Implementation of Public Policy and the Role of Bureaucracy and Political Leaders in Nigeria

Abstract

The need for effective policy implementation that will enhance development process is very paramount and it should be a matter of concern and urgency to the political leadership and bureaucrats in Nigeria. Ability of the political class and the desire of the bureaucrats to respectively formulate and implement appropriate policies will determine the pace of development. It is unfortunate that political leaders and the bureaucrats have not lived to the expectation of the populace. A policy that ought to shape the lives of the citizens positively is yet to do so, as many citizens are still wallowing in abject poverty. In Nigeria, decision makers pay little attention to policy implementation; hence Nigeria has been experiencing a lot of failure since Nigeria attained nationhood. In spite of huge amount of resources expended on policies, yet the dividends of effective implementation is lacking and this resulted in negative national development. Little or no attention is paid to the problems of actually getting things done. Large amounts of money and energy are also spent preparing plans of all kinds with little or no thought given to the complex chains of reciprocal interaction required to implement public policy. The objective of this paper was to examine the role of political leaders and bureaucracy in policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria.