Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan, came into office in
2010 touting his dedication to rooting out corruption and promoting progress
(Economist). Although Jonathan has sacked the country’s anti-corruption chief and
emphasized much-needed electricity reform in last year’s election, Jonathan’s
promises have unfortunately fallen short (African Leadership Index 2012,
Economist).
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| Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Economist.com |
According to Nicolas van de Walle’s essay, “Decision making
in Post-Colonial Africa”, state controlled industries flourished throughout
Africa after decolonization due to inherent patron-client relationships,
dominant political ideologies, and low capacity. Indeed, nationalization of the energy
industry in Nigeria fits van de Walle’s theory.
Nigeria’s power sector has been plagued by corruption. Jonathan’s power
minister, Barth Nnaji recently resigned under intense pressure from
anti-privatization activists, seeking to block the government’s efforts to
unbundle and sell off the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (Economist).
Currently monopolizing the power industry in Nigeria, the
PHCN is prone to bloat, frequent power outages, and unidentified “ghost”
workers (Economist). While privatization could have promised relief from these
problems, investors still fear that the industry is too corrupt to be
profitable (Economist). Indeed, while lingering postcolonial nationalization
ideologies, corrupt clientelism, and low capacity still exist, privatization of
public industries such as Nigeria’s power sector remains a distant hope.
http://www.economist.com/node/21562246
