Daily Independent
(Lagos)
Cosmas Attayi-Elaigu
6 October 2008
President Umar Yar'Adua's vision for a better Nigeria is encapsulated in his seven-point agenda.
Top on that agenda is the desire to improve the energy sector of the economy through a general overhaul that will ensure a more efficient management of the country's oil and gas resources.
The government also seeks to improve the electricity sub-sector since epileptic power supply is a main obstruction to the nation's growth.
Also in the president's vision is the need for a secure Nigeria that will guarantee the safety of life, property and investment.
With insecurity worsening in the Niger Delta region, coupled with daily cases of armed robbery, assassinations and thuggery, analysts see this agenda as crucial to the country.
For many, the recent creation of a Ministry to tackle the issues of the Niger Delta is a right step in the right direction.
The fourth challenge of the government is the desire to increase the wealth of the country, which currently is more than 70 per cent dependent on petroleum products.
Another focal strand of the agenda is education, where government plans to turn things around to reverse the current sliding standards of teaching and learning.
Observers agree on the need for a special focus on this sector as it is getting worse in spite of liberalisation in the ownership and management of education.
They say it is still afflicted with the dearth of competent and well remunerated teachers, while confusion reigns over early education and funding.
The administration also hopes to work toward a more reliable transport sector.
Here, government has continued to harp on plans to revive the rail system and dredge some rivers to lessen the pressure on roads.
It is also interested in land reforms that will reverse the regime of arbitrariness in the acquisition and ownership of land in the country.
Currently, land ownership is vested in the hands of government.
To prepare grounds for meeting the agenda, Dr Mansur Ahmed, the Director-General, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), said recently that government would soon launch the harmonised National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). NEEDS has been transformed into the National Development Plan.
According to him, four development plans will be implemented between now and 2020.
The first will be from 2008-2011, which will fuse the harmonised NEEDS II and the seven-point agenda, while the second, from 2011-2015, is designed to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Ahmed said that the period between 2015 and 2020 would be used to raise the growth level of the economy.
He told journalists that the 14th edition of the NESG summit, scheduled for October with "The Race to 2020: The Realities, The Possibilities" as the theme, would focus on the harmonisation.
With many of such laudable visions left to rot on government shelves, analysts wonder if the Yar'Adua vision will be any different.
One such dream was the Vision 2010 planned in the late 1990s by the later military leader, Gen. Sani Abacha.
With such an experience, skeptics take a hard look at Vision 20:2020 which aims at making Nigeria one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020.
One such skeptic is Mr. Emma Ezeazu, the Executive Director, Centre for the Development of Civil Society and the Secretary General for Alliance for Credible Elections.
He told newsmen in Abuja recently that the success of the seven-point agenda and the ambition to transform the country into one of the 20 leading economies by 2020 depended on many factors.
"I believe that with the determination of government, much can be done in that direction. But for now, there is no sign of efforts toward any monumental change.
"Such an ambition requires the mobilisation of the entire society, including the private sector, toward commitment and high productivity," he said.
Ezeazu argued that the collapse of the country's industrial sector and the recent findings from the National Assembly probes indicating large-scale corruption by government officials and contractors are bad signs.
"The momentum for the desired economic turnaround is not just there. The revelation about corruption in the country serves as a disincentive to both local and foreign investors," he said.
He said that only disciplined institutions could assist in creating an environment for positive change.
"What we need now are credible institutions that can implement government programmes over a period of time."
According to him, there are still corrupt tendencies in key institutions such as the Customs Service, the Police and even the Judiciary.
"A lot can be achieved if government commits itself to the productive sector.
"The government is the key regulator in the political and economic life of the country. If it wants to move Nigeria forward, it can only do so by total commitment and transparency," he said.
Similarly, Mr. Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani, the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre and Publicity Secretary of the Transition Monitoring Group, said that it would "require a lot of guts" to attain the 20:2020 goal.
"Anywhere in the world where rapid and economic and social growth took place, the leaders created a conducive environment.
"They worked against corruption and were dedicated to mobilising people via openness, transparency and accountability.
"Our lawmakers concentrate on appropriation bills ahead of legislation that can institutionalise systems that can enhance the development of democracy, good governance and improved living standards.
"Although we now have the Fiscal Responsibility, Public Procurement, EFCC and the ICPC Acts in place, there is the need to prosecute all suspects linked with any misdemeanour.
"Clearly, democracy and representative governance cannot thrive without the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill," he said.
On its part, a coalition of NGOs under the aegis of the Constitutional Reform Dialogue Mechanism, urged the National Assembly and the Presidency to "institute an open, structured and inclusive platform to forge consensus on the review of the 1999 Constitution.
"It is the first step toward genuine growth of the country," the coalition said recently.
The coalition's Steering Committee comprises the Citizens' Forum for Constitutional Reform, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
Others include the Peoples Constitution Advocacy Group, Gender and Constitutional Reform Network and Joint National Association of People with Disabilities.
Prof. Samuel Egwu, the group's Chairman, argued recently that a genuine review of the constitution could lead to institutional change and bring about structural changes in the economy.
"It will not only transform its economic base by promoting productive, income generating economic activities, but will also ensure improvement in the living conditions of the majority of the population," he said.
According to him, it is only a "true constitution" emanating from the people that can guarantee freedom, peace, social justice, happiness and prosperity.
"A people's constitution inspires the faith that makes peace inevitable and productive work enjoyable. No nation can prosper without that," he said.
Like Egwu, other civil society leaders believe that the administration's agenda can only be realised with the popular participation of the citizenry.
They insist that the anti-corruption, fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability programmes can only make sense if civil society groups working on budget tracking and best practices are allowed space to oversee public projects.
As Yar'Adua strives to attain Vision 20:2020, analysts agree with the civil society groups that efforts toward development must involve the people.
They added that such a vision must also focus on the basic welfare of the people and the scientific advancement of the society.
Cosmas Attayi-Elaigu writes from the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN )
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