Every few years in Nigeria, we discover a new reform.
We discover policy reform. We discover monetary reform. We discover tax reform, fuel subsidy reform, foreign exchange reform, civil service reform, security sector reform, electricity sector reform, education reform. We commission committees. We publish white papers. We send delegations to Singapore and Rwanda. We benchmark, we adopt, we adapt. We launch. We celebrate. We move on.
And then, a few years later, we wonder why so little has changed.
I have watched this cycle for over two decades. I have advised public sector institutions, sat across the table from Permanent Secretaries, Chairmen and Chief Executives of parastatals, and worked closely with leaders trying to make Ministries, Departments and Agencies perform. What I want to tell you is something that may sound strange at first, but which I am now convinced is the single most important thing this generation of Nigerian leaders needs to hear.
“There is one reform we have not tried. We have not reformed the boards.”
