Nigeria's Vision
2020: Fact or Fantasy
By
Prince Nwaokugha
Ikeokwu
princenwaoku@yahoo.com
The concept of
national development is perceived in all ramifications as a spiral
growth in the economic, social and political life of any nation at a
particular period. It is worthy of note that while the advanced
nations of the world like America, Britain, e.t.c are striving harder
to consolidate on their already improved technology, the developing
nations are struggling to break even, with specifications as
yardsticks.
It is pertinent
that Nigeria‘s roadmap of joining the league of leading nations is a
topical issue that has dominated the polity, with stakeholders trying
to initiate actions. From the look of things, it has become a
Herculean task to differentiate between positive and negative
initiatives in Nigeria as previous efforts to achieve targets have
always been a conspiracy within a cartel to achieve a private goal
with our collective patrimony.
Road maps like:
Vision 2000, 2010, 2015 and 2020 are projections used by the
government to give hope to the citizens about its short, medium and
long term measures to improve the welfare of her citizens. Hardly had
any administration come on board without a virgin plan professionally
packaged to ease the agonizing pains of the masses, although these
plans which come with great expectations are found to be more active
on papers than in implementation.
In the moral sense
of it, there is nothing wrong in planning or setting a target as it is
glaring that he who fails to plan has planned to fail. Nigeria
including the rest of our developing partners is no exception as they
are preoccupied with goal setting. One thing is to set a goal; another
is the achievement of the set goal. At this juncture, it is pertinent
to retrospect our antecedents as an insight into flaws of the past, as
leverage to achieving the vision 2020 target.
Despite the
regional politics of the 60’s where political parties took on the
identity and ideology of each region, ever then, there had been
institutional framework lunched in different fora. These include the
Obasanjo’s Universal Primary Education (UPE), Operation Feed the
Nation (OFN). Gowon’s Economic Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and
Reintegration (3R’s), Shagari’s Green Revolution, Babangidia’s
Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), Mass Mobilization for Self
Reliance and Economic Recovery (MAMSER) and Directorate For Food, Road
and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI.) Abacha’s Vision 2000. Obasanjo’s
Universal Basic Education (UBE), National Economic Empowerment
Development Strategy (NEEDS) and Millennium Development Goal (MDG).
A critical review
shows that these programmes, though similar despite the differences in
nomenclature, had the potency of transforming our economy into a
global force if they were properly implemented and consolidated, but
one thing that is visible among these programmes is the “Pull-Down
syndrome”. In as much as overriding vision remains a panacea to
country’s greatness, it is worthy of note that no country can advance
when there is inconsistency in her policy formulation and
implementation, which is common in Nigeria as no administration will
want to execute the programmes of his predecessor, which invariably
should be cost effective and result oriented.
No doubt that
Nigeria, a leading nation in Africa is blessed with abundant human and
material resources including our foreign Reserves which could propel
our economy to a global force before 2020, but the fundamental
questions remains: achieving vision 2020 on what basis? Do we desire
a technology driven economy or a consumer nation. How committed is the
government in reducing poverty through employment generation,
promoting entrepreneurship development and ensuring a conducive
environment in which business will thrive? What about corruption and
poor economic management which remains a component in our national
underdevelopment.
Obviously,
becoming one of the most vibrant economic by 2020 goes beyond the
disbursement and spending of the monthly allocations by the 3 tiers of
government without the diversification of our revenue base rather them
depending on oil economy.
Recently the
federal government announced its short term measures to import rice
from Thailand to cushion the effects of the recent global food crisis.
While some applaud this initiative, most Nigerians are skeptical about
its implications, especially to our local industries. Nigeria’s GDP
from agriculture currently, stood at 42% with 92.377 million hectares
suitable for agricultural activities, unfortunately less than half is
cultivated..
In the recent
past, education sector, the bedrock of every developing nation and the
hope of future generation has been engulfed by numerous problems. The
University Lecturers had gone to court to seek redress, while
secondary and primary school teachers embarked on industrial action to
press home their demand, which propelled government to intervene after
several weeks. This invariably portends a gloomy future to the younger
generation.
The transport
sector which acts as a conveyor belt to increase our GDP is in state
of coma. The existing roads are not motorable due to poor maintenance;
the rail which is an alternative to the already overstressed road
network is not functional,
Also the
development of rail was not provided for in the 2008 budget. Despite
previous administration’s vision on rail modernization, which
necessitated the award of $8.3 billion contract to China Civil
Engineering Corporation yielded no result, as the contract was
inflated by about $5.8 according to the media report. Also the Senate
Public Hearing on Transport revealed that over N120 billion was spent
on rail from 1999-2008. While the air; the fastest means of transport
has not got rating either, as aeroplane bigger than a story building
could take-off and disappear into tin air without solution.
In the petroleum
down stream sector, the refineries are operating below the required
capacity as the country still depends on imported fuel, the fertilizer
plants are dead. The country’s vast gas resources remains unexploited
and more than 90% of associated gas is being flared despite the 2008
deadline given to the Multinationals by the National Assembly. The
solid minerals like salt and iron ore which could be exploited in
commercial quantity for foreign exchange are still imported; the ones
exploited contribute as low as 40% to the GDP.
No nation can
achieve greatness amidst insurgency and insecurity. The restiveness in
the volatile regime of the Niger Delta is capable of truncating
Nigeria’s Vision 2020 roadmap if not properly controlled; this has
sent wrong signals to our prospective foreign investors. In the recent
past there have been furious agitations from the region that the
government should be more proactive in the implementation of the
region’s master plan already designed by the previous administration
or refer back to the recommendations of the Willinks Commission of
1958. Well, thanks for the creation of the Niger Delta Ministry which
is a welcome development to the people from the coastal region.
The energy sector
which remains a vital force to the growth of any economy is in
shambles, waiting to be resuscitated. Billons of dollars expanded by
the previous administration on power have not improved the situation.
Our economy is generator driven, which escalates the cost of
operation.
The Yar’Adua’s led
administration has adopted 7 point agenda to transform our economy for
better, but there are insinuations that with the pace at which the
government is moving, her agenda might not be achieved, let alone
vision 2020.That as a Chemist he ought to react promptly to problems,
while others are of the view that he is still studying the mired
problem inherited from his successor.
How long do we
continue to pay lip service to the development of our dear nation?
What Nigerians need at moment is action. In guiding against the
pitfalls of the past, it is important to identify our national
interest and build our core values around it. There should be a total
disconnect between factional and national interest. There is need to
pursue measurable targets and ensure continuity in the implementation
of our economic policies. The National Assembly should include a
clause in the constitution that will facilitate continuity of some
national socio-economic policies.
For the nation to
realize her dream of 2020 all efforts must be geared towards
overhauling the entire system, starting from reorientation of our
values, poor economic management and corruption, enforcement of
policies to adequate security of lives and property. Infrastructural
development like road network, electricity and so on should be place
as priority
It is high time we
realigned our foreign policy by looking inward to a situation where an
average Nigeria is sure of shelter, food and affordable healthcare
services. Government should strengthen local industries and improve
the standard of education for a brighter future. Above all, the plight
of those who produce the wealth of the nation should be put into
consideration to avert hostility and restiveness. The anti-graft
agency should be properly reinforced to discharge its statutory
responsibility without fear or favour to reduce corruption to the
barest minimum. If all these are properly addressed, the road to
achieving our vision 2020 project is assured.
Prince Nwaokugha
Ikeokwu
National press
Centre,
Abuja.
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