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This study focuses on the relationship between good governance and sustainable
development using Nigeria as the case study. This was informed by the need to emphasize the
role of governance using the Nigerian state which represents the perfect example for
understanding the interplay between these two economic factors. Sustainable development is
the ability of a state or country to gradually advance the desires of the present without
compromising the capability of future generations to meet their needs. However, good
governance which is defined as impartial and fair distribution of national resources to meet
the needs of every individual in a state is perhaps the only conducive platform upon which
sustainable development can be sustained. While existing literatures have only focused on
the role of education, environment and national security on sustainable development, bad
governance continues to endanger any form of national sustainability in Africa, as typified by
the Nigerian State.
The study attempts to examine the role of good governance on sustainable development in
Nigeria. The study will answer the following crucial questions: What is the relationship
between good governance and sustainable development in Nigeria? What strategic
implication does good governance hold for Nigeria’s sustainable development? What are the
prospects and challenges of good governance in Nigeria? To address these questions, the
current Nigeria democratic regime will be investigated using interpretive method and
secondary analysis of data gained from government documents, newspaper articles, news
channels, speeches and relevant journal articles. This research will also review extant
government policies, and demonstrate that the adherence to the basic tenets of good
governance will ensure sustainable development and a stable polity. Findings from this study
will benefit researchers in public administration, democratic governance and public
management, as well as actors operational in NGOs, foresight partnership and public
officials.
There appears to be limited volume of research work dealing with the subject of good
governance and sustainable development in Nigeria, from the stand-point of the current
democratic regime. Despite the rich mineral and natural resources, the country is struggling
with problems of sustainable development (Joseph, Taylor, & Agbaje, 1996). Nigeria is the largest oil exporter and leading economy in Africa, but in terms of good governance, Nigeria
ranks 37 th out of 52 African countries (Adeola, 2014).
Isaicher, (1999) article on the role environment play on sustainable development in Nigeria
concludes that, securing the environment for our habitation is a panacea to sustainable
development. Apart from being the physical surrounding for our inhabitation, sustainable
development and human exploits depends also on the environment e.g. farming and tourism
activities (World Bank, 2006; Olusegun and Rasheed, 2014). Further study also emphasizes
the improved technologies and pollution and their corresponding effects on sustainable
development, the research identify the unrestricted use of insecticides, arbitrary dumping
system and bush burning as leading factors of environmental pollution in Nigeria that
endangers sustainable development (Hausers, 1971). The result of this investigation
demonstrates that, dependent capitalist society such as Nigeria, improved knowledge about
environmental hazards to the public is the best option to enhance national sustainability.
In a recent study, sustainable development was merely evaluated on the role education and
schooling play in contributing to national sustainability (Ibrahim, 2014; Orji, 2012). The
results of their investigation suggest that, the problem facing humanity towards achieving
sustainable development is the inability for people to acquire education and change essential
behaviours and activities that endanger sustainable development. Baha, (2005) also study the
relationship between national security and sustainable development by investigating the
security condition in Nigeria with particular reference to the Niger Delta region. The study
concludes that, the hostage economy in the region is also contributing to the problems of
national sustainability.
However, the above authors did not consider the role of good governance on sustainable
development. Recent newspaper publications also identify crucial issues like ‘Boko Haram
bombing, kidnapping, corruption and militancy, which are also related to bad governance
(Isaac and Lanre, 2014). All these issues points to the fact that the role of good governance is
crucial, rather than restricting the understanding of sustainable development simply to the
influence of the environment, education and national security issues, attention should also be
given to a comprehensive and pragmatic understanding the role of good governance towards
sustainable development. The study will address these issues and add new knowledge and be
of great significance to the National Assembly and Executives of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria and other developing nations. It will also be a document that will be of great
importance to research and other studies in institutions of higher learning. The study will contribute to the growth and development of the discipline of public administration,
democratic governance and public management studies in Nigeria.
The study would focus on Nigeria’s governance mechanism and examine its impact on the sustainable development of the country. The study will investigate the current Nigerian democratic regime and governance mechanisms using a qualitative research study (Waziri, 2010) . The study tries to seek the answers to three major questions which are:
The existing research reports and empirical literature on the topic of sustainable development
in Nigeria due to good governance have been largely based on quantitative findings and
analysis. This study would incorporate qualitative findings and analysis to research the topic
in-depth. The study will be carried out in three stages. The first stage will comprise of the
literature review where the researcher will access the existing empirical literature relevant to
the topic to identify the gaps in them that would be helpful in carrying out the research. This
stage is expected to be completed in a month’s time. The first chapter will introduce to the
concept of good governance and sustainable development in Africa generally and Nigeria in
particular, the rationale for the study, the rationale for using qualitative research methods,
statement of the problem, significance of the study, and the research questions. Te next
chapter would be the extensive literature review. The second stage would consist of the
research methodology and the data findings and analysis section. This stage is expected to be
completed in one month’s time. The third chapter would provide the methodology adopted
for the research and this would be an exhaustive chapter. The fourth chapter would provide
the contextual background to the case studies in chapter five. Chapter five would focus on all
case discussions relevant to good governance. This is a part of the findings and analysis stage
where the secondary data collected from reports, journals and case studies would be analysed.
The third stage would deal with the discussion of the results of the study. The last chapter
would deal with ascertaining the relationship between good governance and sustainable
development in Nigeria from the stand-point of the current democratic regime from 2011 to
2014. In the last stage of the study the outcome of the study, the implications for the
development of theory, public policy and future research, the strengths and limitations of the
study would be discussed. The recommendations provided by the researcher highlights the
future course of action to be taken by the organizations governing the country. The
recommendations would specify the measures suggested for the problem reviewed in the
study. The last stage is also expected to be completed in a month’s time. Therefore the entire
study would ideally take 3 months time for completion.
Every social research has to be carried out using a scientific method or approach to
identifying, defining, analyzing and recommending solutions to the problem. Without
collecting the necessary data for the study and linking the analysis to the background
concepts and theories related to the topic for study, the research remains incomplete. The
Research onion is a metaphorical term given to the process of scientific research which
involves the several “layers” or processes that resemble the layers of the onion. According to
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007), research onion consists of six stages that are
metaphorically related to the onion with several layers (Saunders, et al., 2007) . The research
layers in this study will be briefly described as below:
Research philosophy
The foremost step is to understand the philosophy and approach needed for the study. The
main types of research philosophies are positivism, interpretivism, objectivism and
subjectivism. The current study will follow an interpretive philosophy. Using case studies on
governance mechanisms in Nigeria, the study will draw insights from the actors involved in
the administration and come to a relevant conclusion. The philosophy of interpretivism
allows the researcher to analyze the problem using a social perspective. The research topic is
also focused on researching a known phenomenon or reality which is governance and
sustainability. Therefore it can also be said that the philosophy underlying the research is
subjectivism.
Research approach
The research approach would broaden the understanding of the researcher on the topic. The
two main approaches are inductive and deductive approach. The deductive approach would
involve testing the existing theories on the subject using quantitative tools while the inductive
approach would involve conducting research on the existing theories and then validating the
same with the data collected. This particular research would use an inductive approach.
Research design
This involves the process of conducting investigation into nature and the phenomenon of the
study which would aid the research to proceed. The three commonly used research designs
are exploratory, explanatory and descriptive. The current study attempts to examine good
governance and sustainable development in Nigeria. Therefore it can be said that the topic
probes more into some real issue that factually exists. Therefore the research design
appropriate to the study is exploratory research.
Research strategy :
This process involves specifying the actions that are needed to provide the right direction to
the study. The two main research strategies in social research are quantitative and qualitative
studies. Quantitative technique involves the collection of data from different sources and
analysing them using statistical tools. The benefits of this technique are that researcher is
objective in finding and analysing data thereby leading to less bias. The dependent and
independent variable can be studied in depth. The disadvantage of the method is that a large
population has to be studied as the larger sample size will give accurate results. The
qualitative technique involves no usage of statistical tools for analysis. Qualitative research is
useful when the researcher is not sure of what has to be focus upon. The researcher gains
access to detailed and exhaustive data. The disadvantage of this method is that the researcher
may present a subjective and biased view of the study. With the existing secondary data
sources on governance in Nigeria, qualitative techniques would be used to explore good
governance and sustainable development in the country. The existing empirical research
projects on the topic have used quantitative tools to analyse the data that have been collected
from individual states in the country. Since the study is wider in scope, qualitative study
seems to be the preferred option. The limitation of using the qualitative study is that the
validity and reliability of the source data cannot be established (Thomas, 2003) .
Research choices:
Research choices provide a strong argument for choosing a particular research topic or the
research design for conducting the research. Some of the widely used research choices or
methods are qualitative, quantitative and mixed.
Time horizons:
The two types of time horizons are cross sectional time horizon and longitudinal horizon. In
the cross sectional time horizon the researcher would carry out the task by subdividing
activities and finishing them within the allocated time. Longitudinal time horizon when
longer durations are allocated to the tasks. The current study is expected to be carried out in 3
months time. Therefore the cross sectional time horizon would be appropriately set for the
study. The researcher would ensure that within the short duration all the activities are carried
out.
Data collection method:
The two main methods of data collection are primary and secondary. In primary research the
researcher will collect first hand data by using techniques like survey, interviews, focus
groups and observation methods. The benefit of this method is that the data would be new
and not used by anybody else. The disadvantage is that the collection process may be very
time consuming. The other method of data collection is through the secondary data. The
researcher would use the data that has been provided by previous researchers. The secondary
data sources in the form of journals, reports, case studies and other publications available
online will aid the research process. The advantage of the method is that it is not very time
consuming. However the authenticity of the data is difficult to verify (Jonker & Pennink,
2003) .
The present study relies on secondary data for research. The present study will use several
empirical research papers, case studies and discussions on the current democratic regime
from 2011 to 2014 in Nigeria, evidences from the states and other relevant publications in
this context. The problems related to access of information or classified documents can be a
challenge; however the research is hopeful for gathering as many secondary data sources as
possible in order to perform the analysis (Flyvjerg, 2006) .
A communications plan is like an outline map which states where one is and where he wants to go. From the perspective of communication, it is expected to outline the way in which it will reach the audience. That is right from the stage of defining the objectives to evaluating the results. The communications plan for this study will convey the goals and importance of the study to all the stakeholders.
The aim of this study is to establish a relationship between good governance and sustainable
development in Nigeria, because sustainability is very crucial to the development of the
nation, its economy and its people. The study is important to institutions of higher learning,
schools of business and organizational administration, business, government organizations
and offices and to the civil society at large. Africa is still reeling under economic crisis
although certain emerging markets like South Africa have made progress. The developed
nations of the world want to see the economic reform and prosperity being restored in Africa.
As such this study is important in understanding how governance could bring about
development in a country like Nigeria. The findings of the study and any recommendations
made would be communicated to the organizations, institutions, practitioners and non-
academic users through the National Assembly Magazine, conferences and social media. In
this study the general public and public officials are occupied as active partners in
establishing the priorities and foci of the research, and not treated merely as the passive
recipients of the results when completed. The study is also important because it would
provide a body of evidence to inform policy and practice in the various fields related to
sustainable development concerns (Channels, 2014) .
The non-academic users such as the administrators, leaders and the general public are not interested in the theoretical understanding of the concepts related to governance and sustainable development. They are mainly interested in practical relationship between governance and development. Good governance ensures democracy, prevalence of the law, accountability and creates institutions that could safeguard public health and wealth. The general public want to rest assure that their tax paying money as well as their precious lives are in safe hands. This is the most vital step to ensure conflict resolution and prevalence of peace in Nigeria (Isaicher, 1999) . Disturbances in the form of conflicts and wars will only retard the nation’s progress. Through relevant case discussions and secondary data sources, the report urges the non-academic users in the society to adopt civil politics and not arms politics which would help in evolving good governance mechanism.
An ethic review is less necessary in the proposed research because, it is a qualitative and/or interpretive study where the data required is available in the public domain. The method of data collection for the analysis does not involve interviews or questionnaires with human participants, but the data will be gained through newspaper articles, news channels, speeches and relevant journal articles. However, the research will be conducted in accordance to the ethical guidelines of the University of Southampton. Even though there are no foreseen risks, but the wellbeing of the researcher is fundamental in carrying out the study. In order to mitigate unforeseen inconvenience, stress and anxiety, the university ‘Risk Assessment Form’ will be completed through the consent of my supervisor in order to ensure the safety of the researcher to ensure quality research.
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Uniresearchers is a leading team of researchers in the field of academic writing. With the track record of delivering 500+ high quality dissertations and 2500+ essays, assignments and coursework’s Uniresearchers has always tried to keep up with the expectations of our clients.
