Infrastructure Development in Edo State : Adapting to Constraints and Creating Capabilities

Porter, Douglas John ; Rasool Cyan, Musharraf ; Lee, Panthea ; Brisson, Zack ; Itegboje, Osione ; Talsma, Adam

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: EMPLOYMENT;    MODALITIES;    FINANCIAL SERVICES;    TRANSPORT SECTOR;    PUBLIC UTILITIES;   

RP-ID  :  96160

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Governor Adams Oshiomhole assumed officein November 2008 following a successful court appeal toretrieve the mandate given to him by the people of Edo.Widespread support from a variety of interest groupsbuttressed the legal challenge and helped create thepolitical space for the Governor’s pursuit of an agendafocused on both reform and speedy delivery. Popular demandfor reform was evident, but responding to this presentedmajor challenges. Historically,Edo had been one of the bestperforming states in the country. Expectations were highthat he would restore this status and address the perceivedpoor performance and allegations of corruption leveledagainst previous administrations. This case study is anattempt to better understand the process through which theAdministration was able to maximize its delivery. Thisreport is one product of several ongoing efforts by theWorld Bank to better understand how to better tailor itsinterventions to local realities with the overarchingobjective of improving its impact. To do this in the case ofcapital spending in Edo, it was necessary to craft a studymethod that suspended judgments about actual practices.Thus, rather than holding these practices up tointernational standards, and highlighting deficits andshortcomings in relation to those standards, the studypurpose was to depict how the State administration hadresponded to the political priorities of the new Governor byadapting to the constraints it faced and creating new waysto deliver through infrastructure spending. This case studyunderlines the very rich and often messy reality thatleaders frequently find when assuming office and thetrade-offs that they are forced to make. In doing so, itreminds us of the political realities within which we workand, like other case studies recently undertaken to informBank engagements in Nigeria, finds that traditional blueprint approaches in such circumstances are unlikely to workand that sequencing, tailoring to local contexts andadaptation along a non-linear road to reform is morefeasible path.