Political Will and Good Governance in Developing Democracies – Nigeria’s Quagmire

The steadily growing disappointment of most peoples of the world today with the types of democratic governance and the frustration with the perceived general inefficiency of national democratic arrangements to solve the problems of weak governance has in recent years brought the matter of political will and good governance to the heart of global agenda. The issue receives high global attention against the backdrop that about three million people in the world today live in poverty as a result of bad governance. Establishing good governance requires political will on the part of political leaders. To sustain an effective anticorruption crusade for the establishment of good governance, political will must have a broad focus, because it is most effective when it is inclusive and institutionalized and not dependent on the personality and intensions of one individual. Political will is critical for good governance which is the demonstration of an environment that upholds human rights, democratic principles, and the rule of law. In this context good governance would mean the transparent and accountable management of natural resources for the common good. The study was designed to evaluate the relationship between political will and good governance. The survey research method was used. Data generated were analyzed through the Chi-Square statistical technique and a high degree of positive relationship was found between political will and good governance