Dataphyte Editorial Trust Member, Dr Temitope Laniran, joins other economic thought leaders to produce a consequential book on public policy in Nigeria and the world’s emerging economies.
The book, “Public Policy and Agent Interests: Perspectives from the Emerging World,” released this September, examines key issues bordering on governance in Nigeria and Africa, policy-making, and the role of effective leadership in shaping public policy outcomes. It highlights how these factors affect public welfare and economic development.
Dr Laniran, an Economist at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), coauthored the book with the former Governor of the CBN, Emir Muhammad Lamido Sanusi, the former Deputy Governor of the CBN and former Special Adviser on Finance and Economy to the President, Dr Sarah Alade.
Dr Laniran, a Development Economist and Erasmus Scholar of the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme taught economics at the University of Bradford and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton UK.
Edited by the former Minister of Finance, National Planning, and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Shamsuddeen Usman, the book featured rich contributions from distinguished scholars in policy practice and academia.
With a forward written by the former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, the book has 13 chapters with different authors treating varying thematic areas.
The topics covered include an overview of the Principal/Agent challenge in Nigeria by Dr Andrew Nevin. The next chapter by Dr Yemi Kale highlights the importance of data in shaping public policy, while Aliyu Aminu Mohammed examines public policy formation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
The authors impress upon the reader that public policies are not developed in isolation. From the ideation stage through to execution, they are heavily influenced by various stakeholders. This interplay within the policy-making process can sometimes result in misplaced priorities, where the interests of government actors take precedence over the public good, potentially affecting public welfare and hindering overall development.
This line of intellectual inquiry is where the book “Public Policy and Agents Interests” seeks to explore the core issues underlying Nigeria’s challenges.
Dr Sarah Alade, in her authored chapter, addresses public policy and fiscal management, arguing that the failure of agents to fulfil their roles in the social contract persists because the principals (citizens) are unable to hold the government accountable.
Dr Temitope Laniran and Nuruddeen Usman, Economist at the Bank of England, coauthored the fourth chapter of the book, harping on the strategic power of public policy in sub-Saharan Africa’s resource-rich countries like Nigeria. They explore the ‘resource curse’ phenomenon in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and compare it to countries like the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which have directed the benefits of natural resources toward citizens’ welfare while pursuing economic diversification.
They acknowledge that structural obstacles, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and vested interests have created an environment conducive to corruption, diminishing the benefits meant for citizens. Nonetheless, they provide compelling examples of how nations like Botswana and Namibia have implemented effective resource management, driven by public policies that emphasise collective well-being through strong accountability measures and resilient institutions.
Other areas covered in the publication are public policy and agency risks in export credit administrations in Africa, key factors that impact transformation programs in the public and private sectors, vested interests and public servants, as well as the imperatives of speaking up and fiscal policy reform.
The former Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Dr Joe Abah, in his review of the book submitted: “I found Public Policy and Agent Interests an insightful and powerful analysis of the agency problem in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, written by people with a combination of high intellectual ability and direct practical experience of Nigeria and the continent.“
“The authors have done a fantastic job of looking at the same binding constraint (the agency problem) from a kaleidoscope of lenses, and although each chapter focuses on a different element, there is great read-across from one chapter to the next. Admirably, every single chapter, while recognising the enormous challenges we face, is written with a sense of optimism. There are clear recommendations for what needs to be done to get to an improved condition.”