The GPI: Can Citizens turn the tide of poor governance in Nigeria?

Today, we are releasing the GPI Citizens Portal — a civic tool that enables citizens to assess governance performance in their state. Here is what you should know.

The Short Version:

If you periodically assess governance performance in your state, and you consistently hold your government accountable for good governance, you will tremendously improve your quality of life and that of your fellow citizens. The GPI as a civic tool, is everything you need to achieve this.

An even shorter version: a better life is possible and the GPI can be the key to that better life.

If you are asking what do to: log on to the GPI Citizens Portal at app.govmeter.ng to start assessing governance performance in your state.

The Long Version:

Governance affect your life more than you even realize. You are not even alive or dead until the government says so. Your personal security, your economic wellbeing, your physical environment, and almost any other thing you can think of — are all significantly affected by the quality of governance that you are exposed to.

Unfortunately for us, good governance is a scarce commodity in Nigeria. That is why there are over 140 million poor people in Nigeria. It is why everything seem very tough. It is why there are no jobs. It is why opportunities don’t get around. It is why doing business here is super tough.

The goal of the GPI is to change this tide. Here is the basic proposition of the GPI: by defining what good governance means for us as a people, and setting the key parameters to assess the quality of governance performance, we will have the requisite tool to hold government accountable for good governance, which then allows us to push for consistent improvement in the quality of governance performance across the country. Think about how much this will improve the quality of life of every citizen.

To put it in concrete terms, improvements in the quality of governance in Nigeria will mean better education for everyone. It will mean better health care system that is affordable and accessible to everyone. It will mean better roads, stable lights, and security. It will mean better economy (for the vast majority of youths who are either unemployed or under employed and underpaid, better economy means better job, better pay and better access to opportunities, including business and employment opportunities).

The GPI provides an incredible opportunity for citizens to turn the tide of poor governance in Nigeria. The GPI already provides a framework for assessing governance performance — using a set of indicators that reflects the different dimensions of governance. The GPI also provides the tools for citizens to assess governance performance in their state. The GPI will produce the Governance Performance Index in real time based on the assessment of citizens and contributions of nonprofits across the country who are working to research quantitative data for the GPI.

It is now up to Citizens to own this tool, provide honest assessment of governance performance in their states and use the Index as a tool to hold government accountable for good governance. Citizens are at the center of the GPI as they are the direct beneficiaries or victims of governance (government policies and actions or inactions). The GPI is about the tangible delivery of quality governance — the end result, hence the focus on Citizens assessment. If Citizens can own this, we can transform governance as we know it.

It is important to note that the GPI will always be a work in progress. It will keep evolving. The framework will always be reviewed for its appropriateness to define governance in all its dimensions. The indicators will be better defined. The questions asked will be better refined. And so must the Citizens work of assessing governance performance using the GPI as a tool be a continuous one.

As Citizens, we should all embrace and make the most of the GPI, knowing that with every effort we make to improve governance performance in our nation, we make our own life and those of others infinitely better than before.

Get on the GPI Citizen Portal to make your assessment and encourage everyone around you to do the same.

#LetsBuildANation