A policy instrument is a tool or mechanism used by government, organisations, or institutions to implement and achieve their policy goals and objectives. Ideally, for a national government, the main objective of policy implementation is the achievement of national growth and development. Culture, on the other hand, is defined as the shared values, beliefs, customs, traditions, and practices that define a group of people or a society. Culture explains how people respond to policy instruments thereby determining their effectiveness or otherwise in the achievement of policy targets. In effect, culture stands as a mediator between policy instruments and the achievement of set objectives. When a policy is formulated without due attention to the impact of culture, such policy is bound to fail.

Using the analogy of a typical input-process-output model, policy instrument represents the input, culture is the process, and policy objective is the output. In order to achieve a particular outcome, the appropriate input and process must be selected. This means every output is input-and process-specific. For instance, there are specific policy instruments and specific culture that guarantee national development. Any mismatch in the input-process-output linkage is a recipe for failure. In the national development example, the prevailing culture MUST embody transparency, accountability, responsibility, trust, equity, and justice. Without these ingredients, any reference to national development is a joke.

Projecting the foregoing suppositions on the Nigerian society presents an interesting scenario. The dominant culture in Nigeria is elitism. This culture is characterized by ostentation, exclusivity, superiority complex, disdain for non-elites, limited social mobility, concentration of power and wealth, and lack of accountability. Given the privileges at the disposal of people in this class, the aspiration of almost everyone is to get into the class. So, an average Nigerian spends his or her waking hours working at decoding the 'encrypted' access to the elitist class.

The manifestation of the culture of elitism is found in every area of the Nigerian life. If you've been around for a while you've probably heard someone, during an argument, say to another person, "Do you know who I am?" or "Do you think I am your mate?" or "I will deal with you!" To show the extent to which the class 'thing' has permeated our society, sometimes, these statement are made by people on the lowest rung of the societal ladder.
We are a people governed by external locus of control. Our happiness, satisfaction, desires, sadness, glow or gloom, just anything at all, is others-centred. The reason we do things is either to impress or oppress others. In fact, one of our musicians captured the sensibility of an average Nigerian with the lyrics - "As e dey pain dem, e dey sweet us and as e dey sweet us, e dey pain dem." That is our culture in songs!

A few weeks ago, one of our neighbours told me that PHCN is moving our Estate to Band A. I said to her, "I didn't know about it. Oh, was that why they've been giving us regular power supply?" That got me thinking and I saw the impact of culture on the successful implementation of increased tariff by NERC. For a long while NERC/PHCN faced stiff opposition to tariff increase from consumers. However, with the classification of consumers into different bands, all forms of opposition ceased. In fact, belonging to Band A has become a bragging right.
Unfortunately, our culture of elitism is antithetical to the ideals of national growth and development. National development requires an environment of transparency, accountability, responsibility, trust, equity, and justice, which are incompatible with the elements of our elitist culture. This is why national development has been a mirage. We need a cultural revolution. How to bring it about is the BIG QUESTION. Some people have argued for a change of the Constitution. Others say, breaking up the country into its constituent regions is the solution. One thing is clear, there is no easy way because those benefiting from the current dysfunctional culture will not let go without a 'contest.'