Abstract

Public Policy making is central to achieving governmental goals but the process of making and implementing it, is characterized by a lot of short comings in Nigeria. The process of making and implementing policy is essentially the work of government and its agencies. In principle, civil society organizations may have roles to play in policy making process but in practice, they are very far from the domain of the process. A number ways of interpreting the concept of policy were discussed as well as policy making in Nigeria, where principle of federal supremacy exists. Historically and structural arrangement apart from the human factor are important in achieving desired goals. The paper found that there is a missing link between the few elite and masses who are majority. Also, within the elite itself, differences exist leading to policy miscarriages most of the time and the consequence is untold hardships are imposed on the masses. The way out among others, are wider consultation, strong synergy among intergovernmental agencies is very much desired and the principle of policy continuity is necessary.