Professor Humphrey Assisi Asobie
Head, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
Eliminating Markets for Public Office, Building a Reform Team and Staff
, financial reform, capacity building, transparency, corruption, training, staff performance, recruitment, dispute resolution, donor relations, communications, timing of reform, constituency building, coalition management, reconstruction, decentralization, spoilers, Staffing reform
Tumi Magketla
Nigeria
Abuja,
Nigeria
Wed Sep 2 2009
Abstract
In this interview, Professor Humphrey Assisi Asobie recounts his experiences working for the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to increase transparency within the Nigerian government and its service industries through the increased involvement of civil society organizations. He goes into detail about the challenges he initially faced in his role, including recruitment issues, maintaining a strong moral compass, increasing capacity to undertake the work, countering the culture of secrecy amongst the bureaucracy, and finances. Asobie provides step-by-step guides as to how he tried to address these issues, and how he ensured the ideas were favorably received. He also talks about his efforts to build support for the reform initiatives to help move the reform process along, and the role of NGOs, civil society, and the public. He addresses questions regarding the purpose of transparency initiatives, and how to engage civil society not only in the initiatives, but also in using the information provided. He also emphasizes the need to conduct reform efforts against corruption from the ground up in order to establish a base from which to attack those higher up the ladder. Throughout the interview Asobie is candid about what strategies worked, what strategies did not work, and the lessons learned from the process.
Full Interview
Contact Innovations for Successful Societies for a copy of the audio file.
Full Profile
At the time of this interview, Professor Humphrey Assisi Asobie was head of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) for Nigeria. He has been involved in the program since 2004 as the head of Transparency in Nigeria, representing civil society at EITI. Prior to his role at EITI he was President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in Nigeria as well as Vice President and subsequently President of Transparency Nigeria. Upon his appointment as Chairman of EITI in Nigeria in 2008, he stopped being a representative of civil society and began representing Nigeria.
