Every day we keep hoping and praying that things would get better in Nigeria. While government keeps affirming to citizens that things have improved with a pledge that they will continue to get better, many Nigerians keep telling the government that they are yet to feel the impact of the acclaimed improvement. Like the Hausa adage in which the proverbial dog said it was yet to see something palatable on the ground in its response to those who claimed celebration was ongoing in its house, many Nigerians believe that the hard times are only getter harder and tougher.
Could the Nigerian socio-economic story that has refused to change be a consequence of the divine assertion mentioned in the Holy Book of Islam? Allah (SWT) states in Qur’an 13:11 “…Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls) …” How could things get better when aberrations, instead of ideals, have become the order of the day? Many of the things that are supposed to be exceptional circumstances in our day-to-day activities have rather become the norm.
Whether in matters of religion, politics, education or economy, the story is the same in all aspects of our daily life. The old glory of decency, honesty, firmness, accountability, modesty and fair dealing that hitherto characterized the life of Nigerians have virtually been substituted with self-centeredness, corruption, irresponsibility, betrayal and injustice. Excellence is being sacrificed on the altar of nepotism, favouritism, and financial inducement.
Nonetheless, the government may seem to have come to terms with the feelings of Nigerians when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently told state governors that they should stop constructing unnecessary yet expensive flyovers in low vehicular traffic areas; urging them to instead re-direct such critical funds to rural networks and citizens’ welfare. President Tinubu’s comments could have been informed by the disproportionate impact of state governments within the context of allocations, which they have continued to receive from the federation account especially in the past three years.
These remarks and criticism of the trend of constructing flyovers came from President Tinubu while hosting a delegation of traditional rulers from Oyo state led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja. Tinubu urged the traditional rulers to help convey this particular message directly to their state governors. Unless a royal father is ready to vacate his palace or go on exile, I doubt if any of them will carry this message from the presidential villa across hundreds of kilometers down to Oyo state and deliver it to Governor Makinde. They are not likely to cross River Niger with it. The royal fathers stand a better chance to convey this kind of unfavourable message to state governors only after their longstanding appeal or recognition by the Nigerian Constitution is granted.
Speaking further to the royal fathers on this matter, President Tinubu emphasized that, as a consequence of the removal of petrol subsidy, states now receive four to five times more than what hitherto came to them monthly from the Federation Allocation Account Committee (FAAC); adding that governors have no excuse for poor performance since none of them “is borrowing to pay salaries.”
A plausible reason that could explain why some of the projects undertaken by some state governments look like ‘square pegs in round holes’ is probably the absence of a strategic development plans (SDPs) in nearly all states of the federation. This writer is not aware if the federal government also has a national development plan. Where a state does not have a SDP over a defined period of time, the governor is likely to rely merely on the advice of his close political associates and aides in deciding what to do in terms of projects for his people even though such may not be consistent with the expectations of the majority of the electorate who genuinely gave the governor their votes and the mandate to give them good governance.
A development plan is one strategic instrument of governance that successive governments in Nigeria at all levels in over two decades have failed to give the attention it deserves; forgetting all the national and regional gains of past development agendas from the 1970s through 2007 when late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua fashioned out an economic transformation blueprint called Vision 2020; the last on the list of Nigeria’s past development initiatives. For readers who desire to refresh their memories on this subject matter, they could browse a previous article published on this page in the column’s edition of December 25, 2015 which gave a synopsis of all the country’s past national development agendas.
In the first two decades after independence from British colonial authorities, Nigeria was a good place to stay in spite of the country’s under-development. Good governance, exemplary leadership, a vibrant agricultural sector, access to quality education, job opportunities, patriotism, national cohesion and peace are some fond memories of the good old days of Nigeria. This set of prosperities couldn’t have happened or thrived without proper planning and implementation of government policies.
SDPs identify, in order of priority, a national or state critical needs. It outlines what needs to be done within what period and by whom with a view to achieving common national or state objectives. With a well-thought-out SDP that is supported by strict adherence to implementation guidelines, state governments have better chances of overcoming their under-development challenges in a comparatively shorter period of time. With a political will committed to executing an all-inclusive SDP, states have the potential to adequately mobilize their resources to break away from failures of the past, and thereafter, lay a solid foundation for achieving sustainable poverty reduction, employment generation, food security, wealth creation, economic stability, and value re-orientation.
The need for states to have SDPs finds justification in the reality that the one-year lifespan of the annual budget is practically inadequate to implement policies and reform agendas because critical areas such as infrastructure most often require more than a year to execute, expand, reform or revive. It equally requires longer time to bring budget deficits to an acceptable level of stability. May Allah (SWT) grant our executive leaders the knowledge, wisdom, and guidance needed to provide their respective states with SDPs, Amin.
