• Friday, March 29, 2024
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BusinessDay

59 years: Rethinking Nigeria!

Nigeria

At 59 years, a man should be described as a matured man having the basic necessities of life – food (including water) clothing, shelter, education and healthcare, safe and clean environment. If the man lacks the above basic necessities, questions will be asked as to what might be wrong with the man.

The man is our dear country Nigeria! At 59, over 100 million brethren are classified as extremely poor and unable to afford the basic needs of life. What might be the cause?

Depending on who you ask, many answers emerge – poor leadership, corruption, tribalism, insecurity, weak management of the economy and structure of the country, just to mention but a few! The problem is not really with listing the possible causes, the main problem is our inability to learn from our mistakes and plan better for today and tomorrow.

While the federal government have from time to time formulated and launched economic development plans such as Vision 2010, NEEDS and presently the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) or the Next Level Plan, there seems to be no proper thinking and plan in our states and local governments. Most of the limited development projects are ad-hoc with no proper assessment and link to the medium- and long-term plans of the states. Except the very few appointees of the government, majority of the citizens are completely ignorant of state/local government policies and programmes.

With a population growth rate of about 2.7 percent that will result into about 400 million Nigerians in 2050, a key question for our governors is what plans they have for the youths of their states particularly their human capital development. Visiting our state capitals and interacting with government officials and youths reveals the precarious situation we have and the time-bomb we are sitting on.

The situation is dire and sad. It is a story of failure! Failure of governance and leadership of our states amidst abundant human and natural resources. The youths crave for direction, opportunities and freedoms through the provision of effective and functional educational system! As such direction, opportunities and freedoms are presently not provided or inadequate, a sub-culture of frustration and violence is rapidly emerging which will do no one any good.

What is needed is an education system that can be described and developed from the concept of concerted cultivation and development. This approach will give direction and focus, imbue confidence and trust, create a sense of ownership and belonging to our children and youths

A key cause of the sad situation is our present approach to human capital/skills development which can be described as a process of “accomplishment of natural growth” with little or no strategic plan, vision and guidance. It is similar to Jamaica’s then education system to which William M. MacMillian described as “narrow and insecure” in his work “Warning from the West Indies.”

He warned that the education system in Jamaica was a major contributory factor to worsening inequality, poverty, unemployment and social divisions. He beckoned on the government to act urgently to avoid social crisis and violence. Remarkably as he warned, wide spread violence and social unrest ravaged the Caribbean with many killed and injured a year after his book was published.

While William M. MacMillian has not published the Nigerian version of his book, it is clear that his warnings are all over Nigeria with pervasive unemployment and insecurity across the country. To avoid escalation of the crisis, I deeply beckon and implore our governors to act now!

What is needed is an education system that can be described and developed from the concept of concerted cultivation and development. This approach will give direction and focus, imbue confidence and trust, create a sense of ownership and belonging to our children and youths. Failure to do this is an inevitable invitation and preparation for the exponential escalation of social crisis possibly higher than Boko Haram and other violent groups.

Adopting and effectively executing the concept of concerted cultivation and development is the only way our exponentially increasing population can be turned into assets of sustainable development and growth. It is the fulcrum upon which any kind of development can be meaningful and sustainable but which is sadly attended with levity.

For people to be employed, they have to be properly educated and skilled especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) that Nigeria desperately needs. Creating a high level of human capital and skill development in Nigeria does not start and end with building new class rooms or promotion of teachers as done in some states. Either is part of it but a very little or insignificant part of what is needed.

It will require a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the kind of Nigeria we want in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 years. This will help in understanding the kind of skills required in the short, medium and long term. Expectedly, this will require a robust involvement of all the relevant stakeholders to carry out a comprehensive re-examination and re-packaging of the curriculum and value system from nursery to university. It will also need effective training of competent teachers and then their continuous and rigorous supervision and re-training to ensure that they are meeting agreed expectations and targets. To achieve the above will require deep thinking and foresight that expectedly should come from a strategic think-tank and cabinet.

Your Excellences, I passionately implore you to deeply reflect on level of underdevelopment (especially human capital/skill development) of your states so that you can appreciate the enormity of the development and governance expectations we have of you.

Given the enormity of problems and consequences of no action, I profoundly implore our excellences to declare a state of emergency and allocate at least 30 percent of the state budgets to the education sector even though UNESCO recommends 26 percent for Nigeria. It will be the most assured way to lift over 100 million Nigerians out of poverty and create a new Nigeria!

FRANKLIN NGWU

Dr. Ngwu is a senior lecturer in strategy, finance and risk management, Lagos Business School and a member, expert network, World Economic Forum.