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An Afrocentric Critique of the Discourse of Good Governance and Its Limitations As a Means of Addressing Development Challenges in Nigeria

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An Afrocentric Critique of the Discourse of Good Governance and Its Limitations As a Means of Addressing Development Challenges in Nigeria AN AFROCENTRIC CRITIQUE OF THE DISCOURSE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND ITS LIMITATIONS AS A MEANS OF ADDRESSING DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA By OLUWAKEMI DAMOLA ADEJUMO-AYIBIOWU Submitted in accordance with the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the subject of Development Studies at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR S.G MAZIBUKO 11th September 2018 DECLARATION I Oluwakemi Damola Adejumo-Ayibiowu (Student No: 48013501), declare that “An Afrocentric Critique of the Discourse of Good Governance and its Limitations as a Means of Addressing Development Challenges in Nigeria” is my own work and has never been submitted either in part or in totality for examination at any institution for any other qualification. I further declare that all the sources that I have consulted have been duly acknowledged throughout the text and by means of complete list of references _____________________________________ Oluwakemi Damola Adejumo-Ayibiowu i DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to God who empowers me to do all things. This thesis is also dedicated to everyone who dares to think beyond colonial limitations, and dares be different so as to make a positive difference! You are my motivators, and we are winners together! ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my deep gratitude to everyone who has contributed in various ways to the successful completion of this thesis. My sincere appreciation goes to my supervisor, Prof. S.G Mazibuko, for his empathic insights into the research, his encouragement, his kind mentoring and supportive guidance. Thank you for sharpening my Afrocentric interests. God bless you. I also extend my gratitude to the Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr. Babatunde Fowler, for approving my study leave to complete the PhD studies. I count it a rare privilege. My deepest gratitude goes to my family for their sacrifice, endurance and love. Thank you Deola for allowing and supporting your wife to pursue every dream of hers; for taking care of our boys while I was away studying in South Africa; for always listening to my painful and exciting academic stories; and for always encouraging and praying for me. I appreciate my kids, Dabira, Dara and Demilade for keeping strong. Your understanding is a special contribution to this study. On my knees, I say thank you to my mum, Mrs. Caroline Adejumo for her fervent prayers, encouragement, and assistance to take care of my boys. I also thank my dad, the great icon, Moses Olaiya Adejumo (a.k.a Baba Sala) for praying me to success. My last appreciation goes to the household of God, for your prayers, encouragement and support. Mrs Arinola Kola-Daisi, Dr and Dr Mrs Otitoola, Dr Mike Ayodele, Prof Adebayo, Pastor Rotimi, Prophet Mustapha, the Oratorio group, the God of Possibilities (G.O.P) Band and every loving brethren. God bless you all. iii ABSTRACT The current study is an African-centred critique of the idea of ‘good governance’; which since the 1990s, has been a prescription of the international development institutions for all development challenges facing developing countries. Despite almost two decades of implementation of good governance reforms in Nigeria, poverty, corruption and underdevelopment persist. The analysis showed that the limited involvement of local people in the design of donor-sponsored good governance reforms mainly produced a universal, donor-conceptualized good governance agenda, which did not fully capture local issues. Given this, the main objective of the current study was to develop a cultural, context- specific governance model that shares local citizens’ understanding of governance, as well as, addresses challenges of governance at local levels in Nigeria. However, given the diversity of cultures in Nigeria and the uniqueness of each of them, this study only focused on Southwest Nigeria. Afrocentricity is the theoretical framework for this study. Mainstream development theories have mainly guided the development efforts of African countries but these theories are based on the experience of the European countries and primarily seek their interests. Given the failure of Eurocentric development theories in Nigeria, this study deemed it fit to adopt a theoretical framework that is based on African experience and that seeks African interests. Afrocentricity is the only theory in which the centrality of African interests, principles, and perceptions predominate (Pellebon 2007: 174). In terms of methodology, this study adopted the case study design. The study also used both the qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. But the study was largely qualitative because it relied on participants’ interpretations. The inclusion of quantitative data was for purposes of expanding and complementing the interpretive information. The study is significant because the findings provide agency to indigenous people in Nigeria by the voicing their perception of governance. The study also identified context-specific issues affecting governance in Nigeria, which were not captured in the donor’s universal good governance agenda. The study proposed how the principles that have enabled the effectiveness of traditional governance systems could be incorporated into formal governance to achieve better government performance. Most iv importantly, this study offers context-specific and people-centred recommendations to address Nigeria’s governance and development challenges. This study’s Afrocentric approach to the understanding of good governance is an epistemological rupture against the Eurocentric idea of good governance. Key Words Afrocentricity, eurocentrism, good governance, development, poverty, decoloniality, political institutions, colonialism, culture, indigenous knowledge, ethnicity, tribalism, v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS vi 1.0 RESEARCH OVERVIEW 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Problem Statement ....................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research Objectives .................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Theoretical framework ................................................................................................. 9 1.6 Ratiomnale for the Study ........................................................................................... 12 1.7 Research Design ........................................................................................................ 14 1.6.1 Contribution/Significance of the Study 15 1.8 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................. 16 1.9 Research Context ....................................................................................................... 16 1.10 Organization of the Dissertation/ Summary of Chapters ................................... 21 2.0 DEVELOPMENT AND GOOD GOVERNANCE: A HISTORICAL AND AFROCENTRIC PERSPECTIVE 22 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 22 2.2 Development Perspectives ....................................................................................... 22 2.2.1 Development as a long-term process of structural Change 22 2.2.2 Development as short- to medium-term goals 25 2.2.3 Development as a dominant ‘discourse’ of Western modernity 27 2.3 Good Governance as a Discourse ........................................................................... 29 2.4 Defining Development, Governance and Democracy .......................................... 30 2.5 African Development and Governance history ...................................................... 34 2.6. Africa’s Development and Governance in the Pre-colonial era ......................... 35 vi 2.7 Impact of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade on Africa’s Development and Governance ........................................................................................................................ 37 2.8 Impact of Colonization on Africa’s Development and Governance .................... 39 2.9 Africa’s Post-Independent Development Theories ................................................ 43 2.9.1 Modernization Theories 43 2.9.2 The Dependency theory 46 2.9.3 Dependency Theory and Africa’s Economic and Political Development 47 2.9.4 The Cold War and Post-Independent Governance in Africa 48 2.9.5 Neo-liberalism or Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) 50 2.9.6 Structural Adjustment Programme and Africa’s Governance 52 2.10 Emergence of Good Governance, A Post-Washington Consensus ................ 53 2.11 Analysing Donor’s Good Governance as a Development Strategy – Is this the Governance Improvement Africans Yearn For? ........................................................... 54 2.12 People’s Perspective of Development and Good Governance- Lessons from other studies ....................................................................................................................... 61 2.13 How Africa Has Responded to Development and Good Governance ............. 63 3. NIGERIA’S DISTORTED ECONOMY AND PATRONAGE STATE: A HISTORICAL ENQUIRY 72 3.1 Background ................................................................................................................
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