Munzali rates Nigeria poor on good governance

By Sam Otti
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.
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