By Paul C Nwabuikwu
The 4th Republic kicked off in 1999 with a bunch of impressive governors across the country. In Cross River, 37-year-old Donald Duke turned the famous hospitality of his people into a highly effective revenue generating strategy after the state lost its oil wells to Akwa Ibom via a Supreme Court judgement. Within a couple of years, the state became a favourite destination for government and private sector conferees as well as local and foreign tourists. In Bauchi, the urbane Muazu did similarly innovative things with the Yankari Game Reserve but also left notable legacies in education (increasing primary school enrolment from under 500,000 to over 1.2m; taking Bauchi from 34th to 3rd in WAEC) in addition to massive road construction.
In Enugu, the Chimaroke Nnamani era will forever be tarnished by widespread state sponsored violence against opponents but even he notched up some significant milestones in health and education including ESUT medical school. Rabiu Kwankwaso, also stood out in scholarships and establishment of educational infrastructure and granting of scholarships. Victor Attah achieved regional impact as Mr Resource Control for his principled advocacy for a larger share of the cake for the South South. Kogi’s late governor, the mercurial Abubakar Audu is still considered by many the state’s best so far. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
Babatunde Fashola was outstanding among the second set of governors elected in 2007. He accomplished great things in urban renewal, infrastructural development and administrative innovation. His can-do approach and a methodical approach famously described by Soyinka as the methodical approach of a “skilled mechanic” continues to be a reference point. Sadly, under Buhari, he was far from a star in Works and Housing. The late Daura general cum president had a talent for dimming any stars that strayed into his firmament.
Peter Obi, despite the disruption of two impeachments by a state legislature captured by Chris Uba, left arguably the best legacy in the history of the state in a multiplicity of areas: education, investment, prudent and innovative governance in many areas. A couple of other governors in the 2007 set also left strong records, including Sullivan Chime in Enugu (roads, security, investments) and Godswill Akpabio (transformative infrastructure) in Akwa Ibom.
The current set of governors, as a group, are, by comparison, quite disappointing. If a poll on the performance of governors across the country is conducted today, it will, no doubt, confirm that Nigerians are unimpressed by the current occupants of government houses across the country. And that’s putting it mildly. A significant percentage of the curses and “fire prayers” that Nigerians hurl at politicians daily are directed at governors. Apart from a few exceptions, the public perception is that they are ineffective money-miss-roads who hide their incompetence behind a phalanx of sycophantic aides, long convoys and elaborate titles including the redundant “Executive Governor”. Alex Otti of Abia is, of course, a notable exception.
And there’s little evidence the majority of governors are doing anything significant with the huge increases in the allocations they are receiving from FAAC. However, no doubt, bureau de change operators and other key players in the lucrative forex supply chain are enjoying the benefits that Their Excellencies are denying indigenes and residents.
A thought: perhaps the reason many governors insist on being addressed as “Executive Governor” is because they know, deep down in their underperforming hearts, that they are doing very little useful execution outside the elaborate façade. Some time ago, a now deceased former Oyo State governor added a comical dimension to this craze for titles when he reminded the audience, in the course of tense confrontation with students, that he was not only the Executive Governor but also the living and breathing Constituted Authority, the embodiment of all official and terrestrial power within the geographical boundaries of the state. The expression of power in Third World democracies is often blunt and very blunt.
There are many other examples of similar actions and statements by imperial gubernatorial majesties. In August 2025, Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State ordered the shutdown of Badeggi FM, a private radio station in Minna for daring to highlight lapses in the state’s security operations. In another controversial incident captured in a viral video, Bago instructed a security detail to slap an Islamic cleric during a public event for the crime of “impersonating” an Imam.
Former Ebonyi governor and current works minister, Dave Umahi earned similar notoriety during his spell as governor. For instance, he didn’t bother to hide his hostility and disdain for media platforms which dared to publish anything that did not meet his specifications. He often ordered the arrest and detention of journalists from such media platforms. In some cases, he banned them “for life” from entering Government House, Abakaliki. As he declared during a public event at Abakaliki: “If you think you have the pen, we have the koboko (horsewhip).”
It would be interesting to find out if Umahi’s successor is keeping faith with the decision of his cantankerous godfather. If so, will the state house of assembly explore enacting a law to ensure that the life ban remains in effect even if the reporters outlive their excellencies? The possibilities are ridiculously endless.
Bago and Umahi are, of course, not the only governors in the category largely defined in the public space by arbitrary exercise of power rather than public service. There are quite a few others.
The obvious question: what is responsible for the decline in the quality of governors? What accounts for the downward trajectory in performance? Naturally, many explanations have been offered. One theory articulated by a friend is that the progressive decline in governance can be traced to the progressive decline in the quality of the public service since independence. According to him, the failure of successive leaders to maintain the standards bequeathed by the British is responsible for the across-the-board deterioration in many facets of national life. This reminds of Achebe’s assertion in his book, There Was a Country that, while colonialism was inspired and sustained by exploitation, the British left a decent foundation of institutions and policies that Nigerian leaders failed to build on.
Some have also suggested that escalating corruption is responsible for the decline in the performance of governors. Those who hold this view say that the Second Republic which the military toppled because of massive corruption is a tea party compared to what obtains today. Most governors, so the theory goes, are so focused on stealing that there is no appetite or space left for governance. The problem with this theory can be compared to the problem of the chicken and the egg: which came first?
These theories may have some tangential relevance but the most persuasive explanation for the decline in the performance of elected state executives, in my opinion, is that godfathers across the country have learnt a negative lesson from their post 1999 experience with godsons who became governors. The lesson is: it is safer and more profitable to support underachieving individuals with little or no capacity into Government House than to support capable and high performing godsons who can become difficult to control after becoming popular and earning public goodwill in their own right.
Godfathers seem to have learnt that mumu godsons are better “sure bankers” than independent minded “I too know” godsons. It’s a very cynical view but in a political system in which thuggery, rigging and other machinations often decide electoral outcomes, godfathers who pull the strings can get away with this calculation. The results can be seen in states like Edo, Ebonyi and Kogi where obedient godsons are officially in charge but powerful godfathers hold the aces. The situation in Rivers where Sim Fubara tried and failed to shake off Nyesom Wike has strengthened such calculations and the influence of godfathers.
*Nwabuikwu is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board.
