By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku
Cheta Nwanze, lead partner at the SBM Intelligence said at the weekend that it is not in the interest of the political class to be accountable and transparent to those who elected them to run the affairs of Nigeria.
Nwanze made the assertion at the Windows on America weekly Conversation with an Alum, held in Benin City, through a hybrid session with participants.
An engineer who holds a master’s degree in computer networks and internet security from Middlesex University, London, he also said that the long years that Nigeria spent under military rule partly accounts for the low levels of political participation in the country.
Speaking on the topic: Result of Lack of Transparency and Accountability in governance of Nigeria, Mr. Nwanze told his audience that the issues of transparency and accountability are key issues in governance in a democracy.
“We have had more years as a country run by the military than as one in a democracy. Therefore the nascent institutions that were handed over to us by the colonial authorities, as imperfect as they were; we did not build on those.
“This is many respects make things like transparency and accountability still very alien to us. Our loyalty in most cases is not to the nation but to the individual holding the instruments of power,” Mr. Nwanze said.
The SBM Intelligence is a think-tank based in Lagos, and has published several reports, including the SBM Jollof Index: Food prices enter geostationary orbit, Nigeria 2021 half-year kidnap report, Beyond the ban, what the Southern governors agreed, and Democracy day Violence.
Nwanze told his audience at the Windows on America program in Benin that youth must get involved in the process of governance and elections to be able to hold the political class accountable.
“We don’t think that the politicians are honest but if many of us come out and insist, they will be forced to do what we want them to do,” Nwanze said.
The Benin City Window on America, (BcWOA) was set up in June 2021 in partnership with the Igbinedion University, Okada. They provide host country institutions with multi-media materials about the United States, training, equipment and technical support.
