Imaginary-plans-on-paper-without-execution-- Bane-of-nigeria-economic-development
September 7, 2020 | News
IMAGINARY PLANS ON PAPER WITHOUT EXECUTION - BANE OF NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
It is often said that, it is one thing to make plans, but it is a different thing all together to bring such plans to reality. The ‘space’ between planning and execution has obviously overwhelmed many not to actualize their dreams, visions and goals. As it is with an individual, so it is with a State, and a nation.
Over the years, unfortunately, this dilemma, has characterized every aspect of Nigeria’s economic well-being. What is even more annoying is that, despite the fact that past Economic Development plans made by various governments to improve the nation’s economy, have not seen the light of the day, yet, every now and then, more forums/conference/workshops are organized to make more plans or to reveal to Nigerians Governments plans to develop the country. Perhaps, just to create the impression that the “government is working”. This is not only disturbing, but it actually questions the integrity of our political leaders of not having the “vision” and what it takes to lead.
To even think that we have a National Planning Commission, which is currently the Federal Ministry of Budget & National Planning, whose mandate is to determine and advise the Government of the Federation on matters relating to National Development and overall management of the national economy, through the formulation of medium term and long term economic and development plans for the nation, is enough insult on our face as a nation that is still greatly underdeveloped. It is also laughable and a mockery of us as a people that the so-called vision of the Commission is “to be the most efficient planning institution that guides the growth and development Of Nigerian economy to be and among the leading economies in the world.” But despite the fact that the Commission has been in existence in close to three decades plus, Nigeria is still one of the most poorly developing countries in the world. With reports some time ago by Brookings Institution noting that Nigeria has now taken over as the nation with the highest number of extremely poor people. Which before now, India used to hold the position with a population of 1.324 billion people as against Nigeria’s 200 million. In fact, it was noted in the report that: “at the end of May 2018, their trajectories suggest that Nigeria had about 87 million people in extreme poverty, compared with India’s 73 million. What is more, extreme poverty in Nigeria is growing by six people every minute, while poverty in India continues to fall. Yet, we say we have a National Planning Commission/Ministry of Budget & National Planning whose responsibilities, amongst other things, is to “ensure that plans and policies are properly implemented by all relevant stakeholders.”
Though, the National Planning Commission was originally established by Decree No 12 of 1992 and later amended by Act 71 of 1993, and their detailed objectives, functions, powers and structure are outlined under sections 2, 3 and 5 of the Establishment Act, but over the years and on several occasions, the Commission has best been known to have organized hundreds of Economic Summits/Forums in trying to aggregate the views, ideas and suggestions of stakeholders, the academia and the general public, in pursuant to effecting new economic policies that would add value to the economic well-being of Nigerians. While we acknowledge some of these Economic Summits/Forums as a welcome idea, especially if their inputs can be harnessed to re-strategize the objectives of the different economic programmes, however, we should not concentrate on such activities to the detriment of what is far more important, that is, bringing the objectives and plans to positively bear on the lives of Nigerians without ‘enriching few’ to the detriment of many.
This notwithstanding, one feels irked that the National Planning Commission/Ministry of Budget & National Planning is doing nothing short of throwing funds down the drain and merely creating avenues for embezzling and misusing public funds. To put it in plain words, some of the activities or exercises organized by the Commission are nothing short of jamborees or merry go-rounds. And we say this with all boldness because NIGERIA’S PROBLEM IS NOT PLANNING, BUT THAT OF EXECUTION. The said Commission/Ministry is supposed to be the Nigeria’s “Think Tank” and the focal point for Development Planning and Economic Management. The Commission has three parastatals namely: Centre for Management Development (CMD), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER).
Year in year out, we make good plans, as witnessed by the country’s annual budgets. Alas, the lofty ideas are never put to work. If they were, Nigeria would be feeding the entire African continent, going by former President Obasanjo’s “Operation Feed The Nation” and Shagari’s “Green Revolution”. By the same token, Nigerians would have been economically empowered by Babangida’s “People’s Bank” and Obasanjo’s “Poverty Alleviation Programme”, etc. But despite all these, Nigerians still remain amongst the poorest people in the world, using price per income index as a parameter. And the situation seems to be getting worse by the day.
To buttress our point, one needs to take cursory look at the history of development plans in Nigeria. Our first ever development plan was the 1956 Development plan, drawn by a Central Development Board, which had area Development Committee serving groups of provinces. Some few years ahead, another Development plan was permanently drawn up and put into effect, to expire or elapse in 1960.
Following the march towards independence, the National Economic Council in its tenth meeting held in 1959, resolved, and decided on behalf of Nigerians that: A National Development Plan should be prepared for Nigeria with the objectives of the achievement and maintenance of the highest possible rate of increase in the standard of living. As a follow up to this broad decision, a six-year Development plan was adopted to be implemented between 1962 and 1968. At the end of the Nigerian civil war, the Gowon administration, of which Obasanjo was a key member, decided on a three-Rs programme of Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation. And for this purpose, a more comprehensive Four-year-plan was launched to take effect from 1970 to 1974. Then came the ‘almighty’ ‘Nigeria Vision (NV) 20: 2020,’ regarded as an economic plan aimed at making Nigeria to be amongst the world’s developed economies by year 2020. We are already approaching the end of 2019, less than three months to go. And the big question is, how visible is this lofty plan, especially when we consider what has been going on in the polity’s economic front in the last decade?
Despite the so-called “The Transformation Agenda”, which was a medium term development strategy to speed up the actualization of the NV 20:2020, and a framework for the actualization of the then Federal Government's economic growth agenda during 2011-2015; and despite the so-called First National Implementation Plan (1st NIP), with the theme "Accelerating Development, Competitiveness and Wealth Creation", which was a medium term plan for the actualization of the long term broad objectives and targets of the NV 20:2020 – Nigeria’s economy and the standard of living of its Nigerian citizenry, has not even scratched the surface of improvement, when compared to what is happening in other climes in Africa and across the globe that are less endowed in terms of natural and human resourcefulness. This again, justify the fact that it is not to have lofty Plans On Paper to tell the world that they are working, but it is to implement these plans to the latter and with all sincerity of purpose to the benefit of the Nigerian people. The saddest part in all of this, is the enormous funds often said to have been spent by relevant government authorities of different administrations in the name of implementing some of these lofty Plans. But at the end of the day, majority of Nigerians are driven to poverty while some few are made richer. For instance, the total investment profile for the so-called 1st NIP is N32 trillion, with the Federal Government investing N10 trillion, and the States and Local Governments investing N9 trillion. The private sector will invest the remaining N13 trillion. But at the end of the day, the pockets and livelihood of majority of Nigerians keeps getting emptier and poorer respectively.
Currently, what the National Planning Commission/Ministry of Budget & National Planning has been dangling on the faces of Nigerians is the much talked about “Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020”. Though, the said ERGP is still unfolding under The Next Level Agenda of the President Buhari second term in Office, however, from what has been made known to the public, we have observed that there is still much reliance on oil and gas production to increase revenue and crude oil export, without actually looking at the ‘multi-economic’ nature of oil and gas and how this will greatly improve the economy if the needed attention is given; as well other issues like the problem of power generation, transmission and distribution, which appears not to be given much attention/direction in the said ERGP. Also, the said Economic Plan appears to be ‘too academic in nature’ and more of ‘book talks’ that seems alien to the ‘realities’ facing the Nigerian common man daily. We are aware of its strides and plans in the area of Agriculture, to make Nigeria ‘FOOD SUFFICIENT’, but much is still left to be desired in this angle. Even the ban of some food items, and the recent closure of Nigerian Boarders, it seems the food supply situation in Nigeria has been made worse, as the prices of food items has gone up sporadically. This is usually the problem we have with Nigerian Government – always coming up with plans without commensurate modalities to checkmate the spillover effect of such plans. Obviously, Nigeria has not been able to meet its food supply demands, going by the growing population. And that is why the demand for food items is pushing up prices since demand outweighs supply. The only aspect of the ERGP that seems to stand out and good, is the ‘fight against corruption’. But even with that, many of us are still yet to understand its “targeted end” as Nigerians simply have no idea of what the recovered loot are meant to address and what will be the fate of those behind the recovered loot. We are however glad that few high-profile officials have been sent to jail under this administration.
The truth is, to attempt to mention all the many Nigerian Development plans, which every administration has drawn up till date, will be time-consuming, burdensome and boring. But one thing is clear: all the plans were/are aimed at: 1. Increasing the growth rate of the Nigerian economy, 2. Re-investing a significant percentage of the Gross Domestic Product Investment, 3. Developing opportunities in the education, health and employment sectors, 4. The expansion of the installed capacity of electricity generation, 5. The expansion of railway mileage, tarred roads, housing, air ports, sea ports, and other basic infrastructure.
Except for specifics, the above have been the ‘broad focus’ of all our Development Plans in the country. But in spite of all the good intensions, Nigerians have remained hungrier, angrier, more frustrated, more poorly clothed and poorly housed, not to mention being made to face all kinds of dehumanizing and degrading harsh environment to dwell in. Indeed, the average Nigerian lives in apathy, not sure where his meal for the next week will come from. And this is no exaggeration, because if you exclude civil servants and a few salaried workers who make up less than 15% of the population, hardly any Nigerian can beat his chest and say I have enough food to last my home for the next seven days. In plain words therefore, Nigerians are daily living from hand to mouth just to survive. Not to be misquoted, let us make it clear that we are not saying that our Development Plans are not good. On the contrary, they have been excellent, exceptional and regarded by experts as highly priced objectives across the world as a nation. We are one of the best planners in the whole wide world. The snag however, is in the implementation. Something always goes wrong between the point of planning and the final product/execution
Having said that much, we want to say Nigerians, particularly our political leaders in all spheres of government, should no longer be talking of planning, but ‘effective execution/honest implementation.’ In the album titled Icon is Love, Barry White, the man with the most recognized baritone voice, admonished that people should Practice what they preach. And this goes to our economic plan executors.
They should pick up all our past Development Plans, that is, go back to the drawing board, and ask – what went wrong? Why is there still power outage in Nigeria? Why are our refineries not working to installed capacity? Why are tens of thousands of mileage roads across the country in a state of disrepair? Why is the Nigerian economy driven by generators and not steady and reliable power supply? Why are we so dependent on oil and gas revenue for development as a nation? What is happening to our Agricultural sector, Tourism sector, Solid minerals etc? What happened to our railway transport system? Why do Nigerians not have enough food? Why do the people not own their own homes, or be able to stay in affordable houses? Why can’t most parents and guardians afford school fees for their children and wards? Why do we have so many universities graduates as jobless youths on our streets either looking for jobs, involved in one crime or the other, or looking for illegitimate ways to migrate out of the country at the risk of their lives? Why do we live in a state of perpetual insecurity?
It is a slap on our face as a nation that smaller and even less endowed countries in Africa and across the globe are far ahead of us in terms of development, human capita-index, and modern advancement in all sectors. And today, many Nigerians, including our political leaders prefer to go abroad to enjoy the various sectors of foreign economies; be it Education, Health, tourism, etc. imagine a place like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in spite of their vast resources in natural minerals (just like Nigeria is blessed), they still depend on only 7% of their oil, gas and condensate revenue to develop their nation. The government gets the rest national revenue from Trading, Tourism, and Banking etc.
Until we sit down as a nation and ask ourselves these critical questions, and find honest answers to them, we will never get to the “Promised Land”. Rather, we will continue to Plan yearly, and deceive ourselves like a farmer who clears his farm of weeds but never gets around to planting any crops. To conclude, our political leaders at all levels of Government should strive to leave an indelible mark in their reign in office before their exit. Those coming in should also focus on rendering selfless service to their father land. Let the right thing be done, this we urge.
Zik Gbemre.
October 8, 2019
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
It is often said that, it is one thing to make plans, but it is a different thing all together to bring such plans to reality. The ‘space’ between planning and execution has obviously overwhelmed many not to actualize their dreams, visions and goals. As it is with an individual, so it is with a State, and a nation.
Over the years, unfortunately, this dilemma, has characterized every aspect of Nigeria’s economic well-being. What is even more annoying is that, despite the fact that past Economic Development plans made by various governments to improve the nation’s economy, have not seen the light of the day, yet, every now and then, more forums/conference/workshops are organized to make more plans or to reveal to Nigerians Governments plans to develop the country. Perhaps, just to create the impression that the “government is working”. This is not only disturbing, but it actually questions the integrity of our political leaders of not having the “vision” and what it takes to lead.
To even think that we have a National Planning Commission, which is currently the Federal Ministry of Budget & National Planning, whose mandate is to determine and advise the Government of the Federation on matters relating to National Development and overall management of the national economy, through the formulation of medium term and long term economic and development plans for the nation, is enough insult on our face as a nation that is still greatly underdeveloped. It is also laughable and a mockery of us as a people that the so-called vision of the Commission is “to be the most efficient planning institution that guides the growth and development Of Nigerian economy to be and among the leading economies in the world.” But despite the fact that the Commission has been in existence in close to three decades plus, Nigeria is still one of the most poorly developing countries in the world. With reports some time ago by Brookings Institution noting that Nigeria has now taken over as the nation with the highest number of extremely poor people. Which before now, India used to hold the position with a population of 1.324 billion people as against Nigeria’s 200 million. In fact, it was noted in the report that: “at the end of May 2018, their trajectories suggest that Nigeria had about 87 million people in extreme poverty, compared with India’s 73 million. What is more, extreme poverty in Nigeria is growing by six people every minute, while poverty in India continues to fall. Yet, we say we have a National Planning Commission/Ministry of Budget & National Planning whose responsibilities, amongst other things, is to “ensure that plans and policies are properly implemented by all relevant stakeholders.”
Though, the National Planning Commission was originally established by Decree No 12 of 1992 and later amended by Act 71 of 1993, and their detailed objectives, functions, powers and structure are outlined under sections 2, 3 and 5 of the Establishment Act, but over the years and on several occasions, the Commission has best been known to have organized hundreds of Economic Summits/Forums in trying to aggregate the views, ideas and suggestions of stakeholders, the academia and the general public, in pursuant to effecting new economic policies that would add value to the economic well-being of Nigerians. While we acknowledge some of these Economic Summits/Forums as a welcome idea, especially if their inputs can be harnessed to re-strategize the objectives of the different economic programmes, however, we should not concentrate on such activities to the detriment of what is far more important, that is, bringing the objectives and plans to positively bear on the lives of Nigerians without ‘enriching few’ to the detriment of many.
This notwithstanding, one feels irked that the National Planning Commission/Ministry of Budget & National Planning is doing nothing short of throwing funds down the drain and merely creating avenues for embezzling and misusing public funds. To put it in plain words, some of the activities or exercises organized by the Commission are nothing short of jamborees or merry go-rounds. And we say this with all boldness because NIGERIA’S PROBLEM IS NOT PLANNING, BUT THAT OF EXECUTION. The said Commission/Ministry is supposed to be the Nigeria’s “Think Tank” and the focal point for Development Planning and Economic Management. The Commission has three parastatals namely: Centre for Management Development (CMD), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER).
Year in year out, we make good plans, as witnessed by the country’s annual budgets. Alas, the lofty ideas are never put to work. If they were, Nigeria would be feeding the entire African continent, going by former President Obasanjo’s “Operation Feed The Nation” and Shagari’s “Green Revolution”. By the same token, Nigerians would have been economically empowered by Babangida’s “People’s Bank” and Obasanjo’s “Poverty Alleviation Programme”, etc. But despite all these, Nigerians still remain amongst the poorest people in the world, using price per income index as a parameter. And the situation seems to be getting worse by the day.
To buttress our point, one needs to take cursory look at the history of development plans in Nigeria. Our first ever development plan was the 1956 Development plan, drawn by a Central Development Board, which had area Development Committee serving groups of provinces. Some few years ahead, another Development plan was permanently drawn up and put into effect, to expire or elapse in 1960.
Following the march towards independence, the National Economic Council in its tenth meeting held in 1959, resolved, and decided on behalf of Nigerians that: A National Development Plan should be prepared for Nigeria with the objectives of the achievement and maintenance of the highest possible rate of increase in the standard of living. As a follow up to this broad decision, a six-year Development plan was adopted to be implemented between 1962 and 1968. At the end of the Nigerian civil war, the Gowon administration, of which Obasanjo was a key member, decided on a three-Rs programme of Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation. And for this purpose, a more comprehensive Four-year-plan was launched to take effect from 1970 to 1974. Then came the ‘almighty’ ‘Nigeria Vision (NV) 20: 2020,’ regarded as an economic plan aimed at making Nigeria to be amongst the world’s developed economies by year 2020. We are already approaching the end of 2019, less than three months to go. And the big question is, how visible is this lofty plan, especially when we consider what has been going on in the polity’s economic front in the last decade?
Despite the so-called “The Transformation Agenda”, which was a medium term development strategy to speed up the actualization of the NV 20:2020, and a framework for the actualization of the then Federal Government's economic growth agenda during 2011-2015; and despite the so-called First National Implementation Plan (1st NIP), with the theme "Accelerating Development, Competitiveness and Wealth Creation", which was a medium term plan for the actualization of the long term broad objectives and targets of the NV 20:2020 – Nigeria’s economy and the standard of living of its Nigerian citizenry, has not even scratched the surface of improvement, when compared to what is happening in other climes in Africa and across the globe that are less endowed in terms of natural and human resourcefulness. This again, justify the fact that it is not to have lofty Plans On Paper to tell the world that they are working, but it is to implement these plans to the latter and with all sincerity of purpose to the benefit of the Nigerian people. The saddest part in all of this, is the enormous funds often said to have been spent by relevant government authorities of different administrations in the name of implementing some of these lofty Plans. But at the end of the day, majority of Nigerians are driven to poverty while some few are made richer. For instance, the total investment profile for the so-called 1st NIP is N32 trillion, with the Federal Government investing N10 trillion, and the States and Local Governments investing N9 trillion. The private sector will invest the remaining N13 trillion. But at the end of the day, the pockets and livelihood of majority of Nigerians keeps getting emptier and poorer respectively.
Currently, what the National Planning Commission/Ministry of Budget & National Planning has been dangling on the faces of Nigerians is the much talked about “Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020”. Though, the said ERGP is still unfolding under The Next Level Agenda of the President Buhari second term in Office, however, from what has been made known to the public, we have observed that there is still much reliance on oil and gas production to increase revenue and crude oil export, without actually looking at the ‘multi-economic’ nature of oil and gas and how this will greatly improve the economy if the needed attention is given; as well other issues like the problem of power generation, transmission and distribution, which appears not to be given much attention/direction in the said ERGP. Also, the said Economic Plan appears to be ‘too academic in nature’ and more of ‘book talks’ that seems alien to the ‘realities’ facing the Nigerian common man daily. We are aware of its strides and plans in the area of Agriculture, to make Nigeria ‘FOOD SUFFICIENT’, but much is still left to be desired in this angle. Even the ban of some food items, and the recent closure of Nigerian Boarders, it seems the food supply situation in Nigeria has been made worse, as the prices of food items has gone up sporadically. This is usually the problem we have with Nigerian Government – always coming up with plans without commensurate modalities to checkmate the spillover effect of such plans. Obviously, Nigeria has not been able to meet its food supply demands, going by the growing population. And that is why the demand for food items is pushing up prices since demand outweighs supply. The only aspect of the ERGP that seems to stand out and good, is the ‘fight against corruption’. But even with that, many of us are still yet to understand its “targeted end” as Nigerians simply have no idea of what the recovered loot are meant to address and what will be the fate of those behind the recovered loot. We are however glad that few high-profile officials have been sent to jail under this administration.
The truth is, to attempt to mention all the many Nigerian Development plans, which every administration has drawn up till date, will be time-consuming, burdensome and boring. But one thing is clear: all the plans were/are aimed at: 1. Increasing the growth rate of the Nigerian economy, 2. Re-investing a significant percentage of the Gross Domestic Product Investment, 3. Developing opportunities in the education, health and employment sectors, 4. The expansion of the installed capacity of electricity generation, 5. The expansion of railway mileage, tarred roads, housing, air ports, sea ports, and other basic infrastructure.
Except for specifics, the above have been the ‘broad focus’ of all our Development Plans in the country. But in spite of all the good intensions, Nigerians have remained hungrier, angrier, more frustrated, more poorly clothed and poorly housed, not to mention being made to face all kinds of dehumanizing and degrading harsh environment to dwell in. Indeed, the average Nigerian lives in apathy, not sure where his meal for the next week will come from. And this is no exaggeration, because if you exclude civil servants and a few salaried workers who make up less than 15% of the population, hardly any Nigerian can beat his chest and say I have enough food to last my home for the next seven days. In plain words therefore, Nigerians are daily living from hand to mouth just to survive. Not to be misquoted, let us make it clear that we are not saying that our Development Plans are not good. On the contrary, they have been excellent, exceptional and regarded by experts as highly priced objectives across the world as a nation. We are one of the best planners in the whole wide world. The snag however, is in the implementation. Something always goes wrong between the point of planning and the final product/execution
Having said that much, we want to say Nigerians, particularly our political leaders in all spheres of government, should no longer be talking of planning, but ‘effective execution/honest implementation.’ In the album titled Icon is Love, Barry White, the man with the most recognized baritone voice, admonished that people should Practice what they preach. And this goes to our economic plan executors.
They should pick up all our past Development Plans, that is, go back to the drawing board, and ask – what went wrong? Why is there still power outage in Nigeria? Why are our refineries not working to installed capacity? Why are tens of thousands of mileage roads across the country in a state of disrepair? Why is the Nigerian economy driven by generators and not steady and reliable power supply? Why are we so dependent on oil and gas revenue for development as a nation? What is happening to our Agricultural sector, Tourism sector, Solid minerals etc? What happened to our railway transport system? Why do Nigerians not have enough food? Why do the people not own their own homes, or be able to stay in affordable houses? Why can’t most parents and guardians afford school fees for their children and wards? Why do we have so many universities graduates as jobless youths on our streets either looking for jobs, involved in one crime or the other, or looking for illegitimate ways to migrate out of the country at the risk of their lives? Why do we live in a state of perpetual insecurity?
It is a slap on our face as a nation that smaller and even less endowed countries in Africa and across the globe are far ahead of us in terms of development, human capita-index, and modern advancement in all sectors. And today, many Nigerians, including our political leaders prefer to go abroad to enjoy the various sectors of foreign economies; be it Education, Health, tourism, etc. imagine a place like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in spite of their vast resources in natural minerals (just like Nigeria is blessed), they still depend on only 7% of their oil, gas and condensate revenue to develop their nation. The government gets the rest national revenue from Trading, Tourism, and Banking etc.
Until we sit down as a nation and ask ourselves these critical questions, and find honest answers to them, we will never get to the “Promised Land”. Rather, we will continue to Plan yearly, and deceive ourselves like a farmer who clears his farm of weeds but never gets around to planting any crops. To conclude, our political leaders at all levels of Government should strive to leave an indelible mark in their reign in office before their exit. Those coming in should also focus on rendering selfless service to their father land. Let the right thing be done, this we urge.
Zik Gbemre.
October 8, 2019
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes