BEVERLY HILLS, August 03, (THEWILL) – Erstwhile president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Wednesday stated that Nigeria is not bereft of policies that can engender development in the country, pointing out that there are three factors which are at the bane of the country’s development.
Obasanjo stated this in Lagos at the launch of a book entitled, ‘Making Africa Work’ co-authored by him, Greg Mills, Director of Brenthurst Foundation; Jeffrey Herbst, President of NEWSEUM and Dickie Davis, a retired major general.
He argued that the real problem bedevilling Nigeria and the African continent is not the shortage of policies and economic roadmaps, but the problems of Leadership, Continuity and Finance.
The former president explained further that leadership and continuity remained a challenge to Nigeria’s -and indeed Africa’s – progress, saying the leadership must define its priorities properly.
His words, “We are not short of policies; In fact, go to any government office or some international organisations, you’d find hundreds of policies and recommendations.
“So what is the problem? I’d say three major things and if you like the three major problems confluence in one: Leadership, Continuity, and Finance.
“Let me give specific example here in Nigeria. We came up with something we called NEEDS – National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy; and we had national, state and local.
“The idea is that we will have what will relief us in every aspect – political, social, infrastructural etc. And each state will have something they can buy and bite into. When we were planning, we went round the country and we bring traditional rulers, private sector, everybody. Even, we brought in the (then) incoming administration – we consulted with them.
“And we had had the first phase of NEEDS which was supposed to be a continuation (but) the administration that succeeded our administration which campaigned on the basis of continuity came and discontinued.”
“So, (the problems are) leadership, continuity and finance,” Obasanjo noted, adding that the solution is for “leadership to understand, to do the right reform…to show integrity and to make the right choices…and, of course, continuity.”
