The process of Policy Making in Nigeria will be discussed in this article. No nation can thrive without policies and Nigeria is not an exception.
Public policy making in Nigeria
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Where Nigeria was, where she is, and where she will be was the result of the policies established and implemented in the country.
It is no doubt that Nigeria has so many policies that have not been implemented because of the corrupt practices across the nation.
What is Policy?
A policy has different meanings in relation to different people and circumstances. In relation to this context, a policy is advantageous to conduct enacted for a state or nation to ensure the peace, growth, and tranquility of that nation. It is more like a set of dos and don’ts in a state, province, or region.
Policies are created naturally to either solve a problem in a country or avert the same. When there is no policy in a country, the order will be difficult to maintain.
It is one thing however to make policies and a completely different thing to implement them. No policy is said to be successful when it has not been implemented.
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Things that Make a Policy Unique in Nigeria
- Accomplishment: When a policy is set and accomplished, it becomes unique.
- Alternative: The policy must have an alternative to be considered a unique one.
- Authority: A policy that is implemented without the power to exercise authority is considered invalid. When a policy is in place, the power to exercise authority should be given too.
- Intelligent Hypothesis: The guesswork of all policies must be based on the actual intelligence of all persons concerned with policymaking.
- Action: Like earlier said, Nigeria has so many policies that have never been acted upon. In order for an approach to be unique, it must be acted upon by those directly concerned.
- Flexibility: A unique policy must not be rigid. It must be subject to change and amendments when the parties concerned deem fit to do so.
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People involved with policymaking in Nigeria
Policies in Nigeria are not made by an individual in the comfort of his home irrespective of his political position of appointment. It is made with the collective input of different parastatals in the country and these include:
- The Legislative arm of the government
- The Executive arm of the government
- The Judiciary
- The Bureaucracy
- Political Parties
- Interest groups
- Citizens or the masses
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Process of Policy Making in Nigeria
Policies are made in Nigeria as earlier stated to either bring peace or prevent future or present dangers to the economy.
For instance, the Akwa-Ibom state government having seen that should it not declare a day for the general sanitation exercise, the state will be very unkempt, declaring the last Saturday of the month as a general sanitation day. This helps to an extent to keep the Akwa-Ibom environment neat and tidy.
The Federal government of Nigeria has the dominant feature in policymaking in the country as granted by the constitution.
The Federal government has the exclusive right to oversee and direct a new policy to be brought into play from the formulation stage until it is actually implemented and evaluated.
In making policies, the federal government is advised through the Vice President of any impending danger or economic matters of the country and also, suggests the necessary steps to coordinate the economic planning.
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Whatever the case is, the ministries involved directly in the policy are immediately alerted but regardless of what the case may be, the Ministry of National Planning and Ministry of Finance will always be present to oversee the whole process.
At this point, alternatives are given and evaluated after which it is passed through various offices for verification of facts and then ultimately submitted to the President for his assent to the policy.
