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Strong Organisations in Weak States Atypical Public Sector Performance in Dysfunctional Environments DISSERTATION to obtain the degree of Doctor at the Maastricht University, on the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof.dr. G.P.M.F. Mols in accordance with the decision of the Board of Deans, to be defended in public on Wednesday 20 June, 2012, at 16:00 hrs. by Joe Abah i Promoters Prof. Friso den Hertog Prof. L. Adele Jinadu, professor of Political Science, University of Lagos, Nigeria Assessment Committee: Prof. dr. Maarten Verkerk (chairman) Prof. Alex Gboyega, professor of Political Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Dr. Haakan Edstrom, senior researcher, Folke Bernadotte Academy, Sweden. Dr. Mindel van de Laar ii To say it once more: today I find it an impossible book: I consider it badly written, ponderous, embarrassing, image-mad and image- confused, sentimental, in places saccharine to the point of effeminacy, uneven in tempo, without the will to logical cleanliness, very convinced and therefore disdainful of proof, mistrustful even of the propriety of proof, a book for initiates, “music” for those addicted to music, those who are closely related to begin with on the basis of common and rare aesthetic experiences, “music” meant as a sign of recognition for close relatives in arbutus [in the arts]— an arrogant and rhapsodic book that ought to exclude right from the beginning the profanum vulgus [the profane crowd] of “the educated” even more than “the mass” or “folk.” Still, the effect of the book proved and proves that it had a knack for seeking out fellow-rhapsodizers and for luring them on to new secret paths and dancing places (Nietzsche, 2000, p. 3). © 2012 Joe Abah All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing from the author. Cover image taken from “CR!SIS, The State of the Nigerian Educational System and the Agenda for Reform”, presentation of the Presidential Forum on the Education Sector, Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria, October 28, 2006. The image shows that despite the seemingly impossible chaos, movement is still possible and destinations can still be reached. ISBN 97890 8666 259 3 Published by Boekenplan, Maastricht. iii Acknowledgments Completing this dissertation has been a challenging but rewarding endeavour. I have probably read more in the three years that it has taken me to complete it than I did in all previous academic studies put together. Given that my first two degrees are in Law, and that I have professional certificates to practice law in two different countries (obtained by examination), that is saying something. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to various people, but constraints of time and space will not enable to me to mention every one of them by name. The first and most important person whom I must mention is my darling wife, Kemi, who has always believed, and made me believe, that I could do the seemingly impossible. If the truth be told, doing a PhD is a selfish and self- rewarding endeavour, especially when its prospects of enhancing immediate career prospects are unclear. I am grateful that Kemi gave me the encouragement, support and space to see it through to the end. I am also grateful for the patience of my daughters, Nnenna and Ola, and my step- sister, Stella, who were denied my full attention while I was on this journey. I am also grateful to my parents and siblings for their support. My father always wanted me to be a medical doctor but I chose a different path. I hope that being a doctor of another sort will help to make up for any disappointment he may have had. My special gratitude goes to Professor Ladipo Adamolekun who encouraged, supported and guided me throughout the process of this dissertation. He kindly wrote the academic reference that formed part of my application to enrol on the PhD course, guided me through the development of my research proposal and offered constructive criticism and guidance on all chapters. He also helped to identify one of my supervisors, and bought me several books during the 3 year period. Several PhD holders have claimed him as their mentor. I want to be atypical and claim him as my senior friend. I am also grateful to Professor Dele Olowu for his guidance and support. I must recognise the contribution of Dr. James Morton, former Managing Director of HTSPE Limited, who was the first person to introduce me to the concept of demand. Other HTSPE directors have equally been supportive of iv my research, particularly Jeremy West and Peter Ross, allowing me to combine my work responsibilities with my research in as flexible a manner as possible. I am grateful to my work colleagues who have contributed in one way or the other to the completion of this dissertation. John Sanchez gave generously of his time when I was his deputy and ensured that I had enough space to complete this work, including doing some of my office work for me on occasions. Mark Walker, when he became my deputy, similarly shielded me from distractions to enable me to complete the final part of the dissertation, and Hadiza Elayo attended many meetings and produced various reports on my behalf. I am also grateful to Chris Perry who taught me how to do a distribution curve and Tim Donaldson who showed me parts of Microsoft Word that I did not know existed. Esther Ogbole worked as my research assistant for about 4 months and provided excellent support with organising focus group discussions and transcribing hours of taped interviews. All other members of the SPARC Abuja team facilitated the research in one way or the other. Other colleagues that I have crossed intellectual swords with include Simon Foot (who introduced me to Realism), Ursula Blackshaw (who taught me how to defend myself against snobbery from quantitative-minded people), Steve Bertram (who introduced me to the work of Judith Tendler), Steve Hallan and Joseph Umoabasi. Asishana Okauru, Director General of the Nigeria Governors Forum, was a tremendous help in facilitating my interviews at the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Afeikhena Jerome was instrumental in arranging my interview with President Olusegun Obasanjo. My friends Chinedu Eze, Victor Mayomi and Sunny Osuagwu have provided me with incredible support. They perhaps know nearly as much about my topic as I now do, given the number of times that I have bounced ideas off them. I greatly appreciate the professionalism, friendship and support of the staff of the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. Dr. Mindel van de Laar has been a tremendous help to me, as has Professor Eddy Szirmai. They v have guided my work from my very first day at the School all the way through. Dr Haakan Edstrom has kindly and enthusiastically read everything that I have put in front of him and offered valuable opinions, advice and support, for which I am grateful. I am also grateful for the support and encouragement of my colleagues from the GPAC 2009 cohort, particularly Nikolas Wyn Myint; Meike van Ginneken, Leny van Oijen, Yulia Krieger, Farida Lada, Laura Addati and Josephine Namusisi. I am grateful to my supervisors, Professors Friso den Hertog and Adele Jinadu for their guidance, friendship and support. It has been a privilege to learn at their feet. Any positive comments about this work are attributable to their guidance. Any negative ones are attributable to me. I would also like to thank the Assessment Committee, Prof. Verkerk, Prof. Gboyega, Dr van de Laar and Dr Edstrom, for their constructive criticisms and guidance which has greatly improved this dissertation. My Maastricht coach, Jessica Slijkhuis, is worthy of special mention. She helped to open my mind (or is partly to blame for it) and supported me to take in other perspectives that may be different from mine. The ultimate proof of Jessica’s success was the fact that I spent my own money to buy Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, for which I got very strange stares indeed on the London Underground while I read it! Finally, I have interviewed a number of amazing people during the course of this dissertation. The interview with President Obasanjo had a profound effect on me. I had been warned that he would angrily throw me out at some point, given the line of questioning that my empirical work inevitably had to follow. Instead, he invited me to breakfast after I had exhausted my semi-structured interview questions and carried on engaging intellectually for a total of 3 hours. I am grateful to Ayo Aderinwale for helping to organise the interview. I found the interaction with Bill Gates enriching and was struck by the humanity of the man, and his seeming ability to only see solutions rather than problems. I am also grateful to all the organisations that I studied, particularly the ones that knew that my dissertation may be critical of the way that they do things. They still cooperated openly and honestly in my quest for answers, in the hope that they too would learn something. This is commendable and I am grateful for their courage and vi honesty. Meeting with Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, Nuhu Ribadu, Dora Akunyili, Ibrahim Lamorde, Donald Duke, Joseph Odumodu, Elvis Oglafa, Amina az Zubair, Frank Nweke, Jnr., my old friend Rueben Abati and other patriotic Nigerians was a rare privilege. The focus group discussions and interviews with junior and mid-level officers at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission filled me with hope for Nigeria.

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