In post-colonial countries of Africa and Asia, governance has been a prisoner of the colonial distrust in the citizen-government exchange. The interaction of the State vis-à-vis citizens continues to remain divergent, even antagonistic, in terms of realization of the claims, entitlements and the basic rights. The institutions, norms, and procedures continue to function as colonial constructs, causing a visible disconnect between the State and the people. However, denial of key values such as identity and dignity to the large sections of the population results into an ‘exclusion’ experience. In this case, they remain ‘deficient citizens’. The Afro-Asia alliance explores how to transform ‘deficient citizenship’ into full citizenship.
Governance in countries of Africa and Asia often believed to be the by-product of the colonial rule established many institutions. The core of these institutions is to ensure representation but without active participation in decision-making processes. This has contributed to building up of trust deficit between the citizens and the governments. It also analyses how to meet dignity, trust, productivity and citizen engagement deficits in governance. Are there best practices that can be shared regionally to make governance more equitable, just and inclusive? How can governance be harmonized with civil society and corporate social responsibility programmes to make democracies distributive?
Striving to contribute to addressing critical issues adversely affecting good governance in Nigeria, CLEEN Foundation has conducted various studies to garner empirical data for evidence-based advocacy and development of innovative programs and interventions designed to address such issues as corruption, insecurity, the ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system, civil-military relations etc. Consolidating her contributions towards sustained governance reforms in Nigeria, CLEEN becomes an active member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Nigeria in the year 2017. The Coalition was set up to monitor Nigeria’s compliance with OGP commitments. CLEEN also continues to partner with the Centre for Democratic Development CDD-Ghana and the Afrobarometer Network to conduct comparative public opinion surveys measuring attitudes toward governance, democracy, the economy, identity, and other important issues in Africa. The Afrobarometer survey has come to be recognised over the years and used by policymakers, researchers, the media and the general public as a very reliable tool for assessing public perception, progress and change in Africa.
Reference
Cleen Foundation – https://cleen.org/projects/