The Crises of Governance and the Realization of The Millenium Development Goals (Mdgs) in Nigeria

Abstract

From colonialism to date and through various development plans and adoption of various international development blueprints, the nature of the Nigerian state, has impacted negatively on the  processes and prospects of development efforts in Nigeria in such a way that the desired developmental outcomes have continued to elude the citizenry.  Employing the theoretical framework of dependency, rentier state and prebendalism, the paper contends that the nature of the Nigerian state which has always thwarted efforts towards development through bad governance characterized by corruption, may also act as obstacle towards realization of the Millennium goals. The paper, with the realization of only four years away from 2015 deadline, advocates a change in the character of the state, through improvement in exemplary leadership, socio-cultural value reorientation, effective democratization process whose features include sound legitimation footing, socio-economic empowerment, application of principles of rule of law, transparency and accountability amongst others, in order to enhance the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).