CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In modern day governance globally, the issue of good governance has assumed the front burner as an indispensable requirement for social, economic and political developments (World Bank, 1989, UNESCO, 2005; Nanda, 2006; Hout, 2007;Gisserlquit, 2012), yet better governance continues to be a source of worry and a big challenge to most countries including Nigeria. Interestingly, Nigeria, government in a bid to ensure good governance in the country had in, the 1999 Nigerian constitution in Section 16 (1) a, b, c, and d, and Section 16 (2) entrenched some of the principles ofgood governance as a possible criteria for governance in the country. Despite these constitutional provisions, as well as the enormous financial resources, and huge potentials of the country, including the social and economic policies that have been implemented by successive administrations good governance continues to be elusive to Nigeria. However, many researchers have suggested that education will be a useful tool for enthroning good governance in Nigeria.

According to Uwadia (2010), Education in a broad sense is a process by which an individualacquires the many physical and social capabilities demanded by the society in which he/she is borninto to function. It is to a nation what the mind is to the body, just as a diseased mind ishandicapped in the coordination and direction of the bodily activities. Therefore, the single mostsignificant complex of social – control tools for good governance is found in the educationalsystem be it formal or informal.

Eduwen. (1999), asserts that, education is the process of acquisition of knowledge, that is, itinvolves the teaching and learning process.Formal education in Nigeria date back to the British colonialism. In the pre-colonial andcolonial era, the colonial master introduced reading, writing, arithmetic which was the beginning offormal education system in Nigeria. Before now, education was informal, that is apprenticeshipsystem of acquiring knowledge. With the advent of the British colonialism there was a shift fromthe informal to the formal system of education. Soon after the Nigeria independence tertiaryinstitutions for man power training and development were established by the Nigerian states. Consequently this led to the growth of the Nigerian professionalism.

The Nigerian education have had a tremendous impact on the Nigeria nation over the yearsthis is evident in the growth and development of the Nigeria Civil service, political system,technological growth, communication, industrial growth, increase in agricultural production,medicine engineering as well as the harnessing of her national endowment. All these are outcome of good governance.

The development witnessed in Nigeria through governance were brought about by the growthand expansion of tertiary education were professional handling these different sectors in theNigerian economy were trained. Soon after independence, there was the need for competentmanpower in the Nigerian quest for development; consequently upon this the federal governmentembark on the establishment of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.

The educational level of Nigeria’s political leaders has increased considerably, but good governance in the country has reduced drastically.The present political leaders in Nigeria including councilors, local council chairmen, federal and state legislators, Governors and those at the center, are mostly individuals with high educational qualifications of first, second, third degrees, including professorship. Despite this, it has not translated into noticeable good governance in the country(Oburota, 2003). Indeed, it is not out of point to say Nigeria only witnessed her period of good governance at a time that those in political power didn’t possess the array of academic qualifications the current political leaders hold.

Many studies have shown that a nation’s economic growth and quality of governance is enhanced by having leaders who are well-read, competent with the right leadership skills, exposure and behaviour (Ogundiya, 2010). Furthermore, it is a general belief that a well-educated leadership is a competitive advantage for any nation and there is a correlation between good governance and leaders’ level of education.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

It is known that most of Nigeria’s current leaders attended the best schools in or outside the country. And the laws, codes of conduct and regulations in the Nigerian governmental system are modest enough to guide those in power. So, it is important to find out what could be responsible for poor governance style by Nigeria leaders.

The absence of an appreciable level of good governance in Nigeria despite the high educational status of its leaders is a strong indication that leadership’s array of certificates doesn’t matter, but the individual character and behaviours. For instance, a professor who teaches basic knowledge in school, when given a political position behaves like a motor park tout. With such situation, one can say leadership is not all about academics but character, because past leaders in Nigeria with lower educational level have proven to be more competent and were able to conceptualize sensible ideas which enhanced all-round national development.They also governed with broader focus on public interest than the current leaders who have higher educational qualifications. Some educationists have observed that political leaders, who possess high educational qualifications and misbehave, did not earn such qualifications scholarly. Hence, they display disgraceful character in positions of political leadership. Other people have also summed up the reason for the lack of good governance to the fact that most individuals in leadership positions in Nigeria are never prepared for the job. Furthermore, the political system is so corrupted that the easy way to secure an elective office is to have the right godfather; belong to the political party in power whether at the centre or in State and during electioneering campaign all that is needed of one is to climb to the podium, rain abuses on the opponents, shout the name of your political party and dance. This unending trend has made the researcher to embark on this study.

1.3       OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The following are the objectives of this study:

1. To examine the impact of education on good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area
2. To examine the impact of education on development in Isoko South Local Government Area.
3. To examine the relationship between education and good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area.

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the impact of education on good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area?
2. What is the impact of education on development in Isoko South Local Government Area?
3. What is the relationship between education and good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area?
   1. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The outcome of this study will educate the general public in Nigeria on the possibility of using education as a tool to enthrone good governance in Nigeria; the research work will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area of the impact of education on good governance in Nigeria thereby constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area.

1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to the relationship between education and good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area between 2002 -2015

REFERENCES

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Hout, W. (2007). The Politics of Aid Selectivity: Good Governance Criteria in World Bank, US and Dutch Development Assistance. London and New York: Routledge.

Kurtz, M., &Schrank, A. (2007b). ‘Growth and Governance: A Defense’. The Journal of Politics, 69(2), 563-69.

Nanda, V. (2006).‘The “Good Governance” Concept Revisited’. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 603: 269-83.

Oburota A (2003). Governance as a Source of Social Violence in Africa.In J.O. Oguejiofor (Ed.) Philosophy, Democracy and Responsible Governance in Africa (pp. 388-398). New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers.

Ogundiya, I.S. (2010). Democracy and good governance: Nigeria's dilemma. African journal of political science and international relations, 4(6), 201-208

UNESCO (2005). Good Governance. Retrieved from http://portal.unesco. org/ci/en/ev.php-UNESCO URL_ID=5205& URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE &URL_SECTION=201.html.

UwadiaOrobosa on January 21, 2010 at 1:12pm Community.vanguardngr.com/profiles/blogs/educationand-national

World Bank (1989).‘Sub-Saharan Africa. From Crisis to Sustainable Growth: A Long-Term Perspective Study’. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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