Dr. Bolaji Olagunju advocates for rigorous selection processes in Nigerian public sector board appointments

He emphasizes that appointing a board member is a critical hiring decision, more consequential than many other personnel choices, yet it frequently lacks the procedural scrutiny applied to junior staff. Dr. Olagunju identifies four distinct activities that are often collapsed into one: selection, screening, due diligence, and appointment. He asserts that in Nigeria, the process often begins with the appointment, with selection, screening, and due diligence, if they occur at all, reduced to mere formalities.

He cites the establishment of the National Pension Commission PenCom in 2004 as a positive Nigerian example where a deliberate and rigorous selection process led to a high-performing board and a successful pension system. To improve public sector governance, Dr. Olagunju proposes six questions for any appointing authority: What does this board need that it does not currently have? Does this candidate bring it?

Will this candidate exercise independent judgment? Has this candidate done serious work of this kind before? What is the candidate’s standing, in three different rooms?

If this appointment fails, what will the country lose? He acknowledges that implementing these questions would reduce the discretion and patronage capacity of appointing authorities but stresses that pu