On 16 December, together with Public Services International (PSI) and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) we co-facilitated the virtual dialogue “Dear Naija Education & Healthcare, How Far?”.  

The event was attended by 72 participants, mostly Nigerians from various backgrounds: labour union members, students, civil society activists, and lay persons. 

The event was informed by the  Lexia survey  that GI-ESCR commissioned for several countries, including Nigeria, through which people shared their beliefs and experiences about education and healthcare, the involvement of the private sector, and the relationship between public services and human rights.  

The virtual dialogue aimed to present the findings of the Nigerian survey, trigger reactions from participants regarding their own experiences with education and healthcare, and generate a collective discussion on reclaiming the sustainable provision and financing of education and healthcare in Nigeria.  

Our programme officer Africa, Aya Douabou, provided some background on the surveys and explained that hearing lay persons’ perspectives about public services was necessary to inform better and shape our narrative and advocacy.  

PSI’s Regional Secretary, Daniel Oberko, underscored the importance of public services as they guarantee that everyone, including vulnerable people, lives in dignity. He warned that poor public services could cause social unrest, protests, political instability, and decreased consumer spending, as witnessed in several countries. 

Thereafter, Aya Douabou presented the findings of the Nigerian survey, which prompted participants to share their personal experiences with education and health services in the country. Such a sharing session was moderated by Zikora Ibeh (CAPPA). 

The project coordinator of PSI Nigeria, Abi Badru, spoke of the impact of austerity measures on the financing of public services with a focus on healthcare and health workers. She recollected how the quality of publicly delivered healthcare was outstanding in the 1970s until the introduction of the structural adjustment programmes in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Such austerity programmes led to underfunding of education and healthcare and reduced social protection floors. They also led to the privatisation of other essential services, such as energy. Austerity, with its associated public sector poorer wages and freeze in employment, is the cause of many skilled workers’ exodus to greener pastures, also known as the “japa syndrome.” For Nigeria to increase public spending on public services and improve its quality, she recommended increasing its tax-to-GDP ratio to 5% by 2030, tackling illicit financial flows, especially corruption, fighting tax abuses, implementing progressive taxation, and seeking debt justice. Her presentation was followed by a Q&A session with participants moderated by Daniel Oberko. 

On the way forward, participants recommended that while increasing funding for public services through adequate budgetary allocation should be a priority, scrutiny is key to ensuring that resources are not siphoned through the corruption loophole. They equally emphasised the need to build the capacity of workers in charge of delivering public services to improve the quality of these services. They reminded that all stakeholders, including citizens, are responsible for safeguarding public services. 

Finally, participants were urged to engage meaningfully with the ongoing Nigerian tax reform. As this reform aims to increase domestic revenue, there is an opportunity to push for an adequate, transparent, and accountable allocation of public resources to public services. 

Watch the virtual dialogue here.