Prof Sunday Ene-Ojo Atawodi views waste not as an inevitable public burden but as an economic resource that requires systems for separation, recovery, and reuse.
The rigid separation of disciplines and the limitations of national borders are also examined. Prof Francis Egbokhare challenges the division between the Sciences and the Arts and Humanities, arguing that disciplinary boundaries are administrative necessities rather than divisions inherent in reality. Dr. Bunmi Oyinsan questions whether national borders have become limits on African political imagination, given that capital and power routinely cross them.
The series also explores the relationship between ownership and control, as well as the role of transparency in governance. The contributors encourage a broader habit of thought, questioning the framework before assuming it explains the reality. This involves examining how systems translate formal arrangements into real outcomes and building the capacity, incentives, accountability, and connections that allow existing resources and institutions to deliver.
The challenge for Nigeria is not simply to create another framework, institution, or rule but to build the capacity to make existing resources and institutions work effectively. Development becomes meaningful when citizens can see its effects in their schools, communities, businesses, universities, markets, and public services. The series provides practical proposals, such as exploring results-based and outcomes-based financing for early childhood education and implementing source segregation and decentralised recovery facilities for waste management.
Ultimately, the series highlights the need for Nigeria to move from reform to results, focusing on building the functional capacity to translate formal arrangements into real outcomes. By questioning existing frameworks and examining how systems work, Nigerians can work towards creating a more effective and sustainable development model. The series serves as a call to action for stakeholders to rethink their approach to development and work towards building a more equitable and prosperous society.
Key points
- The distinction between formal structure and functional capacity is a common thread across the series, highlighting the need for Nigeria to focus on building the capacity to make existing resources and institutions work effectively.
- The series provides practical proposals for addressing development challenges, including results-based financing for early childhood education and decentralised recovery facilities for waste management.
- The contributors encourage a broader habit of thought, questioning the framework before assuming it explains the reality, and examining how systems translate formal arrangements into real outcomes.
