The Contagion of Misgovernance in Nigeria: Reflections on the Influence of NonAdministrative Criteria

Abstract

Successive governments in Nigeria have failed to curtail the downward spiral of the sectors of her economy. The deepening socio-economic and political  crises are assessed as occasioned by the dysfunctionality of the arms of government that jeopardizes essential service delivery to the detriment of the  polity at whose behest they occupy the public offices. Despite the changes and institution of new administrative leadership through democratic  processes, the quality of governance continues to dwindle. Poor policy formulation, implementing non-target-specific measures to deal with the malaises  bedeviling the economy, and/or outright government inaction define the practical realities between the elected representatives in government  and the polity who bear the brunt of the leadership failures in all spheres. The study determined whether a contagion effect birthed by non- administrative criteria underlies the transcendently perpetual mi membership and sentiments, the contexts of leadership, and the implications for the  trajectory of governance. With prioritization over the desired state of affairs in the country despite leadership changes and successive governments,  these group memberships and sentiments remain inimically parallel to target-specific policy-making and de-emphasize national growth and  development. The paper relies on the postulations of the social contagion theory of collective behavior and Riggs' assertions on non-administrative  criteria in prismatic societies in assessing the misgovernance in Nigeria. A semi-structured Contagion in Leadership (CiL) e-questionnaire was designed to  evaluate the influence of social contagion on the members of the arms of government and, consequently, on ted on two social media platforms -  WhatsApp and Twitter, for a wider reach. Two hundred ten (210) responses were recorded across an age range of 18 and 65+ years, with a mean age of  42. Strategies for enhancing the quality of governance, including entrenching constitutionalism, and engendering the responsibility of political  officeholders toward policy actions, are proffered.