Much of the past one week was taken up with the raging not to say volatile fuel subsidy debate (is it a debate really') and the affray over the introduction of tolls on the Lekki -Epe expressway. What unites the two subjects is the fact that they represent attempts by the State to transit from a fairly regulated system into one underpinned by cost culture and cost-efficient norms. There is also the fact that not much of a level playing field governed public discussion and the scope of public reaction; in the case of fuel subsidy assuming a subsidy actually exists official statements continued to give the impression that government was seeking validation or legitimation for a pre-rehearsed decision rather than seeking to determine the pulse of the public while in the Lekki case the brutal handling of protesters gave the impression that the Lagos State Government was in no mood to brook a long-drawn dialogue over a policy it already decided to implement.Taking first the Lekki example, it is interesting that Governor Babatunde Fashola already reeling from criticisms over the introduction of 'market determined' tuition fees into Lagos State University faced another controversy which substance shares affinity with the former topic. Not unexpectedly a demonstration broke out in respect of tolling arrangements leading to the manhandling and the arrest of the protesters. If Fashola was embarrassed or even crest fallen that matters had not gone so well or that a fair measure of the rights of protesters had been ignored, he did not show it when he visited the scene of the event. Notwithstanding the fact that the internet buzzed with criticisms of official high handedness, one searched in vain for remorse or regret in Fashola's tone; he merely spoke of 'teething problems' suggesting that he preferred to side track rather than mollify the seething frustration of influential residents.We find a similar disconnect between self righteous officialdom and civil society in the fuel subsidy debate where the Federal Government has alternated between making elaborate motions of consultations and peremptory even emphatic notices that it was determined to go ahead with the policy even if the heavens fell. More constructively word was given that the introduction of the policy was being suspended pending, it would seem, the outcome of ongoing efforts to bring down the tide of government spending through for example, the streamlining and merger of Ministries and Parastatals. Hovering around what would appear to be, at least from an orthodox perspective, rational decisions is a shroud of public distrust of Government and of Politicians regarding their abilities and transparency in conceiving and in implementing decisions that affect the welfare of the masses. To be sure, distrust of governments is an almost universal phenomenon and is pronounced even in the mature democracies where it has given rise to a prolific literature and elaborate theorising in the Social Sciences. Its specific manifestations allude to the breakdown of consensus in Austria; separatist agitations in bilingual Canada, the aftermath of unification in Germany ,the harvest of scandals amidst an incompetent political leadership in Japan, as well as recession blues in the United States and most industrial economies, including of course the worst case scenarios of Greece and Italy. In the Nigerian case, distrust of and pessimism of governments regarding their ability to deliver social goods are a function of the spectacular failures of governance in a country where a plenitude of resources contrasts sharply with excruciating poverty of the people; monumental corruption at all levels of government, Federal State and Local; collapse of Institutions; the sensational gap between the affluent few and hapless majority, as well as the conversion of state resources into private wealth in a neo-kleptocracy which translates into rule by thieves. There is also the elusiveness of governmental structures in the midst of an inchoate nation and a political environment in which anxiety and short-term calculations are defining attributes.In a situation where leaders deliberately plan disorder in order to maximise personal profits and where shadow states are more influential than the state apparatus, it is little wonder that political trust is often a casualty. One influential scholar defines political trust as 'judgement of the citizenry that the system and political incumbents are responsive and will do what is right even in the absence of constant scrutiny'. An ennobling trust culture which is a prerequisite for good governance is earned by consistent fit between official promises and performance; by a demonstrated culture of transparency and accountability; by participatory and town hall norms in which the people are not merely consulted but are taken into confidence through regular communication between the governed and the people, as well as through a gentle, caring mien. It is clear that as at now there exists, no ideological division among the various political parties as the mantra of marketisation appears to rule the roost. There is also no serious attempt to re-invent the official political culture in which those lucky enough to hold political offices reap wild profits while calling on the masses to tighten their belts. An alternative episteme to market-driven development would have zeroed in on the price tags of the acclaimed efficiency of the markets such as worsening inequality and the marginalization of those who cannot afford the so called market determined products and services.Be that as it may, the lesson of the fuel subsidy debate and the Lekki toll uproar is that our governments must do much more than they are doing at the moment to create a trust culture instead of the current cynical despair among the citizens. They must also wean themselves away from the mentality that the people are mere pawns in a strategic chess board and can be manipulated at will. That aside, the official mind must broaden its thinking cap to consider the extent to which it can free resources for development by being more willing to undertake thorough going institutional reform thereby heading off the social tornados that tend to accompany sharp rises in taxes-direct or indirect.Text only to:07055841236.
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