LAPIN Reform

GETTING THINGS DONE: Rethinking policies and strategies in Nigeria.

Nigeria has continuously underperformed on several development indicators despite its abundance of human and natural resources. Notwithstanding being the largest economy in Africa with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $514.05 billion (world bank report 2021), Nigeria is ranked 134th in GDP per capita globally. This result is a significant drop from the 1960s when Nigeria was Africa’s great hope. It has become the world's poverty capital in the intervening years, with 42.6 per cent (or 95.1 million people) projected to be living in extreme poverty by the end of 2022 (‘A Better Future for All Nigerians: 2022 Nigeria Poverty Assessment’).

Many of the challenges facing the country are existential. They manifest as corruption, ethnoreligious identity crises, leadership and governance deficiencies, insecurity, and inadequate human and financial capital to implement public policies and strategies, among many others. Most of these challenges trigger effects that permeate the fabric of Nigeria’s society. Currently, the country is in a vortex where its social, economic, demographic, and political difficulties continually reinforce each other resulting in a complex interconnectedness of ostensibly unending distresses.

Nigeria needs strong and realistic policies that can be seamlessly implemented together with strategies for nation-building and national development. Weak policies are inefficient and ineffective at piloting public affairs, maintaining peace and security and achieving economic growth. While weak policies and strategies do not necessarily lead to a fragile state, the latter is characterized by the former. Therefore, it is not surprising that Nigeria is currently ranked high (at 16th out of 179 countries) on the 2022 Fragile States Index. This challenge manifests as violent conflicts in every region of the country. Nigeria’s military is on active deployment in 35 out of 36 states in Nigeria. (Financial Times,2021).

It is a truism that the policies and strategies which are the driver of delivering public good, have become an increasingly inefficient system, ostensibly due to poor implementation. Nigerians are becoming despondent from these perennial economic and political challenges as research has shown that about 60 per cent of Nigerians do not like how democracy works in their country, while 41 per cent believe that no matter who won elections, things would not change much. Furthermore, 72 per cent of Nigerians believe that politicians are corrupt and only 54 per cent believe that ordinary Nigerians can make a difference in the anti-corruption fight (Tamir 2019). A 2018 Afro barometer study showed that one in three Nigerians have considered emigration, primarily for economic reasons. A similar study showed that most Nigerians (63 per cent) believe the country is “going in the wrong direction.” Such growing despair is damaging to efforts in triggering economic development in the country.

Despite the many challenges, Nigeria is not wrecked yet. The country has immense human and natural resources that can be harnessed for remarkable economic growth and development. The challenge is drafting, implementing and executing success/solution-centric policies and strategies that will unlock the nation’s economic potential.

Here are 10 prerequisites for success-centric policies and strategies
• Ability to achieve its goals or objectives
• Enduring positive social impact
• Rigour in implementation
• Sustainability of the results
• Enduring economic impact
• Ability to survive changes in government
• Limited negative consequences
• Adaptable to various circumstances
• Ability to address salient issues
• Delivery of desired outcomes

It is imperative to note that various Nigerian governments have implemented different policies and strategies in an effort to address myriad challenges. Many of these initiatives are precedents from other countries in the quest to plug these societal gaps. While there is a case to be made for precedents in drafting policies and strategies, putting into perspective the socio-political and economic situation of Nigeria should be at the centre of the table.

In getting things done, there is a need to address the root causes of poor policy and strategy delivery such as the erosion of public service values, poor performance management, flawed incentive scheme, lack of systematic capacity building, weak accountability and governance systems, inadequate work tools and environment, as well as poor stakeholders’ engagement, redundant political will, privation of elite consensus and inadequate funding of policy process.

Hence, rethinking and analyzing the effectiveness of frameworks charged with the responsibility of policies and strategy delivery is paramount in getting things done.

Should the idea of FG establishing New Nutrition Department in various ministries make the list of agendas for 2023 National budget?

Kindly share your thoughts.

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New Nutrition Depts In Several Ministries, Likely To Feature In 2023 Budget – Osinbajo   Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, says nutrition specific budget estimates are likely to be included in the 2023 Appropriation Bill even as efforts by the Federal Government to tackle malnutrition and its attendant challenges are beginning to take shape. Prof. Osinbajo was speaking Thursday at a...

TETFund WORKFORCE UPSKILLING & ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES Facilitated by Lapin Reform in collaboration with Strategy Code