International Journal for Tourism and Technology (IJTT)
Public policy is the major outline of the programmes and projects of government and how they should be implemented to positively affect the welfare of the citizenry. Interest groups play a crucial role in enhancing the policy process for sustainable national development in Nigeria. Unfortunately, over twenty-eight years (1966-1979; 1983-1998) of military rule in Nigeria disjointed the approach in the policy-making process. This study, therefore, interrogates how the non-involvement of interest groups has affected national development in the country. The study adopted the group theory and applied the secondary data collection method. According to the research, it was discovered that the absence of interest groups' participation in the creation and execution of public policies has resulted in unstable policies that have hindered Nigeria's progress and development. The result of the study emphasized the need for an enabling environment where public policymaking should be participatory and ecommended a value re-orientation for policymakers to interface with interest groups to enhance sustainable development in Nigeria.
Public policy is a fundamental tool of governance this is because government policies and decisions are matters that pertain to the polity. Sequel to the fact that governance in contemporary times is a social contract between the government and the governed, it is appropriate to expect the former to fashion out all well-laid-out and time-tested course(s) of action that can positively affect citizens. Public policy is crucial in the development of anymsociety as it outlines the programmes and projects of government. There is no gain in saying the fact that the social, economic, political, and cultural advancement of a people depends largely on the nature of public decisions taken by those saddled with such responsibilities. It involves the processes by which changes are effected for the overall well-being of the citizenry but this can be achieved, If interest groups are seen as crucial contributors to the
policymaking process and drivers of national advancement. Development in Nigeria has become an elusive dream because, following from the experience of Nigeria, the adoption of a specific course of action or policy by the government is no guarantee that the policy will achieve the purpose(s) for which it was meant, nor is there any guarantee that the policy will be implemented at all. Every public policy has a target group. Implying, that every policy has a set of persons whose needs it is expected to pursue and realize. This group may range from a small community whom the government intends to provide a welfare programme for, or to the entire nation for whom the government is enacting an energy policy. In the period of military rule, the general population seldom had a say in the decision-making process as the military government believed it had all the solutions to the country's problems. The restoration of civilian governance in 1999 brought about optimism for curbing the ongoing deterioration in the social, economic, and political aspects of the nation. Nevertheless, there has been no substantial improvement in the overall quality of life for the populace. The high rate of unemployment, power failure, housing crisis, poor health service delivery, and economic crisis are all clear indicators of the prevailing situation. The Fourth Republic faced numerous complex policy challenges, marked by difficulties and shortcomings between various interest groups and government actors, primarily concerning public infrastructure, healthcare, and education. According to Eribake (2010), the government's policies were perceived as unbalanced and had limited or negligible effects on the general population. This study examines the non-involvement of interest groups in the public policy formulation and implementation processes has led to unstable policies which, in turn, hampered development in Nigeria.
Democracy, enabling environment, interest groups, policy formulation and implementation, sustainable development