Barrister Rommy Mom, is the President of Lawyers Alert, member Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Civil Societies Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee chairman in Benue State. In this exclusive interview with AUSTINE TULE, Mom says OGP would bring transparency in governance as well as fast-track the socio-economic development of the state. Excerpts:
What is Open Government Partnership (OGP)?
Open Government Partnership (OGP) is an international framework where nations have come together and have agreed to bring the citizens much more into governance, using accountability as a watch word and engagement always, of the citizens. Nigeria signed up to it under the current administration as the 70th member nation. Today, a lot of nations have signed up to OGP. When a nation signs states can also join through what is known as sub-national framework or sub-national action plans. Nigeria is now in its third year of the partnership. Each year you come up with a true action plan that is supposed to be implemented and after the implementation another action plan is developed. For Nigeria, this is the second action plan that we are implementing. About 13 states have signed up on OGP in Nigeria today. Benue state is yet to sign.
Why is OGP important?
OGP is important because it brings the citizens to sit at the table with government as equal partners. So, government selects what it calls its steering committee with a co-chair and the civil society or citizens also select their own committee with a co-chair. These two committees sit together and are in charge of implementing the action plan that is developed, either at the national or sub-national level. These action plans are done through what is called co-creation. Co-creation in the sense that government and the citizens sit together and draft these plans together. There is no superior partner; all are equal and that is the basis of the OGP: It is co-creation, equality, citizens driven, accountability, Information Technology and all of that. I think OGP is a beautiful idea and today, especially the World Bank is supporting states that have signed up with a lot of assistance whether grants or aids. It shows that the government is open, it shows that government is accountable and it draws donors and international development actors into a state and it helps the state a great deal. OGP is what the people of Benue State needs and we hope that the state Government will eventually sign up to it.
What are you doing to ensure that the Benue state government becomes a signatory to the partnership?
Right now the citizens of Benue are going through series of capacity building towards understanding what OGP means. I dare to say that as we speak now there is much understanding of what OGP means by citizens and citizens groups in Benue state. The next thing is to approach the government. A letter has been written to the Governor, requesting to see him so that we can begin to discuss the possibility of government signing on to OGP. We are hoping that in the soonest convenient time we will be meeting with His Excellency to discuss the need for Benue to sign up to the OGP. Once His Excellency hears us, I hope we can convince him for the series of capacity building plans especially for the state government officials, especially the persons he is going to select as the State Government Steering Committee so, that State Steering Committee and the Civil Societies Steering committee will come together and develop an action plan. After the development of the action plan, we will then approach the national secretariat of the OGP, with a letter to allow us also to join. They will come, look at the preparations, what we have done and if they are satisfied we will join. Once we join, we will begin to talk to even international actors and partners for them to come to assist deliver the action plan that we would have drawn together. And that is going to bring about citizens and government engaging with each other; it can open channels for resources to support us and so on. I do hope that the Governor will see the need for us to be part of the global movement.
What would you say are the benefits of this partnership?
The most important benefit of the partnership, for me is the transparent manner government is going to be run: open and transparent. That is citizens knowing exactly what is coming in to the government, citizens knowing exactly what is being spent and government will not be under the kind of attacks sometimes it gets because citizens will be much involved in governance. The second important benefit that I see is that we can have development that will be monitored by both citizens and government because you are going to have an action plan that is contextualized on the needs of the Benue people and the needs of Benue state. So, once you have this action plan that will run for two-year time and is being faithfully implemented, the standard of living will improve; development will also increase. Lastly, for me would be this issue of development partners coming in to support the state. We are a state where resources are hard to come by. So, if the World Bank, the European Union (EU), and others come in to help us because we are running a transparent and open government, it might make more resources available to Benue state.
Are there criteria that states are expected to meet before signing up on the partnership?
Yes, there are. First, you must have a civil society steering committee and a state steering committee. Both of them must come together on the principles of equality and co-creation; both of them must again develop an action plan, that covers two years, contextualized to meet the needs of the people. Most importantly, to also show very critical and cardinal signs of openness and transparency. Those are the basic requirements that will enable us get into Open Government Partnership.
How ready are you in getting this partnership to be a success in the state, if the state eventually signs on it?
What would be your advice to citizens groups and or citizens, with respect to OGP?
I urge that we all understand what OGP means because government is also going through the same process to understand what it means. I think in Benue we should avoid signing up for the mere purpose of signing on. Let the citizens understand what OGP means; that is we understand the process and we are committed to it. And let the civil societies act the path of a watchdog along with the legislature in over-sighting and overseeing that the executive does the right thing. And I am sure that we will have open government partnership that would work for Benue. It is all about commitment, understanding and participating. So, let it not be that we are doing this just because we want the World Bank to come in. Even if they (World Bank) come and discover that these things are not working so well, it will still not give us any result. So, it is about true commitment to the process.
There are concerns that nothing seems to be working in Benue State. Do you think OGP will provide a new thinking that will catalyze development in the state?
Yes, I strongly do believe that whether you are at the federal or state level, there is still a lot of room for improvement. I think whether the government is working or is not working, depending on which side of the coin you are on, the most important thing is that OGP offers us a new opportunity; it offers us a deeper opportunity to begin to push forward in trying to develop our state. For me I like to look at it in terms of a cup half full than a cup half empty. Let us build on what we have in ensuring that we get better as a state.
