Chapter 2 | Nation-Building: Why Quasi-Democracies Fail
Chapter 2 | Nation-Building: Why Quasi-Democracies Fail
A Survival Framework
In 2006, Finland’s government published The Strategy for Securing the Functions Vital to Society.
It identified three pillars for any nation’s survival:
Livelihood of the population
Security of the nation
National sovereignty
Remove any one of these, and the state begins to wobble.
Nigeria’s Illusion of Wealth
How does a country sustain its people, defend itself, and grow with a mono-product economy—while spending 70% of its budget on salaries?
Nigeria tried.
And in doing so, it built an illusion of wealth:
private jets, champagne parties, lavish weddings, first-class travel.
One president even challenged a World Bank report ranking Nigeria among the world’s five poorest countries, boasting:
“If you talk about ownership of private jets, Nigeria will be among the first 10.”
But the truth was stark.
For years, his government spent $10 billion annually importing refined fuel—
while three local refineries sat idle.
Failure by Design
No ambitious nation hands out $10 billion every year to foreigners to produce what it can do for itself.
Imagine a top oil exporter, with idle refineries and 80 million poor citizens, still outsourcing fuel production.
Without mincing words: that is preposterousness.
A Colonial Hangover
Paul Louden-Brown, archivist for the Titanic, once said:
“From the very day that she was designed, she was almost doomed.”
Colonial Africa was much the same.
Independence often amounted to a shift change on the plantation.
The foremen’s skin colour changed, but the exploitation continued.
In 1936, Nigeria earned £6.2 million (≈£387m today).
Over £1.1 million (≈£71.5m today) went back to Britain as “home pay” for officials.
The balance left less than £13 per capita.
Colonial powers came to plunder.
No argument there—it is what colonial powers do.
African empires did the same.
But independence should have reset priorities.
It did not.
The Path of Least Resistance
“The path of least resistance leads to crooked rivers and crooked men,”
a friend once said, quoting Henry David Thoreau.
Then he added:
“I can never forget the joy of finally owning a home in Houston—lakes all around me.
Now imagine if I hadn’t paid for it, if it had been bought with the proceeds of corruption…
why would I stop at just one house?”
It is what politicians do—
acquire property through filthy lucre.
Power and Plunder: An Old Story
Caesar arrived in Spain (61–60 BC) as governor, drowning in personal debt.
He launched campaigns that brought in booty, tribute, and land seizures.
By the time he left, he was, as one historian put it:
“Rich in spoils, crowned with glory, and free from debt.”
This is not new.
Aspirations to wealth and grandeur have driven the quest for political power for thousands of years.
The sooner the governed—especially in quasi-democracies—accept this truth, the better.
Quasi-Democracy: What Is That?
A quasi-democracy is democracy in name only.
It has the forms of democracy—
elections, parliaments, constitutions, political parties—
but lacks the substance.
Put simply:
Quasi-democracies have the structures of democracy, but not the culture.
Culture vs Structure
To paraphrase my old business school professor, Capt. John Sanders:
“Culture is like computer software—it differentiates two machines with the same hardware.
The quality of the software determines which one outperforms the other.”
That may be the best illustration of the difference between democracies and quasi-democracies.
Democracy on Paper
In a quasi-democracy, you can vote—
but your vote may or may not count.
Elections are not truly free, often extremely expensive, and rarely fair.
Institutions—courts, legislatures, electoral bodies—exist on paper.
In reality, they are only as strong as the ruling elite allow them to be.
These are democracies in name only.
(Some might argue they would function better as progressive autocracies. China comes to mind.)
Examples of Quasi-Democracies
There is broad consensus that the following fit the description:
Russia → Elections exist
Turkey → Multiparty system, increasing authoritarianism
Venezuela
Nigeria → A true D.I.N.O (Democracy In Name Only)
Pakistan → Military and elite patronage dominate
Hungary → “Illiberal democracy”
Singapore (debatable) → Elections exist, but long-term one-party dominance
Why Institutions Matter
Quasi-democracies with strong institutions may avoid becoming failed states.
Singapore may be one example.
Without strong institutions, the result is inevitable:
Selective rule of law
Dominance of ruling elites
Corruption and patronage
Lack of accountability
The longer institutions remain weak, the more inescapable the slide into failure.
Lack of Vision or Corruption?
Which came first:
the lack of vision—or corruption?
We are often told corruption is the root cause of underdevelopment.
The statistics seem convincing.
But is that really true?
Evidence suggests something deeper:
the most underdeveloped nations are those with no overarching mission, vision, or strategy.
And even where plans exist, execution is absent.
As Eisenhower said:
“Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Why Corruption Thrives
Corruption, like disease, thrives in dark, damp, dirty places.
Weak institutions and poor governance create the perfect conditions.
Corruption devastates the poorest and most vulnerable.
Nations can die.
Somalia.
Syria.
Libya.
Venezuela.
What Is Planning?
Planning is the process of thinking through the activities required to achieve a goal.
It is not just writing a plan—
it is maintaining it.
What Is Plan Maintenance?
Every serious plan requires:
A monitoring method and schedule
A process for evaluating progress
A five-year review and update cycle
Without this, strategies collapse into empty promises.
Evidence from the CPI
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) reveals something uncomfortable.
Europe & Central Asia
Russia has the lowest CPI score (28) in its peer group—
yet the largest GDP and highest GDP per capita.
Are we still confident that “the most corrupt nations are the most underdeveloped”?
The Americas
Venezuela once had a GDP per capita of $30,775—far above Haiti.
Today, Venezuela is a failed state.
Haiti, though poor, still exists.
Venezuela collapsed despite having the largest proven oil reserves on earth.
With a population similar to Saudi Arabia’s, it should have prospered.
It did not.
The Lesson from Venezuela
Venezuela proves two things:
Eisenhower was right—planning without maintenance is useless
Corruption destroys mercilessly
A country that drills oil, sells oil, pays salaries, and mismanages the rest will end up poor.
Nigeria needs to take a long, cold look at Venezuela.
Breaking the cycle will require vision, planning, and courage.
Don Kenobi
#BigAgendaAfrica
Washington DC | July 2015
Next:
Nation-Building – Chapter 3
Bank-o-cracy: A Structural Response to Nigeria’s Culture of Corruption https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/720207892540597106/1630509967363928592
posted by #Dk @ 8:58 PM
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