By Juliet Umeh

Nigerian development scholar and former bank executive, Evans Woherem, has argued that Africa’s slow pace of development is driven more by weak institutions and governance systems than by the capabilities of its people.

Woherem made the assertion in an article titled “Institutions, Culture, and the African Development Question: Why Systems Matter, and How Africa Can Leapfrog Development,” where he maintained that prosperous nations are built on strong systems, functional institutions, and disciplined governance cultures.

According to him, “human beings are broadly similar biologically and intellectually across races and geographies,” adding that the major difference between successful and struggling societies lies in “systems, institutions, cultures, incentives, and historical environments.”

He pointed to the behaviour of Africans living abroad as evidence that institutional environments shape human conduct.

According to Woherem, individuals who may tolerate disorder, patronage systems, or corruption within some African environments often become law-abiding and highly productive after relocating to countries with stronger institutions.

“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 stated.

The former Executive Director of First Bank of Nigeria and Unity Bank Plc noted that such individuals suddenly begin to obey traffic laws, pay taxes, and respect public infrastructure because the institutional systems around them compel accountability.

“The human material did not suddenly change. The surrounding institutional architecture did,” he added.

Woherem lamented that many African countries still pursue what he described as a project-based approach to development rather than building systems capable of sustaining progress across generations.

He criticised governance discussions across the continent for focusing mainly on visible infrastructure projects while neglecting deeper institutional reforms.

“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 queried.

The author of Building a New Africa and Information Technology in Africa stressed that true development should not be measured merely by the number of roads, bridges, or projects commissioned, but by the strength of institutions that can sustain and improve them over time.

“A nation does not become advanced merely because it constructs roads. 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,” he said.

Woherem further blamed Africa’s institutional weakness on colonial administrative systems which, according to him, were designed mainly for extraction rather than development.

He argued that many post-independence governments merely inherited and localised those structures without transforming them into developmental institutions.

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

Drawing comparisons with countries including Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and China, Woherem said their industrial rise was built on disciplined institutions, educational excellence, and long-term national planning.

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

He also challenged African media organisations to go beyond reporting project commissioning ceremonies and instead scrutinise governance reforms and institutional performance.

“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 emphasised the importance of what he described as “Developmental Industrialists,” citing billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote as an example of private sector players contributing to industrial growth and national productive capacity.

According to him, Africa’s future depends on stronger bureaucracies, impartial legal systems, industrial strategy, educational reform, technological governance, and a civic culture that rewards competence over patronage.

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

He warned that until institutions and systems become central to Africa’s development strategy, progress across the continent would remain slow, fragile, and easily reversible.