Value reorientation, attitudinal issues and impunity 150. Nigeria faces the challenge of reversing the values and attitudinal practices carried over from its military history. The country needs to adopt essential practices such as promoting transparency and accountability in governance systems, and tackling implementation problems and policy reversals. Key among these are stemming corruption and the attendant practices of graft, bribery and nepotism. Compounding these are high levels of apathy among members of the public regarding the ability of the leadership to deliver on promises. 2.8 Future prospects of Nigeria 151. The assessment above points to the formidable challenges of promoting democratic reform and good governance in Nigeria so as to achieve socioeconomic development. This is in part attributable to the many years of military rule and the dearth of democratic experience that entrenched vices such as poor public expenditure management, overdependence on oil and unmitigated rent-seeking behaviour. Sustained civilian rule from 1999 to the present day has demonstrated that progress is being made in reforming governance and economic institutions. 152. By virtue of its population size and diversity, resource endowment, the ‘cando’ spirit of its people, the relatively sizeable intellectual capital, and the proven positive role that it has played, and is playing, in critical Pan-African initiatives such as conflict resolution and peacebuilding, Nigeria has the potential to occupy a leading position on the continent. The country could become a major regional power if its people, especially the leadership, were to be more conscious of this potential and the high expectations that the rest of Africa has of Nigeria. A common national consensus around a few critical goals would be required. Among these should be commitment to diversification of the economy away from an overreliance on oil. Industrialisation, agriculture, minerals, and the services and financial sectors ought to be given much more attention than they currently command. A reorientation of this nature is likely to impact positively by deconcentrating the often-abused budgetary power away from the federal executive and thus empowering more states and local government structures to focus on development planning and implementation. It would also weaken the politics of patronage and corruption. 153. Hence, the way forward in creating real federalism and building democracy in Nigeria is to unravel the underlying political economy of federalism and to alter the relationship between the ruling oligarchy and the citizens. By altering the distributive intergovernmental relations between the centre and the states, Nigeria could diversify its national economy, and its constituent states could explore their own economic potential and contribute to the greater national public good. Simultaneously, the deepening democratisation that has been slowly progressing since 1999 would gradually dismantle Nigeria’s oligarchic rule and put the state in touch with society again, allowing ordinary citizens to voice their demands and enjoy public goods – the hallmark of citizenship in a democracy. The APRM consultations throughout the Nigerian federation clearly indicate that this is what the majority of citizens at the grass-roots level expect from the state. 61