Stakeholders on Thursday said the absence of strong political will to implement policies, as well as lack of strong institutions to drive their implementation may derail efforts by the government to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
The stakeholders who spoke at a virtual meeting to articulate plans for lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, also identified the absence of ‘inclusiveness’ in government policies as a critical factor that may continue to worsen the trust deficits between the government and citizens, with the likelihood of discouraging investors.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in September, last year, inaugurated a Committee to produce plans for lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
Part of the committee’s mandate is to oversee governance structure comprising the Central Working Group and 26 Technical Working Groups for the important national assignment.
“I expect that the Steering Committee will oversee the execution of key deliverables, including recommending measures to ensure the continuous implementation of the Plans even after the expiration of the tenure of successive administrations – including legislation, if required.”
At the virtual meeting organized by the Presidential Advisory Committee, the economic experts observed that agricultural production has consistently fallen in the past few years, arising from worsening insecurity, leakages in government spending for the sector and poor power infrastructure
For them, these factors are likely to create impediments to the attainment of the plans to lift 100million Nigerians out of poverty, unless there is a political will to tackle the issues.
Agriculture which accounts for over 80% of rural employment had suffered setbacks on account of insecurity, natural disaster and traditional methods which limits outputs
The experts while reiterating that lack ‘inclusiveness’ in government policies remains a critical factor that may continue to worsen the trust deficits between the government and citizens, noted that it also has “likelihood of discouraging investors”
President of the Nigeria Agricultural Business Group, Sani Dangote, while faulting the recent border closure, sees “policy Summersault and inconsistencies” in government policies as a major impediment to attaining the objective of lifting 100million Nigerians out of poverty.
Dangote also faulted the federal government’s inability to tackle the crises at the nation’s ports system, which he says have consistently encouraged “imports, rather than exports”
He noted that the government has not displayed enough political will and commitments to addressing the crises in the agricultural sector, especially the issues of insecurity, water infrastructure and agricultural inputs
For him, “Less than 10% of the dams that we have in Nigeria has been put to use by the government. The ports system has become containerised and is only favourable for imports.
” The federal government must be ready to hold the MDAs accountable and apply maximum sanctions were necessary if they are found wanting”
Manza Maigari blamed “poor quality control and lack of standardization” for the poor showing of Nigeria’s export produce
Maigari queried the non-listing of Nigeria in GLOBALGAP, a global body that aims at protecting consumers confidence in food safety by developing good agricultural practices which must be adopted by nations.
“We are not surprised that agricultural exports from Nigeria is constantly rejected and how can you lift people out of poverty, if your products are not competitive enough for global patronage?”
They called for the strengthening of relevant institutions, to block leakages “because, in the end, whatever policies that are developed, has to be implemented and the implementations have to be done by these institutions.
“So, a lot must go into thinking and focusing on improving the performance of these institutions.”
They also urged the federal government to avoid policy Summersault,
“Here, we want the government to look at legislation, so that changing policies will not be so easy, until a much greater consensus of the judiciary. This will help send the right signals to the private sector.”
On the Ease of Doing Business, the experts believe that government “should not only concentrate on making business environment easier for foreigners but also for domestic businesses, because, they are more important for the economy.”
Ahmad Rabiu, while also speaking, described agriculture, as key to lifting Nigerians out of poverty.
He also faulted what he described as “use of intimidation and harassment” by some MDAs to extract revenue from the private sector operators.
“The agencies must not be allowed to go outside the provisions in the Acts that established them because they want to raise revenue for the government. Whenever this happens, the company must be allowed to seek redress through the court system and judgement must be respected and implemented,” he said.
In regulating business activities, Rabiu noted that such regulations must conform with international best practices and set standards
Sale Rabo, President of the Federation of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria, FTAN, urged stronger collaboration between government and the organized private sector
In his contribution, Timothy Olawale of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association NECA said the private sector can provide a strong training platform for government officials as part of efforts to strengthen implementation of government programs.
Iyabo Masha had in her presentation, identified stable microeconomic environment, inflation and price stability, as well as interest rates and exchange rate stability as crucial if the government must lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
