A Nigerian development scholar, Evans Woherem, has argued that Africa’s slow pace of development is rooted less in the capabilities of its people and more in the weakness of its institutions, systems, and governance culture.

In a sweeping article titled *_“Institutions, Culture, and the African Development Question: Why Systems Matter, and How Africa Can Leapfrog Development,”_* Woherem said “human beings are broadly similar biologically and intellectually across races and geographies,” stressing that the real difference between prosperous and struggling societies lies in “systems, institutions, cultures, incentives, and historical environments.”

According to him, one of the clearest demonstrations of this reality is the conduct of Africans living abroad.

“Individuals who, within certain African environments, may tolerate disorder, circumvent rules, participate in patronage systems, or adapt to corruption often relocate to countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, Singapore, or Canada and quickly become highly compliant with laws and institutional expectations,” he wrote.

Woherem, a former Executive Director at both First Bank Plc and Unity Bank Plc, noted that such individuals suddenly obey traffic regulations, respect public infrastructure, pay taxes, and operate efficiently within merit-based systems, insisting that “the human material did not suddenly change. The surrounding institutional architecture did.”

He lamented that many African countries still approach development through what he described as a “project-based conception of development” rather than a systems-driven model capable of sustaining progress across generations.

The author of best-selling books- “Building a New Africa,” and “Information Technology in Africa,” criticised the nature of governance conversations across the continent, saying public discourse often centres almost exclusively on visible infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, schools, and empowerment schemes, while deeper institutional questions are ignored.

“What institutions have been strengthened? What systems have been redesigned to outlive the present administration? What governance mechanisms now function automatically regardless of who occupies office?” he asked.

The scholar argued that sustainable development cannot be measured merely by the number of projects completed but by whether nations are building durable institutions capable of continuously producing results irrespective of political transitions.

“A nation does not become advanced merely because it constructs roads,” he stated. “It becomes advanced when it builds systems capable of continuously producing, maintaining, financing, regulating, and improving those roads across generations regardless of changes in leadership.”

Woherem further blamed Africa’s institutional fragility partly on colonial structures that were designed primarily for extraction rather than national development.

He said many post-independence governments inherited centralized but weakly accountable systems and merely “localized the machinery of extraction” instead of transforming the state into a developmental institution.

The information technology expert also highlighted the absence of what he called “developmental consciousness” across many African societies, noting that issues such as industrial policy, bureaucratic reform, technological sovereignty, manufacturing competitiveness, and state capacity rarely dominate mainstream public debate.

Drawing comparisons with countries such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and China, Woherem said successful industrialisation was driven by strong institutions, disciplined bureaucracies, educational excellence, and long-term planning.

“Their rise was not accidental, nor was it merely infrastructural. It was deeply institutional and civilizational,” he wrote.

The development expert also challenged African media organisations to move beyond “cosmetic” reporting of governance performance by interrogating structural reforms instead of simply celebrating project commissioning ceremonies.

“Instead of merely asking how many roads were constructed, they should ask whether procurement systems have become more transparent, whether regulatory agencies function independently, whether educational outcomes are improving systematically, and whether industrial policies are producing measurable manufacturing expansion,” he said.

Woherem further stressed the importance of “Developmental Industrialists,” pointing to African billionaire Aliko Dangote as an example of economic actors whose contributions extend beyond personal wealth accumulation to building industrial ecosystems and national productive capacity.

He maintained that Africa’s future depends on stronger bureaucracies, impartial legal systems, technologically enabled governance, industrial strategy, educational reform, and a civic culture that rewards competence over patronage.

“Roads alone do not produce civilization. Systems do,” Woherem declared.

He concluded that Africa’s greatest challenge is not a lack of human potential but the absence of institutional structures strong enough to consistently bring out the best in its people.

“And until systems become the centre of African developmental thinking,” he warned, “progress will remain slower, more fragile, and more reversible than it ought to be.”

Moniepoint is proud to announce that the second cohort of its flagship DreamDevs Bootcamp is set to culminate in a Demo Day celebration on May 26, 2026, at its Ikeja facility. The event, themed “Training Done! Demo Up!”, will showcase the capstone projects built by participants following nine weeks of intensive, industry-grade software engineering training.

The DreamDevs Bootcamp is Moniepoint’s commitment to identifying and developing the brightest engineering talent across Africa. The nine-week intensive programme is designed to immerse participants in real-world, practical software engineering through a curriculum spanning Java OOP Foundations, Data Structures & Algorithms, Testing, MySQL & JDBC, Spring Boot APIs & System Design, Docker & Messaging Queues, Frontend UI & Cloud Infrastructure, and core Practical Software Engineering Concepts. In recognition of their commitment and effort, cohort participants are paid monthly throughout the duration of the programme.

The curriculum was developed by the Engineering Unit at Moniepoint and delivered in partnership with Semicolon, a leading technology education institution. Admission to the DreamDevs Bootcamp is highly competitive, with only top performers advancing through multiple stages of assessment, including a HackerRank technical test and an in-person code challenge, before earning a place in the programme.

Felix Ike, Co-Founder and CTO of Moniepoint, reflected on what the programme means to the company and the country, “Engineering excellence is a curated and intentionally built process that requires the right systems, resources, and time. The DreamDevs Bootcamp is our way of taking that responsibility seriously.

“We designed a programme that does not just teach syntax or frameworks, but develops engineers who can think, solve, and build at the highest level. Seeing graduates from our first cohort already thriving within our engineering team tells us we are on the right track, and we are excited to see what this second group brings to Demo Day.”

Some of the first cohort’s successful graduates are now active members of the Moniepoint engineering team, a testament to the programme’s effectiveness and its role as a genuine pipeline for world-class engineering talent.

The DreamDevs Bootcamp reflects Moniepoint’s broader mission to invest in Nigeria’s talent and build engineering capacity that can compete and lead on a global stage. Moniepoint looks forward to welcoming the second cohort to the fold and witnessing the innovative solutions they have built.

Federal Government on Monday unveiled digital platforms under the Office of the Tax Ombud, enabling Nigerian taxpayers to resolve tax-related disputes free of charge as part of efforts to improve fairness, transparency and accountability in tax administration.

Taiwo Oyedele

Taiwo Oyedele, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, disclosed this during the launch of the Tax Ombud website, toll-free call centre and case management system at Stratton Hotel, Abuja.

Oyedele described the initiative as a major milestone in Nigeria’s fiscal reform agenda, saying the platforms would make tax dispute resolution more accessible to taxpayers nationwide.

“Taxpayers, regardless of location, can now engage more easily with the dispute resolution process without unnecessary administrative bottlenecks or delays, and the good news is that it is entirely free,” he said.

According to him, the Office of the Tax Ombud was established to strengthen taxpayer protection and boost confidence in Nigeria’s tax administration system.

He said the institution would serve as an independent and impartial platform for resolving complaints, mediating disputes and addressing systemic tax issues across the country.

Oyedele added that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s broader tax reforms aimed at simplifying tax administration, reducing arbitrariness, protecting taxpayer rights, encouraging voluntary compliance and building a globally competitive fiscal system.

“As we unveil these platforms today, let this mark a new era in tax administration in Nigeria, where taxpayers are treated not as adversaries but as partners in national development,” he said.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said Nigerians needed more awareness about the role of the Tax Ombud in supporting the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Idris said the government’s economic reforms were beginning to yield positive results, citing improvements in revenue performance and investment inflows.

Also speaking, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, described the platforms as citizen-centred reforms designed to improve public access to tax complaint resolution.

She said tax administration should not only focus on revenue generation but also on strengthening trust and confidence in public institutions.

Nigeria’s first Tax Ombudsman and Chief Executive of the Office of the Tax Ombud, John Nwabueze, said the office was established under Part Six of the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria Establishment Act 2025 to promote fairness, transparency and efficiency in tax administration.

He said the digital platforms would allow taxpayers to lodge complaints online or through the toll-free centre, track cases in real time and access mediation services without resorting to prolonged litigation.

Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board, Olusegun Adesokan, said the office was created to protect taxpayer rights and mediate disputes between citizens and revenue authorities at no cost.

Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Tope Fasua, said the Tax Ombud forms part of the broader tax reform agenda initiated by the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee.

He noted that the reforms are aimed at widening the tax net while exempting small businesses and low-income earners from additional tax burdens.

In June 2025, President Tinubu signed four major tax reform bills into law, including the Nigeria Tax Act, in what government officials described as a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s tax system.