Munzali rates Nigeria poor on good governance

 

The newly installed President, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), Prof Munzali Jubril, on Thursday expressed concern over the dismal indices of governance and national development, despite an abundance of material and human resources. He said countries like Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Ghana were rated higher than Nigeria in the 2015 index of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which assesses the performance of African governments.
Munzali stated this in his inaugural speech during his investiture as the 20th President and Chairman of Council of the NIM. The ceremony, held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, had in attendance the immediate past President of the Institute, Dr Nelson Uwaga, former Minister, Prof Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah, past NIM presidents, captains of industry, among other dignitaries
He described as ’embarrassing’ the 2015 Index, which placed Nigeria on the 39th position out of 54 countries, with a total score of 44.9%, lower than the African average of 50.1% and the West African average of 52.4%.
Munzali blamed political leaders for hunting personal interest in office at the detriment of national gain.
“This is why we have found ourselves at crossroads presently. The economy is still in the woods, half of a century and five years after independence. We cannot continue this way. Something must be done and urgently too to break the vicious circle”, he said.
Although worried by the poor national scorecard, Munzali said the nation has another opportunity at a fresh start with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. However, he emphasised that Nigeria cannot take her rightful place among the comity of nations if it continues to wear the tag of one of the most corrupt countries in the world. He warned that direct foreign investment would remain elusive without an end to insurgency and insecurity.
” We must stop paying lip service to the fight against corruption. If the nation must experience real growth and sustainable economic development, we must rise above the forces of corruption and manage our material resources transparently for common good”, he advised.
He urged the federal government to reverse to its age-long tradition of consulting with professional bodies, such as the NIM, for professional input before taking decision on critical issues tied to national development.
Earlier in his valedictory speech, the immediate past President, Dr Nelson Uwaga, said the Institute has continued to wax stronger, noting that it participated effectively in the 2014 National Conference.