GETTING ELEPHANTS TO DANCE: Improving Effectiveness of Government Institutions
Patrick O. Okigbo III in conversation with Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru | Video and Discourse Summary
The age-old principle of ‘give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar,’ first articulated under Roman rule, is commonly quoted in discussions about taxation and the fundamental obligations of citizenship to the state. While conceptually straightforward, the reality of collecting Caesar’s due in Nigeria and delivering public goods in return has historically proven to be a formidable challenge. The bureaucratic machinery responsible for this is often characterised as a large, ponderous beast, resistant to direction. This was the complex arena Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru entered as Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in 2004. In the Development Discourse held on Wednesday, January 28, 2025, Patrick O. Okigbo III and Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru explored the arduous process of driving transformation within a reluctant public institution.
Patrick opened the discourse by questioning the very nature of institutional failure in Africa. He posited that the challenge is rarely a lack of knowledge, but a failure of ‘conversion,’ the profound difficulty of turning intent into action. Framing the context for Ifueko, he alluded to economist Douglas North’s definition of institutions as the formal rules, informal constraints, and enforcement mechanisms that structure human interaction, and asked how reform is possible in settings where informal norms, rather than written laws, are what people expect to be enforced.
In response to queries about managing such resistance, Ifueko reflected that her trajectory began with re-conceptualising her mandate. Transitioning from the private sector, she refused to view her role merely as a chief revenue collector. The President had given her a ‘blank sheet of paper’ with a clear directive to shift the country away from its reliance on oil and gas by growing non-oil revenue. Her mandate, therefore, was not just to build a sustainable institution, but to transform the entire Nigerian tax system. She noted that while this high-level political will is essential, a leader must still work assiduously within the wider ecosystem to align diverse, powerful interests.
A crucial turning point in her work was her reassessment of her initial approach to combating entrenched corruption within the service. Early on, Ifueko adopted a combative posture, frequently emphasising the criminality of fake certificates and theft that deprives the nation of revenue. However, a courageous observation by a staff member offered a better perspective. The employee confessed that this relentless focus on collective ‘badness’ was deeply demotivating, painting the entire workforce as irredeemable regardless of individual efforts to reform. Ifueko recognised that this narrative of blanket condemnation was toxic to progress. She focused on establishing robust processes, clear rules, fair incentives, and specific consequences for certain transgressions. It was a vital evolution from moralising to professionalising the service.
When asked about the practical steps of reform, Ifueko warned against the temptation of trying to change everything overnight based on theory. Instead, she advocated for extreme realism, arguing that by successfully completing a few achievable goals first, an organisation builds the confidence and momentum needed to tackle bigger challenges. She admitted that her team did not finish everything, noting that full technological integration remained out of reach. This was a deliberate choice to address basic, messy realities first, such as automating simple collections before tackling complex systems.
When pressed by Patrick on whether small, seemingly insignificant actions ever led to surprisingly big effects, Ifueko highlighted the restoration of human dignity. She pointed to the simple act of instituting merit-based hiring. Twenty years later, strangers still thank her for the chance to get a job based on what they knew, not who they knew. Furthermore, when new rules required staff to hold degrees, the Federal Inland Revenue Service chose to invest in its people rather than fire them, paying for their return to university. These were strategic acts of giving hope to a system that sorely needed it.
This discourse explored, with honesty, the tools necessary for navigating Nigeria’s specific and difficult environment. Ifueko emphasised that leading reform in this context means dealing with immense complexity, including over 500 ethnic groups and diverse religious beliefs across the nation. Because of this reality, she argued that so-called ‘soft skills’ like collaboration are, in fact, essential ‘power skills.’ Leaders must be intentional about balancing their teams geopolitically to ensure decisions are fair across groups. Patrick concluded the session by returning to the central metaphor, observing that Nigeria’s institutional elephants are too often asked to dance without music, while their legs are tied.