Tag: Development

Mr Dipo Famakinwa is the Director-General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission. In this interview with BISI OLADELE and TAYO JOHNSON,  the development expert speaks on the evolution, structure  priorities  and prospects of the commission. 

WHAT is the objective of the DAWN Commission?

The DAWN refers to the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission. I had been in the private sector for 20 years before I started getting involved in development issues. And, primarily, I am concerned about the development of Western Nigeria. my development work led me to believe that Western part of Nigeria has very limitless capability for development. I think it is in the process of getting engaged in proving that reality that I got involved with the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) which is the Yoruba group that comprises individuals, professionals, politicians, technocrats from all walks of life with the primary concern for the development of the Yoruba race. That concern led us to start looking for a frame work whereby the Yoruba people who are more than 50 million worldwide can develop at their own pace. While more than 40 million are living in Nigeria, the rest in other parts of the world, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America. We feel that we need to start harnessing the limitless capability, talents of these people for development. ARG pushed me forward to begin to work along the line of finding the methodology for integrating the states in region, especially integrating their development plans, development programs and finding the mechanism for them to work together, and it is that activity that led us to the preparation of the document that is now called DAWN which we presented to the people of the region at the City Hall in 2012, and since then it has now become a strategic document that everybody has begun to look forward to for development of western Nigeria. All what we have done as a group or individuals, all the governors in southwest feel that the strategic plan put together in that framework will work for the progress of the region.

ARG seems to be the brain behind DAWN. ARG on its own looks like a group with political affiliation. Is there a way DAWN intends to create a platform for all Yorubas, irrespective of their political lineage, to participate in this group’s effort to develop the region?

ARG played a role in putting this document together. It is actually a document that consolidates what we can describe as the aspiration of the whole Yoruba people. It is not colored in any political or ethnic shade. It is just to fix the language of development, it is just talking about the development of the Yoruba people. It will interest you to know that in 2010, the ARG along with some self determination groups in Yoruba land and the Diaspora, organised what we call the Yoruba Development Summit. at that time the current governors of Osun and Ekiti states were not yet in power, and it was from that summit that the idea of regional integration came in. The aspiration was that whoever came into saddle of governance in the region would have a strategy road map that will speak to the integration of the region, especially integration of our economy and development of infrastructures. So, it was not meant for a political party. It is part of the Yoruba desire to develop their region.

How do you intend to collate ideas across the region to form the basis for accomplishing your agenda?

Let me start by giving you the trajectory of this project. When the desire became very strong, the realization that we need to begin to do thing differently dawned on everybody. The Afenifere Renewal Group then gave the Yoruba Academy Group a remit to do a study of the feasibility of what we are talking about. Is it possible for us to integrate our economy? Is it possible for us to integrate our development plan and our development programs? Is it possible for us to integrate our aspirations as a region? And the Academy did a study of the feasibility of that process and it was proven the group, but we need to put another a dimension into things that can be done and not things that are hanging in the air. A group of Yoruba technocrats and professionals from all walks of life, most of them not politicians but those who have worked in the development sectors, then had a retreat in University of Ibadan and it was from that retreat we came up with DAWN strategic document, and in putting together that strategic document, all views from everywhere, from the street level, policy level, political level, all views were put together to form the basis for preparing the strategic document.

What structure are you developing to achieve your aim?

The governors of the region are very committed in the development of this region and they have expressed this commitment in many areas and dimensions. The first meeting they had regarding the regional integration agenda was held in Ekiti State. All the governors were present except Osun State governor who was represented by his deputy and they expressed a very strong desire and intent to work together as a region to achieve their development plans and program. It was at that meeting they made their desire to do that. Also follow-up meeting held at Abeokuta, Ogun State. It was at that meeting they agreed that they would put together a technical committee, that each state would send members into a technical committee that would then midwife the process of ensuring that we have an institutional structure and foundation for advancing the development agenda. In May 2012, the technical committee was inaugurated by the Ekiti State governor in Ado-Ekiti. The technical committee comprise a representative of each state in the region and it was also at that meeting in Abeokuta that they said that there must be a commission to ensure that this is not just an express desire but to move it from the level of desire to actualization. So when the technical committee met, they highlighted the areas that are needed to be focused on to be able to give life to this agenda. They went round all the states of the region, met all the governors and had different technical strategy sessions, and came out with the final implementation document. It is like a light plan for guiding the activities of the commission. All the governors also expressed their desire to have an institutional framework to ensure that this document doesn’t just go off, they decided to put in place a commission which is now called DAWN. If you recall at the presentation of the DAWN strategic documents at the City Hall in Lagos, the governors announced that they have secured a space at 10th floor Cocoa House for the office of the commission and it is very historical for us as a people, that we can even use Cocoa House for our office is very commendable, and we the Yoruba race should be proud that Cocoa House is still standing and it can still continue to function for a dedicated centre for Yoruba development.

Let’s look at the main focus of DAWN. What areas of development are you focusing on; economic, cultural, political?

In putting together our framework of action, we anchored them on what we call some strategic pillars, and part of what informed the construction of those pillars was the realization that we needed to be very focused. We, therefore, sensed that if we get things right in some areas, we can move development forward in Yoruba land. We have five critical pillars. One of them is economic competitiveness. We want to compete with the rest of the world. We believe that an economy where you have more than 40 million people , bigger than most countries in Africa and Europe, very vibrant, dedicated people who are forward looking to development, we must build a pillar for economic competitiveness that would enable us to continue to compete with the rest of the world. We must go back to agriculture, which is very crucial, not agriculture in the way that it has been done before. We need to look at the critical value chains in agriculture, look at agriculture as business. How do we find the link to do agriculture business like the rest of the world? How do we find the funding? How do we find the finance? How do we build the institutional and infrastructural support for agriculture? We are looking at Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. The idea is that we must build an economy that employs our people. We must build an economy where our young ones can explore their talents. For instance, youths all over the world are doing fantastic things in ICT, we need to look at ways we can leverage ICT, develop our economy and employ our people. We need to look for means to reform our commerce and trading system and critically attain revenue dignity, because we believe as a people it is an insult for us to continue to go to Abuja every month to go and be asking for allocation. How do we generate our own revenue?