Made in Nigeria”, as Aboyade would have perceived it, is a strong and intuitive slogan with a very strong emotional and patriotic appeal. “Made in Nigeria” is a brilliant development strategy worth investing concerted energy in the policy space. It points attention to development imperatives, it is definitely the kind of creative rethinking that Nigeria requires in transforming its development framework.
But then, the question remains: What can we do with this creative initiative outside of a well-calibrated development plan and reform framework that combine policy intelligence, strategic development communication and disciplined implementation dynamics? I see strong structural weakness in existing development planning system apart from the deficit in policy intelligence.
Kenichi Ohmae, the Japanese business strategist, concludes the matter: “What we need today…is not a new theory, concept, or framework, but people who can think strategically.” A national planning system is only as good as the leadership that is willing to get through its complexity through analytics and implementation rigour. What needs to be done is simple: Nigeria needs to inflect the “Made in Nigeria” campaign with the fundamental elements of its development plans. “Made in Nigeria” needs to become the serious slogan around which Nigeria’s development is really ready clean the economic Augean stables of the present and to bring democratic development alive for Nigerians.
Summing up therefore, it is clear to any discerning mind that Nigeria’s predicament is essentially a structural one: In sum, these challenges are entrenched in the weak productive and high consuming structure of the economy. If structural imbalance is the problem, what is the solution? There are of course several perspectives to the solution of Nigeria’s socioeconomic problems. One however stands out as the most fundamental because it goes right to the root of what every progressing nation will do to sustain its drive towards becoming increasingly developmental.
Progressive nations plan. And to fail to plan is to unwittingly plan to fail in development terms. Planning is one word that both captures Professor Aboyade’s economic philosophy and outlines his economic reconstruction dynamics. This reform of the national planning system definitely will be a profound tribute to the memory and unqualified patriotic contribution of Prof. Aboyade’s contribution to the unfolding of an economic renaissance in Nigeria.
Reforming the national planning systems is therefore a first critical strategic policy move to make. This first and most fundamental step in this reform process would be to create a shift from central planning to a mix of strategic planning and scenario planning that creates critical balance between short, medium and long-term planning. Important as a support is future research and contingency planning that strengthens early warning strategic policy intelligence and response capacity. Secondly, the development planning theory underpinning national planning as framework and assumptions must be right otherwise the country, technically, is not planning at all. Thirdly, the role of the state as macro-assumption must be properly defined and operationalised relative to the private sector in their shared responsibility as engines of growth of the economy.
This is not rhetoric. If properly conceptualised, its implications for public service institutional functionality, the framework for public private partnerships as well as service delivery praxis would be very easy to derive. Otherwise, the operating business model of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) will be dysfunctional, confused as presently is and counter-productive. Four, the inter-governmental framework for national planning as presently practiced is anything but federalism. There is in place simply, a federal government department which interact with state governments through the National Economic Council (NEC) and cannot be properly called a national planning commission.
Professor Aboyade proposed a new framework for planning that promises high impact and effect on sustainable development. In his words: “The inevitable framework for this is a new concept of planning that embraces the whole economy and is fitted to a long-term perspective of social change. This must call for a new form of planning organization for better social communication. Planning in … Nigeria must be a synthesis of ‘planning for policy’ and ‘planning for resources’. As Ranis and Fei aptly remarked, ‘such planning can neither afford to close its eyes to the heart of the developmental problem – the need to insure mass participation across the vast landscape of the less developed economy – nor can it afford to proceed exclusively on the basis of intuitive slogans or non-quantifiable and non-testable criteria” (Aboyade 1971: 67).
Professor Aboyade’s position was that for any economic policy to have intended outcomes, three ingredients are necessary. “The first of this tripod base is minimization of the immediate bottlenecks to expansion of output. The second is the necessity to reform strategic economic policies and make them mutually consistent for the requirement of optimum growth. The third lies in the area of social communication and the improvement of economic organization for effective planned development. For good results, it is essential that proper measures are taken simultaneously on all these three fronts” (Aboyade 1971: 64).
Beyond the rhetoric, Nigeria’s future is hinged on how quickly and sustainably she diversifies her economic base. Economic diversification is the antidote to most of the development challenges facing Nigeria today. The weakening Naira, the high and rising youth unemployment, terrorism in the North-East and disruptions of oil production in the Niger Delta are all rooted in the country’s limited economic diversification. There is, therefore, real need to look inward to diversify both economic and fiscal base. Nigeria is superabundantly blessed with natural resources that could form the fulcrum for diversified economic activities. The country is blessed with rich arable land ranging from tropical to temperate and capable of planting virtually all crops. In existence are diverse commercially exploitable mineral resources where the country could lay claim to high comparative advantage. At least 44 minerals have been identified to be available in commercial quantity spread across the country. Nasarawa is christened ‘State of Solid Minerals’ because no less than 20 minerals have been identified to be available in the State in commercial quantity. Also, no less than 11 States reportedly have deposits of limestone. Focus on developing the value chain of commodities for which the country has comparative advantage. This is the sure way to stronger and sustained economic development.
Serious and ingenious thoughts and policies are needed to turn this comparative advantage into competitive advantage. All levels of government should look inward to identify these opportunities and craft strategy to exploit them. This action will ensure all Governments change their behavior of depending on monthly Federation Account allocations to survive. What are the potential alternative sources of fiscal revenues other than the Federation Account? What are the commercially exploitable activities at the Federal and State levels that could be developed? Is it tourism, Nollywood and other forms of entertainment, agribusiness, or agro-processing?
multiple taxation? Given the fiscal revenue stress in the country, public-private partnerships should be explored as a viable alternative strategy for delivering the essential enabling infrastructure that would structurally transform the economy and promote sustainable growth.
Generally, sustained economic growth means increase in national output and national income emanating from rising aggregate demand and aggregate supply or productive capacity. This can only occur with lower interest rates that reduce the cost of borrowing and as such encourage spending and investment, increased disposable income that promotes household consumption, increased government spending, diversified and increased net exports. Others are good quality institutions, human capital development, favourable macroeconomic policy environment, and diversification of the economic base. National and sub-national governments should focus critically examining this general framework in the specific context of the realities on ground with a view to identifying the main sources and ingredients of growth that is capable of ensuring the country produce and consume what it produces in a sustainable way.
We need to deepen the buy Nigeria campaign by deploying the full compliments of strategic development communication tools and skills. The essential message is that, every foreign good we consume creates jobs for foreigners at the expense of our people and transfers wealth to the countries producing the goods. It also contributes to weakening the Naira through increased demand for foreign exchange to purchase these foreign goods. The inverse holds when we buy made in Nigeria goods. To encourage increasingly diversified productive domestic economic base with the attendant job creation, wealth spread, forex inflows and strong Naira, we must patronize goods and services made in Nigeria. From Onitsha to Kaduna, from Lagos to Kano, Nigerians are bubbling with ideas and producing diverse locally made goods of value and quality. Adire, shoes and other leather materials, textiles and fashion designing, automobile assemblage, Nollywood, comedy, and so on. These are goods and services that are unique and can be sold to the world in addition to local consumption. These goods have high potential for value chains development and global integration. At governmental, organizational and individual level, we should provide moral ground and justification for encouraging others, be it fellow Nigerians and foreigners, to buy Made in Nigeria goods. Granted, there are several ongoing campaigns on personal, organizational and government levels to drum support for patronage of local goods and services. But to do this effectively and ensure we achieve the desired objectives, we must live by example, we must walk the talk. We must take the lead and show political will by patronizing made in Nigeria goods. Only then can we have the moral justification to engage in widespread advocacy to encourage others to follow suit.
Leveraging on the competitive federalism of the first republic in Nigeria, there is a critical need to promote healthy competition at the sub-national levels. Healthy competition promotes healthy outcomes in several respects. It breeds innovation, helps identify strengths and weaknesses, promotes focus, helps develop creative thinking, assist you overcome complacency, promotes adaptation, encourages smart policies, and gives room for learning. A mutually agreed instrument and framework voluntarily acceded to by States in political, economic, and corporate governance values, codes and standards holds high potential for promoting impressive socioeconomic outcomes among the States and setting new vision for the revival and development of Nigeria in a sustainable way.
As the adage goes, “fingers are not equal”. This is true of the States. Some States are more advanced in socioeconomic development, in capacity, in policy, and in several other important areas. This is not a challenge but presents opportunity for peer learning for effective State level development. A starting point could be for States with less growth progress to choose a State among those that are doing better and target it as a role model. Of course, this would be comparable States with similar characteristics and ‘endowments’, maybe geography, natural resources, markets etc. What is the State doing differently that is giving it better results? What lessons can be learned from its policy interventions? Considering and answering these questions objectively would help promote healthy competition, peer learning and improved national socioeconomic outcomes promoted through healthy competition among the States.
There is equally compelling need to promote national value reorientation through effective development communication strategy. There is need to ignite and reignite a new national mental model through national values reorientation and cultural change. This is especially true with our production and consumption pattern. Today, the growing and voracious middle class which is a major opportunity is turning into a challenge given their preferences for foreign made goods at the expense of locally made products. This class of people prefers to take foreign made cereals for breakfast. They prefer to travel overseas for medical care. They prefer to send their children to foreign school. They prefer to wear designers clothes, shoes and carry designer bags while several good quality alternatives exist at home. They prefer holidays spent in Labadi beach in Accra while there are several exotic beaches in Lagos in addition to Obudu Cattle Ranch, Yankari Games Reserve and similar tourist attractive places at home.
This is a wakeup call to the National Orientation Agency to be more active in promoting the national value orientation and reorientation. The National Youth Service Corp should also undertake rigorous mental and psychological reorientation for the youths before joining the middle class. We also need to start training our young ones at early age while in the primary and secondary schools because what they learn at this age is likely to influence the pattern of their lives much more. Reintroduction of civic education at these levels of education is imperative.
A great positive signal will be sent into the national mental model if government in truth and in spirit is seen as genuinely making move to restore meritocracy in development management through depoliticisation of critical national appointments. This is the way to send good signal to upcoming generations that it pays to be skillful and talented. In progressive economies, knowledge, innovation and relevant skills are the core determinants of competitive edge and economic progress. The emphasis is now on knowledge economy driven by youths and younger generation variously referred to as “information society” or “learning economy”. Ability to demonstrate knowledge, skills, creativity and talents, therefore, is the main determinant of engagement in the national development management activities and national appointments in progressive societies and countries. This culture should be encouraged by the political decision making class. Meritocracy in engagements in key national development engagements would promote engagements of the best brains that are capable of making a major mark on development policy like Professor Aboyade. Politicization of such appointments will neither ensure emergence of high performers nor produce the best results.
Promoting policy intelligence through institutionalised policy platform of ‘Town and Gown’ to foster policy and research synergy is core critical strategy move to establish Nigeria’s place in the knowledge age and global competitiveness. There is need to leverage global knowledge networks and community of practice to drive policy. Also important is the need to bring back the Aboyade’s era where strong interface between academic and policymakers was forged for effective development policymaking. Academics, think tanks and research organizations are undertaking studies that are either not policy relevant or those that are policy relevant do not get to the attention of the political class and policymakers. There is need, therefore, to strengthen and reinforce the policy-research synergy for effective development policymaking. Rather than drive policymaking through ad-hoc approach, a better structured and institutionalized policy setting that leverages ‘town and gown’ approach holds higher promise for development policy.
The possibility of an economic renaissance in Nigeria seems a far-fetched thought, given the present ravages inflicted by economic recession. We can point at the economic history of Singapore and the East Asian Tigers as encouragement. But in the final analysis, Nigeria must take her own steps, make her own history and transform her destiny through her own policy architecture that truly empowers. It is only then that the “Made in Nigeria” initiative would become a signal to a new national beginning.
