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Expert calls for holistic implementation of sustainable development strategies

By Iyabo Lawal
27 February 2020   |   3:35 am
Professor of Development Studies, Kayode Oyesiku said Nigeria’s march into the future was hinged on a holistic implementation of sustainable development strategies.

[FILES] Oyesiku, a Professor of Development Studies, said Nigeria’s march into the future was hinged on a holistic implementation of sustainable development strategies. Photo; UPWORK

Professor of Development Studies, Kayode Oyesiku said Nigeria’s march into the future was hinged on a holistic implementation of sustainable development strategies.

Oyesiku in a paper titled, “Sustainable development and Nigeria’s march to the future” at the 2nd Babcock University public affairs forum said one of the strategies is the wholesome implementation of agricultural policies that would aid mechanised agriculture.

The former vice-chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education also said the government must build infrastructures, rehabilitate health institutions and revive vocational and technical education to aid sustainable development in the country.

He said although the sustainable development goals’ implementation was still sketchy, there was a need to entrench some of these goals that would guide Nigeria’s development into the psyche of people.

“If we then understand those goals and what they stand for, we would then also support the policymakers, government, lawmakers in the state assemblies and so on to ensure that they inject these ideas into various policies,” he noted.

Oyesiku noted that though the economic growth recovery programme that started four years wasn’t much of a success, he was hopeful that much would be achieved now that the government has brought up the sustainable development goals as the rolling development strategy for the country.

“They have started doing that and they have brought some eggheads together to give them a road map on how to achieve this. Let us give them about two years and see how it goes. I am an unrepentant optimist who believes that it would work out fine.

He also disclosed that Nigeria would be among countries that would meet in New York for about two weeks in July this year to bring up the review of the achievement so far, of the SDGs and identify the challenges so that they can get best practices across the world in respect of how to resolve some thorny issues.

Meanwhile, immediate past president, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Prof Bola Ajibola has called for the setting up of a separate ministry in charge of policy implementation.

Ajibola said his call was informed by the absence of body saddled with the responsibility of implementing recommendations, policies formulations and communiqué arising from various conferences, workshops, and annual events in the academic community, public institutions, professional bodies, and private sector institutions.

He said the academia, government agencies, ministries and professional bodies make recommendations, formulate policies, and issue communiqué, but there was always a big disconnect between policy formulation and implementation.

The professor of economics said the absence of a central body that would implement and harness recommendations and benefits of these conferences, workshops, seminars and other discourse like NESG, where professionals, government agencies and officials come together to rub minds with the academia and professional bodies was hampering the country’s development.

“We need to saddle a particular institution with that responsibility, which is why we are recommending the establishment of a ministry of policy implementation under the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

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