DISCLAIMER!
This document is prepared for political leaders (elected or appointed), political party men, stakeholders, board committee members, senior executives at the civil service commission, everyday followers, inspiring thought leaders as well as aspiring leaders. it aims to assist boards and others with key governance roles in developing robust governance operating model for inclusive and sustainable leadership. This document also provides suggestions to consider on how to begin implementation of an effective governance operating model, although that is not its primary focus. Such a model may foster the information flows and visibility into processes that enable both the party board, administrative and management wings to fulfil their respective governance responsibilities. This document outlines the next step — moving governance to the level of people’s day-to-day job responsibilities in creating a lasting legacy with anchors spread across.
This document assumes that readers are broadly familiar with the questionable South-South governance style as compared to Western Nigeria and in recent times Northern Nigeria and with key principles of governance, including those we have now identified and continue to explore to seek clarifications and in the process hope to change a few minds for an elaborate developmental plan for the Cross River State and for this review document, we put Cross River State Northern Senatorial District in view.
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| DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE OPERATING MODEL — A guide for Cross River State North Political Leaders, Civil Service Commission Veterans and Grassroot teams. |
A governance operating model is the mechanism used by political parties, elected/appointed leaders and entire political management to translate the elements of the governance framework and policies into practices, procedures, and shared job responsibilities within the political /people governance infrastructure to the benefit and advancement of a people in a given geographical region/constituents.
A governance operating model may assist boards of political parties, elected/appointed leaders and entire management in fulfilling their governance roles. Such a model is likely to enable the board and the executive leadership to organize the governance structure and the mechanisms by which governance is implemented by political players across all levels from the over abused grassroots to the top chain players. By the same token, the lack of a governance operating model may lead to an incomplete or faulty governance structure, or to inconsistencies, overlaps, and gaps among governance mechanisms as we have seen our entire lives in Northern Cross River State. Such inadequacies may lead to failure to enact governance policies that the political party board, elected/appointed leaders and the entire management have put in place…if ever and if not:
We the authors of this publication thought to share a few proposed sustainable governance model that will see a vertical growth in Human capacity and infrastructure to better position our claim to precedented advancements like we have only seen from Western Nigeria.
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PRINTER ROLL |
‘A governance operating model has the potential to address this need and thus enhance management’s ability to implement governance and the board’s (stakeholders) ability to exercise proper oversight.’
NOW LET’s DIVE RIGHT IN:
The sheer complexity of governance and the huge number of hands to engage, mouths to feed, and back to massage, and other mechanisms in a global political institution may indicate a need for a governance operating model. The elements of such a model may exist within many developing nations as seen in developed nations. However, those elements may not have been connected, rationalized, and organized to provide the consistent guidance and incentives that Local, State and Federal government at any level may require.
COMPONENTS OF A GOVERNANCE OPERATING MODEL
“A governance operating model defines the mechanisms and interaction points by which governance will be implemented. It enables the board and the executive leadership — as appropriate to their roles and responsibilities — to organize these mechanisms and points of interaction across the organization’s business lines, legal entities, and jurisdictions.”
HERE’s some more background information.
This to a high extent leads to wasteful use of energies which if properly channelled can result in overwhelming and mind-blowing results with developmental impacts felt to the grassroots. This therefore clearly points to the fact that the developmental strides a people get are directly proportional to the leadership and followership relationship in place.
The way representatives run the act of governance in our dear Nation, State and at Local Government levels gives every cause to worry as it is simply pathetic and appalling. One wonders if it’s a deliberate act of omission or commission that makes them leave key steps which if looked into and implemented will help in taking well-thought decisions that will bring forth the desired change craved for by the populace. Most times these promises are rolled out during campaigns and electioneering periods and are quickly thrown into the trash bin once such a person gets the mandate of the people making a fool of the masses who pour their benevolence decided to against all odds vote for the emergence of such a person.
Patrice Emery Lumumba once said “the problem with Africans is that those with ideas are not in power, while those in power have no idea. When the people have the chance they’ll vote for those that have no idea.”
THIS IS THE MISSING LINK: And now, we have to connect those with ideas to those voted for with no ideas. Those with the required ideas should now form a basis for good governance as they properly harness and synergize together thereby providing quality representation and developmental strides.
The analysis of football from onlookers catches a glimpse of them doing it better if giving the chance. This is because those who watch from a distance most times have a better view of what is being played. Unfortunately, if given the same opportunity, they tend to do no better. This implies that for there to be a quality representation, there must be synergy between the leader and the led giving everyone the opportunity to be carried along.
For this publication, We are presenting the establishment of a FEEDBACK SYSTEM as a governance operating model.
A feedback system is a measure put in place to evaluate and carry out a critical assessment of the performance of a thing. In this regard, a feedback system will help to critically examine and assess a representative within a period of time which will help to give a scorecard for such a person (elected/appointed officer).
The following are pointers which can begin to help to drive the implementation of a governance operating model.
1. Establishing liaison offices and officers!
A liaison officer serves as a representative/a go-between for the people and their representative, whose duty is to interface with the people, carry out a need assessment as to the peculiar needs of each component community and report such to the representative. The liaison office serves as a meeting point where the people come to lay their complaints, needs, wants, challenges etc. the presence of the liaison office helps connect the representative to his/her people as the liaison officer collates all that is brought to the office and communicates such to the representative for onward actions/solutions to be taken on them.
A liaison office is where your constituents with pressing concerns, needs and ideas can reach you more readily. The duty of the liaison officers will be to objectively help run a background check/research about each submitted claim to verify before passing them on to the representative for an objective executive response.
This is very important in a governance operating model as this leads to unprecedented growth of communities as well as increase trust, confidence and influence on the representative and her entire staff.
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| Liaison officer taking feedback from constituents to report to the Representative. |
2. Set up a think tank
For governance and representation to be effective and the people feel the dividends of democracy, there is every need for a body referred to as “THINK TANK” this will consist of TECHNOCRATS from different fields and works of life with specific expertise.
Their role will be to analyze and critically evaluate all the opinions, concerns, questions, suggestions etc raised by the lead during the various tall hall meetings or those collated by the liaison officers.
This will help set priorities and modalities in proffering solutions to the mirage of problems sent in by the led.
The think tank serves as the powerhouse to the representative carrying out research, preparing policy briefs, highlighting the technical and important parts of a bill to bring to the general knowledge of the representative, liaise with other stakeholders in negotiation needs based on assessment, setting up programs, which has a direct effect on the masses and yet helping the representative to carry out other official duties with utmost efficiency and effective delivery.
This is not a strange model, this is already being implemented in forward-thinking societies. By leveraging the wisdom of the old and young people’s energy, a whole new system of mentorship by working experience is born.
So if you need to design a program for the Federal, State or Local government, you set up a think tank of young urban professionals with a working committee of home-based artisans to design the program for initiation to implementation. This all-inclusive model has proven to be effective and self-sustaining as more people buy into the projects and vision of said representative. This also sees an increase in the influence of the representative this serves as multiple interfaces with constituents.
In doing this, talents are being identified, life-changing opportunities are birthed, young people gain experience in good governance, the elders are happy to pass on training and legacy to a promising future which in turn will lead to a more vertical growth of communities in infrastructure and human capacity.
3. Town Hall Meeting
A town hall meeting is a congregation/assembling where the leaders and its people come together to rub minds by sharing ideas, give credit to both parties (leaders and the people), a voice out displeasure where necessary and give a scorecard of the leader with the sole aim of charting a better course for the progress of the people and her communities.
Townhall meetings should be organized regularly (once a year, twice, quarterly etc depending on which works best in the given circumstances) and in such gatherings, representatives of trade union leaders, students leaders, youth leaders, and other various associations which exist in such areas, age grade (as peculiar to the locality), traditional and religious bodies, and leadership of educational institutions as well as security agencies be invited and the people are allowed to discuss their concerns and needs to her leader.
This often births proper solutions for solving the challenges as it peculiar to them. The suggestions, opinions, concerns and questions raised will be properly documented and attended to as they will form the bases of assessment and scorecard.
Townhall meetings should be institutionalised in various constituencies and not a thing a representative does whenever he chooses to. For if you are elected to represent a people, you owe them this basic level of accountability.
“If you send your ward(s) to school, wouldn’t they report to you daily, weekly, monthly, termly or by semester?” it is no different for elected and appointed leaders. Anything short of this is to disregard the vote of confidence passed on the representative by its people.
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In the coming volumes, we shall share some more robust governance operating models as it will help enable the execution of governance responsibilities at all levels.
FOR FUTURE WORK, REFLECTION AND RECOMMENDATION:
- Designing other aspects of the governance operating model in getting governance done rightly for a sustainable and inclusive human capacity and infrastructure advancement.
- How constituents can better interact with her representative for maximum productivity.
- Analysing past, present and forecasting the future of the political culture of Cross River State Northern Senatorial District.
SPECIAL THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO DELOITTE and its works on “Developing an effective governance operating model” from where we have drawn illustration as well as inspiration for this series and the others to follow.
Authors
NAME: Adoga "Saint" Stephen
Designation: Scholar
Other Affiliation: University of Calabar, Nigeria
Interests: e-governance, Youth Inclusion, ICT,
Address for Consultation: Calabar, Cross River State of Nigeria.
Phone Number: +2348112926937
Email: adogasaint@gmail.com
NAME: JOSHUA UGOR
Designation: Scholar
Other Affiliation: University of Portsmouth, UK.
Interests: Youth Development, Youth Inclusion in Governance, Youth and Women Empowerment.
Address for Consultation: University of Portsmouth, UK.
Phone Number: 08068438974
Email: ayinujoshua@gmail.com
NAME: DOUGH ONAH
Designation: Fellow, NSIG.
Other Affiliation: Nigerian School on Internet Governance
Interests: Building communities through Human Capacity Development, and Youth Mentorship through inclusion.
Address for Consultation: Nigerian School on Internet Governance, Lagos — Nigeria.
Phone Number: +2347030529324
Email: onahdough@gmail.com
Email: onahdough@unical.edu.ng
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