Nigeria, Nov. 13 -- Between the Nigerian government and citizens, the trust deficit is huge. Setting up a committee to unravel anything is viewed with suspicion. In our days in the Daily Trust newsroom, setting up committees was a butt of jokes among us. We called it the committee on snakes, in reference to a one-time US presidential aspirant, Ross Perot, who criticised the American bureaucracy's penchant for setting up committees: "If you see a snake, just kill it. Don't appoint a committee on snakes."

Unfortunately, Nigeria has not done creditably well in this regard over time. The works of many committees are gathering dust on shelves across the country. When the Federal Government, through the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-...