Nigeria680x332

“Bad governance is clearly known as an obstacle to growth and development,” stated Obiageli Ezekwesili in an interview with Deutsche Welle television. Ezekwesili, a former Nigerian Minister of Education, uses her fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy to work on an initiative that ends bad governance in her country: “If you want to remedy a situation in which basic norms and values of a society are distorted, you’ve got to fight.”

#BringBackOurGirls is another cause she is fighting for. The movement that she co-founded aims at rescuing the abducted Nigerian schoolgirls from the hands of Boko Haram. “The girls are never to be forgotten”, she said adding that the movement will keep on reminding the government about them.

Asked about the stride of the African country in tackling corruption, Oby Ezekwesili believes that in many African countries “the demand side for good governance and transparency is driven by an active citizenry”. While public discussion and scrutiny of the government have increased due to the ICT revolution, a lot needs to be done to build up institutions and systems that prevent the occurrence of corruption, she states.

You could also be interested in

Transformed U.S. Leadership for the Age of Turbulence

The U.S. must grasp that its own interests are those of the rest of the world, argues Stephen Heintz. What’s good for the world is good for the U.S. 

Read more

Conspicuous Absence: Israel’s Arab Citizens

The situation in Israel is once again tense. For the Arab public to join protests, it has to feel like a true partner in them.

Read more

The Grave Political Consequences of “Pragmatic” Energy Interests

The urgent necessity to counter the hard power policies of autocrats is the result of the West’s long-term inability to acknowledge shared responsibility for the outcome of its interest-based policies.

Read more