Event Summary
In many developing countries, lack of adequate information means that government policy-makers are often unable to ascertain public opinion on important economic, social, or legislative issues. Nigeria provides a case in point. With a population of 140 million and a decentralized government structure of 36 states, a federal capital territory, and 774 local governments, a major challenge exists in ensuring good governance at different tiers of the Nigerian government. To address this knowledge gap, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala founded NOI Polls and partnered with the Gallup Organization to conduct a major opinion poll in Nigeria.
Event Information
When
Thursday, July 26, 2007
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Where
Room 1026/1028
SEIU
1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
Map
On July 26, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, distinguished fellow at Brookings, discussed some of the results of the first NOI/Gallup poll conducted in February 2007. This initial survey examined topical issues such as the best form of government in Nigeria, the level of confidence in government institutions, and the Niger Delta. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala discussed major lessons learned from this initial survey and additional issues to be examined in future opinion polls in Nigeria. Charles Griffin, a Senior Fellow at Brookings, introduced and moderated the discussion.
Transcript
NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA
: We have a situation in our country, many of our countries in Africa, but particularly Nigeria which is the largest African country by population, you really do not have any tool scientifically to gauge what people think of what their government is doing, what they think of what is happening in the country. There is no way to give voice to people. I strongly believe that while opinion research or polling should not lead policy because many times we may have to do things that people do not like, it should certainly inform policy. And the fact that this was missing, I just thought there was something missing to strengthen democracy's voice and accountability in the country.
It was very much missed while I was minister. People would come to me and say people do not like this policy and they hate privatization and they hate this and they do not like that. And I say, On what basis? How do you know? And we found that the voices of a few people sometimes became the voice of the country, and you had no way of knowing whether this really was the case or not.
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