As Nigeria grapples with fiscal pressure and service delivery gaps, the Sanity Multi-Efforts Forum, SMEF, has proposed a governance accountability tool it calls “The Sanity Signature” to guide public decision-making.
The Convener of SMEF, Prince Dan Olaitan Dada, who also serves as Technical Assistant on Revenue Matters in the Kogi State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, presented the framework during a media engagement at the Forum’s Secretariat in Lokoja.
According to Dada, many of Nigeria’s structural challenges are the outcome of cumulative administrative decisions rather than unforeseen events.
He said, “The challenges we face today — from subsidy burdens to contract failures and leakages — were all authorised by a signature. If the pen was responsible for the decline, then the pen must also be responsible for the recovery. That recovery must be deliberate, transparent and accountable.”
Administration, not accident
The SMEF Convener argued that issues such as persistent fuel supply disruptions, infrastructural deficits, and security concerns cannot be divorced from policy design and implementation.
“Between 2012, 2016 and 2023, Nigerians experienced similar disruptions at fuel stations. These are not random. They are reflections of policy choices,” he said.
He added that insecurity was also compounded by administrative lapses, including approvals and budgetary allocations made without adequate oversight mechanisms.
“The instrument of governance is neutral. What determines outcomes is the competence, integrity and intent behind each signature,” Dada stated.
**Five-pillar structure**
Dada explained that SMEF, which grew out of the “Sanity Must Be It” (SMBI) advocacy launched in 2017, has now institutionalised a five-pillar model to translate advocacy into action. The pillars are DMC (foundational development), SMBI (civic advocacy and reorientation), DMCL (project execution and service delivery), SMEL (enterprise, investment and sustainability), and SMEF (policy, research and institutional reform).
“The architecture is designed to move us from voice to mandate, from protest to policy, and from intention to measurable impact,” he said.
The 3-point test
Central to the proposal is a three-point test for every government contract, budget release, or policy approval: a public interest test, on whether the decision directly serves citizens; a traceability test, on whether it is documented, time-bound and auditable; and a consequence test, on whether there are clear sanctions for failure or diversion.
“Any public decision that cannot pass these three tests should not be signed. This is how we restore confidence in governance,” Dada asserted.
He called for the framework to be mainstreamed across all tiers and sectors of government, stressing that accountability must be a shared responsibility among government, the private sector, and citizens.
Citizens as co-signatories
The Convener urged Nigerians to play an active oversight role, saying, “While government holds the official pen, citizens hold the Ballot Pen, the Report Pen, the Contract Pen, and the Voice Pen. Democracy works when all pens are active.”
SMEF also unveiled “The Sanity Declaration,” a civic pledge for transparency, with the commitment that every signature must serve, and every naira must be accounted for.
