*To rethink investments in infrastructure, technological progress with inclusion of human development
WorldStage Newsonline– The Federal Government of Nigeria has been advised to rethink its investments in infrastructure and technological progress to include both physical and human development.
This is the main trust of the lead paper on the theme ‘New Reality and Nigeria’s Quest for Consolidating Economic Diversification’ presented by Dr Ayodele Shittu, Department of Economics, University of Lagos, Nigeria at the virtual WorldStage Economic Summit 2020 on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
According to him, from the perspective of a developing country, infrastructure should include both physical and human.
“By implication, it is expedient to investment more in public education and health in the same manner that we are investing heavily in the construction of roads and rail across the country,” he said.
He made it clear how important it is for the country to control its development space, saying, one notable advantage of the resource mobilization perspective “is the fact that it encourages inward solutions to revenue demands.
“This limits the extent to which a sovereign nation such as Nigeria depends on other sovereign nations. By implication, when Nigeria owns its development space, it will give room to home-grown solutions that matches and fits with emerging challenges that are peculiar to Nigerians.
“Drawing from the resource mobilization perspective, reduced dependence on foreign capital inflows means reduced debt burden or reduced commitments to internationally written contracts, which in most cases deplete our national savings. By implication, a control of our policy space implies conscious development of our investment destinations, creating of home-grown industries that are value-chain driven, and finally, there will be more job creation opportunities for Nigeria’s teeming youth populace.”
He commended the Federal Government on the role of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP: 2017 – 2020) in its quest for a diversified national economy, saying it had done very well to put the country back on a growth trajectory of 7% by the year-ended 2020, though it may not be achievable due to the emerging health crisis.
“Castigating the ERGP on the basis of the inability to achieve the 7% growth target will be unfair because notable successes have also been recorded but there are still more macro-economic goals to be achieved,” he said.
On the impact of COVID-19 pandemic he said thinking of how to consolidate economic diversification without paying attention to the lingering pandemic may result to efforts-in-futility.
Acknowledging that Nigerian economy was vulnerable to external shocks, he said the windows of opportunities for foreign aid and assistance will remain very limited as long as, the war against COVID-19 is not over.
“There is an urgent need for us to reduce our dependence on external sources of financing. This does not connote abandoning external sources of financing 100% . Rather, it implies that it is high time Nigeria government began to look inward, develop home-grown industries, and create noble and decent job opportunities for all,” he said.
“There is an urgent need to secure our policy space. The ERGP is a testimony of what Nigerians are capable of doing. The more we appreciate our won intellectual assets, the better us because innovation and technological know-how will be home-grown. This paves way for less importation of technology and consequently, local innovation ecosystem will be developed across the nation.
“There is an urgent need to control our development agenda. The shock that came with the COVID-19 pandemic was so rude that it exposed the deficiencies that has characterized the nation’s health and educational system. If we own on development agenda, research and development will be driven by local needs and our innovations will be tailored towards solving problems that are peculiar to Nigerians.”
