The Arc of The Possible by Waziri Adio

A Book Review

When my friend, Peter informed me about this book, my first reaction was "Ah. Nigerian public servants have started writing books too?" I was expressing a popular feeling, one that even the author wrote about.

There is a gross inadequacy in the number of books written by public servants as a recollection of their time in office. For citizens like us, the only way we can get frontline details about what happened in specific years in government is through books that these public servants write by the end of their time. Sadly very few have been written over time.

All this made Waziri Adio's book more important. That was enough to get me to pick the book. It did not disappoint. This is a well-written book that chronicles the journey of Waziri Adio while he was the Executive Director of NEITI. It met my expectations and even went beyond that. When I started I did not know what NEITI stood for, I could walk past a signboard that had NEITI and have absolutely nothing to say about it. This book changed that, I learned about this government agency, its work, its history, and its achievements/challenges for the 5 years that Waziri Adio was the head.

As the Executive Director, he was able to produce more than 12 reports. This represents 60% of all the reports the agency has produced in its 17 years of existence, he was Executive Director for just 5 years. He was able to raise over a million dollars for the agency, attract foreign partners and work together with several NGOs within Nigeria. This tells you a lot about the man. Any man who can raise money for a government agency must be impeccable, considering the level of distrust government agencies has received over the years. Furthermore, partnership with civil societies that are often seen to be antagonistic to government is proof that the man must be a person of integrity.

You will see these principles play out in his role as ES. He will refuse to compromise on key values, he will refuse to do the bidding of powerful politicians, he will refuse to become the "big man" that Nigeria forces on you whenever you become a DG, and he will refuse to lower his standards to accommodate mediocrity and he will refuse to follow well-given advice that could have compromised him. Only such a person could reform the NEITI, and indeed he did.

I found many things to be disturbing. For instance, when he had a big issue that led to his staff threatening to remove him. Guess what it was related to? Religion. Much worse, it came from the Muslims in the office. Waziri Adio is actually a Muslim too. Yet, his "Muslim brothers" were the ones who had an issue with him. Why? He wanted the Muslims in the office to follow due process before attending prayers. This was particularly sad and instructive. It tells you so much about Nigeria. How we can create big issues using religion.

There are so many stories that attest to Mr. Adio's spectacular lifestyle. He refused to travel in his official car. He never attends a personal function with his government car. He was always on time to the office. I believe that such simple gestures were important in allowing him to insist on the direction the agency must take. A leader shows an example, especially in small things.

I love how innovative he was as ES. He found ways to visualize reports that made them captivating. He reached out to international organizations in ways that yielded results and he reached out to organizations such as Budgit leading to fruitful partnerships. One time he was so successful in his sweet scheming of things, he got an invite to the NASS, and he presented a report on live television which gave NEITI wide publicity. That was actually the first in its history.

As I completed the book, I couldn't help but respect Mr. Waziri Adio. He set examples in big ways and in small ways. He maintained a modest lifestyle throughout his tenure. He refused to change house, refused to transform himself into a big man, and continue to show up at the office as early as fixed. In fact, in one case, he mentioned that he came a little beyond time and recorded it that way. In a broken country like Nigeria, this small gesture could be revolutionary.

His relationship with the late Abba Kyari is inspiring. They shared books with each other. Isn't that lovely? (Maybe I should start sending books to Mr. Waziri Adio, perhaps he will send some down here too).

This book tells the story of Waziri from his school days to his stellar performance in the University, to his journalism days, and eventually to his role in Government. It shows not just the details, it shows you his thinking. That's infinitely important. It tells you how and why. I enjoyed it.

Anyone interested in public service has to read this book. Mr. Waziri shows how it should be done. Patriotic Nigerians should read this too, it gives you an insight into the government through the eyes of an agency. I highly recommend.