Evaluating Issues of Accountability Transparency and Nation Building
Abstract
Issues of accountability and transparency are on the front burner because they are at the centre of effective and participatory nation-building. Citizens suspect and consequently withhold legitimacy to governments that are shrouded in secrecy and corruption. Governments supported by citizens are better placed to build nations that can deliver the dividends of democracy. For a government to be accountable and transparent, citizens must go beyond choosing their leaders at periodic elections to actually participating in the governance processes. Civil society groups must be vigilant, vocal and ready to demand good governance at every stage. This paper focused attention on conditions that are necessary for the emergence of accountable and transparent governance in efforts aimed at nation-building, including effective participation in policy formulation and their implementation. The paper concluded that accountability, and transparency can be guaranteed only when and if leaders adhere to the rule of law and are discouraged to continue in the shameful and anti-democratic practices of nepotism and cronyism that undermine nation-building.
Author
- Don M. Baridam
Professor of Organizational Behaviour,
Department of Business Administration,
Akwa Ibom State University,
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria