Giving the SHINE Agenda A Practical Grassroots Presence

One topic that is less discussed when problems of governance in Nigeria come up, is the seeming long distance between government and the governed. In many parts of our country, state capitals exist and often very remotely from community or village squares. So are the myriads of plans, policies and programmes, announced in Government Houses in the State capitals. The result: they take long times to reach the communities they are meant to benefit.

Just now, Governor Monday Okpebholo’s approval of 4,800 special assistants is aimed at closing the gap by taking government closer to the people at the ward level. In his words, “What is from the top will also go down to the bottom”. It was while meeting APC stakeholders at the Government House in Benin City.

The statement captures the thinking behind the initiative. For two years, as Executive Governor, Senator Okpebholo has pursued the SHINE Agenda, built around security, healthcare, infrastructure, education and natural resources. But announcing projects and policies is one thing; ensuring that people in communities understand, access and benefit from them is another.

The 4,800 appointments, based on 25 special assistants for each of Edo’s 192 wards, therefore deserve to be viewed beyond the immediate politics of appointments. For the governor they represent an attempt, at least in principle, to create a grassroots governance structure that can connect state-level policy with community-level realities.

For most scholars, grassroots governance are systems of government and decision-making that are anchored closer to communities, wards and neighbourhoods rather than concentrated in state or federal headquarters.

The core is decentralised decision-making. Rather than having policies being developed and implemented entirely from Benin City, for example, Governor Okpebholo is resorting to local structures to provide information and input on how his policies should work in particular communities.

The reason this matters is that communities do not always have the same needs. Take a healthcare problem for example. The situation in one ward may be completely different from the security concern in another. A community struggling with access roads to evacuate it’s agricultural produce definitely require a different intervention from one dealing with erosion and flooding, youth restiveness or access to schools.

Grassroots governance recognises these differences. It allows government to respond to problems as they are experienced locally rather than relying exclusively on broad, one-size-fits-all policies. This is where the special assistants could become important.

All over the world, government is often experienced by ordinary citizens not through policy documents but through the availability of services, information and people who can answer questions.
Many a resident who wants to know about a government’s health programme, road project, empowerment scheme or security initiative should not necessarily have to travel to the state capital or wait for information to pass through several layers of bureaucracy.

An embedded government presence at the ward level can reduce that distance. The special assistants is proposed to become the people residents approach for information about government programmes. They could explain what Governor Okpebholo has been doing, identify problems with implementation and communicate community concerns to higher levels of government. In a sense, they would serve as translators between policy and everyday life.

Governor Okpebholo’s SHINE Agenda is already clear at the level of government planning, now its real meaning is going to be determined by what happens in our communities. A healthcare improvement programme, for example, becomes meaningful when residents know which facilities are benefiting, what services are available and what shortcomings remain. The same applies to roads, security interventions, education and other government programmes.

The governor is no longer just announcing the SHINE Agenda, but making it visible and understandable at ward level. It is now about participation of the governed not just communication. A functioning grassroots structure comes on stream not as a one-way communication channel in which government tells citizens what it has decided, it also allow citizens to tell government what they need.

Ward meetings, community forums, associations and other local structures will help provide channels for this exchange. The advantage is that government will now receive information from people who live with the consequences of its decisions. Residents know where roads are failing, which health centres are not functioning properly, where security threats are emerging and which government interventions are producing results.

This makes local knowledge an important and critical part of governance. For our state, the heartbeat of the country, the 192-ward structure provides useful framework for collecting such information. The special assistants will be required, encouraged and empowered to listen as much as they speak.

Governor Okpebholo has acknowledged the political role of party members when he said the initiative recognised “the collective efforts of party members in securing the APC’s victory.” This political reality cannot be ignored. The appointments are being made within a political environment, and party structures are clearly part of the administration’s grassroots strategy. The governor knows that political structures can also serve administrative purposes if they are properly managed.

Edo people who understand their communities can help government communicate more effectively, identify emerging concerns and mobilise residents around legitimate public programmes. Yes, special assistants are primarily party mobilizers whose main responsibility is to protect political interests, but the broader goal of grassroots governance is central. They will combine political awareness with clear public-service responsibilities.

When government representatives are physically and organisationally present within a ward, citizens know whom to approach when something goes wrong. That is potentially more effective than directing every complaint to a distant ministry or government office.

The state government will establish what each special assistant is expected to do, how often they should report, who supervises them and how their performance will be assessed. The appointees will also have a defined channel for escalating community concerns. They will be trained or reporting mechanisms and measurable responsibilities. The resources available and the limits of their authority will also be specified.

With 25 special assistants in each of Edo’s 192 wards, the government is creating a sizeable grassroots network – a structure that will not only improve communication but also local intelligence.

As Edo State APC Chairman Jarret Tenebe puts it, the party has established guidelines for selecting the special assistants. Those guidelines no doubt have taken consideration of those who understand their communities, are able to communicate effectively and possess demonstrable a willingness to work. Their duties will include ability to explain government programmes clearly; identify local problems early and track projects and report failures.

Governor Okpebholo is moving away from a model in which government decisions are made in the state capital and communities simply wait for their effects. His plan is for a government that is more visible, accessible and embedded in the places where people live. This model would give the SHINE Agenda a practical grassroots presence.

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Ebojele, PhD in Public Administration and is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State