CONTENDING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES HAMPERING EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC POLICIES IN NIGERIA: A PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

In Nigeria, numerous public policies have been formulated and implemented since independence. However, there is no significant development to show for these policies as evidenced by the fact that Nigeria is still classified as underdeveloped countries among the comity of nations. This implies that mere formulation of policies should become not the major issue in Nigeria but rather the effective implementation of these policies should be a matter of great concern to all governance actors, as it is only a successfully implemented policies that can bring about development. Therefore, policy implementation is central to the nation’s development trajectory. In Nigeria, the recurring challenge is essentially the problem of effective implementation of policies. In reality, it the practice of successive governments to abandon inherited policies and initiate their own policies, which their own successors usually abandon, thus leaving a chain of abandoned policies. As public policies continue to fail, citizen’s trust in government ability to achieve national development is gradually eroded. Based on this, discussion on policy implementation continually assumes a greater significance among scholars. Policy implementation is not a bed of roses, as it is often challenging and contentious, because policy’s programmes usually faced obstacles during implementation. Most policy’s programmes do not survive during execution and those that do, usually implemented haphazardly, thus, emerged mutilated or distorted, to the extent that they may no longer serve their intended purposes. Premised on this, the study examined the emerging issues and evolving challenges in policy implementation in Nigeria. In carrying out the study, the secondary sources of information or data, were mostly relied on. Thereafter, content analysis technique was adopted in the data analysis. The study found that there exists, some factors that constitute obstacles to effective policy implementation in Nigeria. These factors include; corruption, bad leadership and the influence of primordial demands on the public service, which negatively affect policy implementation processes. Recommendations are offered to overcome these challenges and to facilitate effective implementation of policies is that government should work towards ensuring the emergence of responsible political and public service’s leaderships in order to create room for the public institutions to implement public policies essentially on the basis of laid down rules and principles of public service.