A Review of Sub-National Development Planning in Nigeria: The Cross River State Experience (1999-2010 (original) (raw)
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J Soc Sci, 2009
Planning is one of the basic principles of administration and about the most critical of its functions since it permeates all others. Development planning therefore becomes a necessary tool used by many governments and organizations to set their visions, missions, goals, and effective means of realizing development through effective direction and control. Development planning has been a consistent phenomenon in Nigerian administration since 1946. Experts, (e.g. Obikeze and Obi 2004; Okojie 2002) however, argue that it has not been as successful as expected. Truly, Nigeria remains an underdeveloped nation occupying a low position among the poorest countries of the world in spite of her tremendous natural and human resources endowment. This points to a distorted planning regime and implies two things: either the correct plan had not always been made or correct plans made were not effectively implemented. Both options seem to be true of Nigeria. As Obikeze and Obi (2004:) noted, "a review of the various plan (sic) clearly shows that, the country is still very far from where it was envisaged it will be today. This is simply as a result of either faulty
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN NIGERIAN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: NIGERIA STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The recent Nigerian development plan is the perspective plan called the National Vision 20:2020 which is designed as the most dependable tool for national growth and advancement of Nigeria. A country's ability to rapidly grow, largely depends on the development plan it has adopted; the strategy for implementing the development plan; and the timely evaluation of the strategy for re-strategizing for re-implementation process and sustainable impactful return from the set objectives in the interest of the citizens of the country. Nigeria for the past 67 years has formulated different types of plan to date. Some of the plans include fixed term plan, medium term plan, rolling plan, policy plan, and perspective plan. Considering the series of plans that have been implemented and the one currently running, Nigeria still faces a problem of steering the attainment of the set forecast and objectives of the development plan in different states in Nigeria. This paper adopts secondary sources of information to discuss the following: The Nigeria development plan in the past, major limitations of the past developmental plan, today's strategic development plan, strategic action for achieving strategic thinking; and key approaches to achieve the best results from strategic thinking.
National Development Planning in Nigeria: An Endless Search for Appropriate Development Strategy
Since independence, Nigeria has embarked on series of National Development plans and visions in her endless efforts to search for appropriate development strategy. It is worrisome that these development plans and visions have failed to achieve their expected objectives. This is evident from widespread poverty, dilapidated infrastructure, massive unemployment, high incidence of diseases and excessive debt burden among others. Therefore this study aims to examine critically various development plans in Nigeria and identify those problems that hinder successful implementation of development plans in Nigeria. The study relied on secondary data, as its source of information. Based on the findings that development plans have been accepted as a suitable strategy to address development challenges in Nigeria, this study concludes that the efficacy of our national development plans would be enhanced and serve as a viable instrument of sustainable development if the problems that confront the National Development plans are properly addressed.
Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999 with the enthusiasm to chat new political and socioeconomic dispensation. The introduction of National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) as a medium term planning strategy was a blueprint for new order. It contains all the envisaged policies and programmes of the federal government for the period 2003-2007 and far beyond, and serves as the fountain of the much-touted Obasanjo’s reforms. NEEDS is not only a macro-economic plan document, but also a comprehensive vision, goals and principles of a new Nigeria that would be made possible through four key policies of wealth creation, employment generation, poverty eradication and value reorientation. This paper is a reflection on NEEDS. Using historical and content analysis methods, the paper explores common indices of development planning in the country. It reveals that NEEDS is not different from previous development plans in Nigeria, despite the claims to the contrary. While claiming to be a home-grown plan, it is very much in line with the wishes of the international agents of developed capitalist economies; there is lack of commitment of the leadership in pursing plan objectives; corruption is still rife and priority in selecting plan projects is still poor. The paper recommends among others, the need for committed leadership, continuity with NEEDS II document, drawing adequate scale of preference in choosing policies and programmes, and determined efforts to break from the crutches of neo imperialist and neo colonial tendencies of the developed countries.
Economic Development Management in Nigeria: Dynamics, Dialectics and Outcomes
Economic development is a process whereby the real per capita income of a country is increased and sustained over a long , period of time subject to some caveats. First, this process is subject to the stipulations that the number below the absolute poverty line does not increase and that the distribution of income does not become more unequal (Meier, 1976 and Aboyade, 1976). Second, such a process must experience some elements of modernisation such as enhanced productivity, social and economic equalisation; improved knowledge, attitudes and institutions; and rationally coordinated policy measures that are capable of removing all obstacles to socio-economic transformation (Abciyade, 1976; Obadart, 1998; Ohiorhenuan, 2000). The World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995 and its follow-up in June 2000 added yet another caveat which is to popularise the human dimension of the issue. With this caveat, human beings are placed at the core of any meaningful economic development. They are the means and ends of economic development. As clearly evident in Nigeria's development documents, the primary goal of economic development policies has been geared towards the actualisation of a solid base for long-term economic and social transformation of the country with a view to establishing peace, progress and prosperity. The realisation of this laudable objective informed the adoption of several economic policies and strategies . in the country. Since dependence, economic development policies have been very dynamic. Between 1960 and 1985, government thought that a fixed medium-term National Development Plan framework would transform Nigeria into the type of society it envisaged. The economic crisis of the early 1980s clearly showed the futility of this approach in the Nigerian context. This, therefore, led to the adoption of a comprehensive Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) which emphasised a policy-based economic management strategy (1986 - 1990). After more than five years of implementing SAP, it became obvious that its performance was mixed and tilted towards non-accomplishment of its major objectives. The adoption of a three-tier planning system since 1990, a framework that comprises a perspective plan, a three-year rolling plan and an annual budget, also left much to be desired in terms of achieving its goals.
Assessing Development Plans in Nigeria
The socio-economic development of any society is conspicuously linked to development planning embarked upon by the government. This situation is peculiar to all developed societies and underdeveloped society to which Nigeria belongs. Nigeria has over the years embarked on various national and rolling development plans. In place, have been four national development plans and rolling plans including development policies such as Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), Vision 2010, National Economic Empowerment Development Strategies (NEEDS) and currently Vision 2020. These programmes were all initiated to facilitate economic, social, political and technological growth all geared towards improving the living conditions of Nigerians.
Attainment of Vision 20:2020 Redesign of Nigeria’s Future: A Critical Appraisal
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Development planning has been the main strategy used by many countries of the world to set their visions, missions, goals and effective means of realizing development. In Nigeria, the application of development planning has been a consistent phenomenon since 1946 and resources have been mobilized to ensure a sustainable economic growth and development using the instrumentality of national development plan framework. The study aims at appraising the extent of attainment of the Nigeria's Vision 20:2020 as a developmental framework to redesign the country's future against the backdrop of historical antecedents of policy reversals, summersaults and failures in development drives. The past National development plans covering 1960 to 2019 were analyzed. Further, the paper discussed the challenges that will likely mar the successful attainment of Nigeria's vision 20:2020. Historical approaches were not only used but the relevant data were generated and analyzed from government official documents, publications, author's practical experiences and personal interviews. It was recommended that human capital development must be adequately developed, existing science and technologies to be properly funded, policy framework to be consistent, issue of corruption check-matted, economy diversified into agriculture and non-oil-driven economies while only leaders with credibility, integrity and commitment to serve should be elected to public offices in the interest of good governance.
Institutionalizing Development Planning in Nigeria: Context, Prospects and Policy Challenges
Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 2014
Sustainable economic growth and development is strongly linked to defining developmental needs and deploying resources towards solving same using the instrumentality of national development plans framework especially in a developing economy such ours that is additionally operating a federal fiscal system. The main objective of the research is to review previous planning experience of Nigeria relative to other developing countries and define key initiatives required for institutionalizing development planning model in Nigeria. In the process, five key benefits of planning have been identified; aligning sectoral needs with resource availability, implementing a mutually supporting sectoral development strategy, value for money in public expenditure spent, result based programme budgeting and strengthened fiscal federalism. Pursuant to the need for Nigeria to achieve the goals and objectives encapsulated in the Vision 20:2020 Economic Transformation Blueprint, specific legal, institutional and policy initiatives are required. However, strong and committed political leadership, sustained plan funding and development of a results based national monitoring and evaluation framework are required for a successful reverting to national development planning framework after a 27 years break.
Review of African Political Economy, 2014
This paper locates the development planning era within the discourse on developmental statehood, with reference to Nigeria. It considers the state’s use of development planning to facilitate resource transfers between economic sectors for the purpose of socio-economic transformation. The paper draws on the analytical framework of the enhanced developmental state paradigm (EDSP) that derives from the empirical experiences of East Asian developmental states and classical development economic concepts. It finds that although the development planning era was very significant for attempts at structural change, attendant processes and outcomes were undermined by changes in intellectual and policy debates on global development.
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2013
It is generally agreed that the existence of government in an economy is to promote societal welfare. In order to properly organize and manage the use of resources to achieve desired goals and objectives, governments normally initiate economic frameworks, blueprints, roadmaps or plans which guide and coordinate economic activities within the economy. Thus, between 1960 to date, Nigeria has initiated several plans, frameworks, policies and strategies which, though well intended, have not significantly met the aspirations of her citizens. Presently, the desire of the country is to be among the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020. The major concern of this paper is that since the present distortions in the Nigerian economy which the Vision 20:2020 seeks to address do not exist in historical vacuum, a re-assessment of the forces that held back Nigeria in the past is essential. Thus the paper attempts an evaluation of the various distortions that have impeded the efficacy of Nigeria"s previous development strategies. Ensuing, we take a review of the various (major) economic strategies designed and adopted in the country till date. The paper identifies instability of the roadmaps-a fallout of the spirit to always do something new, frequent change of operators of the roadmap, reducing development to politics, poor implementation, non-implementation or outright sabotage, lack of good leadership, among others, as some of the factors that have kept us dancing in a vicious cycle of backwardness. In view of these, we articulate the challenges and prospects of achieving the Vision 20:2020.