Nigeria Public Policy Carson Teixeira The Military Very

Nigeria Public Policy Carson Teixeira

The Military ❖ Very active in political affairs and public policy ❖ Many times blocks democratic reforms ❖ MIlitary has restored order when ethnic cleavages clash ❖ Given opportunity to all Nigerians

Boko Haram ❖ Islamic extremists ❖ Literally means “Western education is sinful” ❖ Target police stations, churches, and schools ❖ 3, 000 killed since 2009

“Loyalty Pyramid” (Patron ❖ Military rule has led to top-down policymaking Clientelism) ❖ Power is concentrated around the president ❖ Senior government officials are supported by a base of loyal junior officials; often referred to as a “loyalty pyramid”. ❖ Under military control, the pyramids were backed by guns

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) ❖ Active member of OPEC ❖ NIgeria has power from oil ❖ Developed countries rely on Nigerian oil ❖ Over reliance on oil has led to massive debt ❖ Much of oil money goes into government officials pockets ❖ 85% of exports

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) ❖ Want more oil money to the Delta states ❖ Violent methods ❖ Illegally siphoned oil ❖ Driven large companies out of Nigeria due to the violence

Economic Structural Adjustment Program ❖ Created in 1985 ❖ Support from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund ❖ Goal was to decrease Nigeria’s dependence on oil, reduce government spending, and privatize its parastatals ❖ Paris Club (2005) ❖ Helped pay off debts but did not achieve other major goals

Debt ❖ Roughly 90% of revenue goes to paying off debt ❖ Oil dependent/rentier state ❖ Ran consistent deficits when oil prices dropped to fund government

Banking Reforms ❖ Banking system improved under President Obasanjo's second term (2003 -2007) ❖ Central Bank of Nigeria raised banks’ capital requirements in 2005 ❖ Number of banks dropped from 89 to 24 by the end of the year ❖ Nigeria did not suffer from 2008 Global Economic Crisis nearly as bad as some other countries due to some of this policy

Energy Policies ❖ Inability to provide electric power ❖ Energy has been privatized and state owned off and on ❖ President Jonathan put privatization plan to triple energy supply by 2013 ❖ Plan was derailed after the power minister was forced to resign after scandal broke

“Federal Character” (Federalism) ❖ Most Nigerians see federalism as a positive ❖ Allows citizens more contact points for government, so that true democratic rule can be more easily achieved ❖ “Federal Character”- principle that recognizes people of all ethnicities, religions, and regions, and takes their needs into account ❖ Constitution establishes many provisions to support the goal of “Federal Character”

Democratization ❖ Public enterprises have privatized ❖ Public wages have increased in hope that public employees will be less susceptible to bribery ❖ Money illegally stashed by government officials have been returned to the state treasury ❖ Financial reserve has grown

Activity 1. What policies could the Nigerian government implement to advance other industries so that the country is not oil dependent? 2. Is federalism the best policy going forward for Nigeria? 3. Why do you think so many policies in Nigeria tend to fail? 4. What policies could be in place to better the education program and how will this be implemented?

Sources http: //africancityenergy. org/uploads/resource_79. pdf http: //www. statehouse. gov. ng/ http: //www. nigeriaembassyusa. org/index. php? page=privatisation http: //www. nigeriaembassyusa. org/index. php? page=nigeria-past-present-and-future https: //academic. oup. com/publius/article-abstract/21/4/75/1839727/Federal-Character-and-Management-of-the. Federal https: //www. cgdev. org/initiative/nigerian-debt-relief http: //allafrica. com/stories/201602171002. html