Lost Hopes and Broken Promises in Nigeria

Abstract

AbstractChapter 4 focuses in on the (sub-)national level by considering virtuous circles of governance for the state in Nigeria. This part introduces Nigeria as an empirical case and shows how it reflects the five key challenges to virtuous circles of governance central to this book. This chapter uses Afrobarometer data from 2005–2013 for more than 5,000 Nigerians. Linking to Chapter 3, the focus is on state legitimacy and service perceptions in the security, public health, and basic subsistence sectors. For Nigeria, there is no empirical evidence of a virtuous circle of governance for the state. Regardless of the service category considered, service perceptions do not increase the state’s legitimacy, nor do higher levels of state legitimacy increase perceptions of service delivery. The findings underscore the results from Chapter 3 and stress that citizens in Nigeria do not attribute effective governance to the state. The state is not able to meet citizens’ expectations of effective service delivery, which prevents a virtuous circle of governance. However, arguments relating to procedural justice, corruption, and foreign aid find support for understanding state legitimacy and satisfaction with service delivery in Nigeria. These results emphasize the diverse sources for both legitimacy and governance effectiveness. Chapter 4 also suggests a highly relevant role for external and non-state actors and their contributions to effective and legitimate governance in Nigeria.