Abimbola Akosile
23 September 2008
Lagos — Stakeholders in a better Nigeria have called for holistic classification and implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) like health, education, environment; in order to ensure their realisation.
The call was made the Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO), which organised a two-day Thematic Network Meeting in Lagos last week in furtherance of the global campaign on the 2015 MDGs.
The meeting elicited and harmonised various inputs of Nigerian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on strategies, approaches and actions necessary for the attainment of the goals in Nigeria. The focus thematic areas for the meeting were education, health, climate change, and agriculture.
Participants, according to a communiqué jointly signed by a set of thematic group leaders and the Executive Director of NNNGO, Mrs. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, were drawn from a broad spectrum of civil society organisations in Nigeria, with representations from the government and the media.
Among general observations, participants noted that there is an imminent danger that Nigeria may not attain the set MDGs by 2015, considering the present pace of MDGs related actions in the country.
On education, they called on the government, CBOs, FBOs, and the organised private sector to engage in strategic advocacies for community participation in education; that policies and curricula should include frameworks on enterprise development; and that government should regulate fees charged by private schools.
On health, all stakeholders were urged to engage in harmonised monitoring and evaluation of programs and projects, with special attention given to financial processes (Due process/quality assurance).
On climate change, government was enjoined to review the existing plans on ocean surge and desert encroachment, making them long-term and feasible, and to strictly control development activities in disaster-prone areas, like the coastal regions of Nigeria, example the Lekki Peninsula of Lagos.
On the issue of agriculture, participants called for good access roads to rural areas to be provided by the state and local government; agricultural activities to be introduced into the NYSC scheme, and policies to be made to be more farmer-friendly, containing incentives, subsidies, etc.
There was a general call for strong partnership and collaboration amongst CSOs, religious bodies, the government, communities, the organised private sector, and other stakeholders, with the Lagos State model cited as an example.
The National Assembly was urged to actively involve CSOs and all stakeholders in the passage of the Procurement Bill.
the CSOs to ensure the immediate passage of the FOI Bill at the National Assembly; while law enforcement agencies (the Police, ICPC, EFCC, etc.) and the judiciary were enjoined to promptly arrest and conclude prosecution of corrupt individuals in Nigeria.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
