•Governors: Fayemi (Ekiti), Mimiko (Ondo), Ajimobi (Oyo), Amosun (Ogun) and Aregbesola (Osun)Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) is presenting “Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN)” in Lagos today. Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU highlights elements of the road map for the region’s development.
Southwest is waking up from slumbers. Three weeks after its six governors, experts, professionals and other stakeholders revolved to pursue the region’s integration agenda, the Afenifere Renewal Group is lending support to the initiative with the public presentation of the "Development Agenda for Western Nigeria" today in Lagos. The cultural, socio-economic and political blue print is, perhaps, the first conscious attempt at evolving a development framework for the zone in the post-Awolowo era.
Expected at the Lagos City Hall, venue of the presentation, are traditional rulers, academics, captains of industry, leaders of commerce, politicians, government officials and other stakeholders.
ARG leader Olawale Oshun, who briefed reporters in Lagos at the weekend, observed that the region, which was widely acknowledged as a model for other zones in the country, had lost its glory and slipped in the march of development. The former Chief Whip of the House of Representatives doubted if the region could regain its towering stature and secure progress for the Yoruba under the current lopsided federal arrangement.
With Oshun at the briefing were other chieftains, including the National Secretary, Ayo Afolabi, Publicity Secretary Kunle Famoriyo, Planning Committee Chairman Dipo Famakinwa, Tokunbo Ajasin, Ademola Oyinlola, Ade Adeagbo and Toke Benson.
In his view, the gains of the past have been wiped out and the region is now a shadow of itself. "Today, our roads are bad. When our governors summoned the courage to resolve the power failure through private initiative, it was shot down by the federal government. Our young graduates are unemployed and quality of life is declining everyday", he lamented.
Oshun said, ARG had been inundated with bitter complaints and requests for a master plan that would prevent a repeat of the past holocaust in the region. In response to this demand, he said the organisation asked the Yoruba Academy to come up with a comprehensive development blue-print, which had been previously presented to five governors and legislative arm in the region.
However, contrary to critics of integration, the implementation of the blue-print would not herald the collapse of the six states into one administrative region. Rather, it is only meant to expose its rulers to the daunting challenges and opportunities for collaboration for progress and survival within the hostile federal climate.
The agenda is beautiful on paper. As it becomes a public document today, Southwest has thrown the challenge to other regions to thread the same path by looking inwards and building on collective effort. "We have the focus that at the end, the person that will benefit from development is the ordinary man", Oshun emphasised, advising Southwest to take its destiny in its hand because "no federalism thrives on sharing money without productive initiatives".
DAWN is an 80-paged book produced by Southwest egg heads. The extensive research, brainstorming sessions, and publication were not sponsored by any government. "We produced it through our sweat and blood for the progress of our region and posterity", said Afolabi, who expressed the hope that it would become a working tool for the governors.
ARG views the region as an economic bloc. Therefore, a regional approach to its development would be cost-effective and economically viable, especially in the areas of infrastructure, industrialisation, commerce and agriculture. In this vein, development is not an exclusive government affair. Private sector and civil societies should collaborate with government for success. As goals are set, time frames are also set. More importantly, ARG has suggested modalities for evaluating the implementation process.
Justifying the Southwest perspective on development within a federal Nigeria, ARG stated that "the concentration of legislative power and fiscal resources in the federal government sometimes at the expense of the states and regions allows the federal government to control the pace and nature of economic development of various regions".
In addition, the group cautioned against relying on federal allocation, pointing out that the spoils from the federal purse will always be sub-optimal and unfair. The non-implementation of the road map may be risky. Since the states are too small to attract international funding on a large scale, they can tap from the advantage of collective bargaining for national and international funds for development.
The six states; Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos; are not equally endowed. This underscores the import of comparative strength and advantage in productive activities. Development activities proposed for the states by ARG are as follows: Ekiti (Education and human capital, agriculture and Tourism), Lagos (Commerce, industries and services), Ogun(oil and gas, energy and industries), Ondo (Oil and gas, energy, agriculture (cocoa)), Osun (Tourism, agriculture (cocoa and animal husbandry) and Oyo (Agricultural vale-chain-processing, packaging and Small Scale Enterprises).
Key elements: The ARG submits that, if the framework is pursued to a logical conclusion, Southwest would migrate from "mainstreaming to region-streaming".
Budgetary re-direction
For the Southwest to be on the fast lane to development, ARG suggested a "shift emphasis of budgets towards capital expenditure". This has implications for governance in the region. To achieve this, there may also be the need to cut over-spending on recurrent expenditure, bloated political bureaucracy, extravagance in government, frivolous spending on unnecessary overseas travels, and adherence fo financial frugality.
Power self-sufficiency
The states can strategically tap from the privatisation process of the PHCN generation and distribution entities, especially at Ikeja, Benin, Ibadan and Lagos. Independent Power Projects can also be considered for the Southwest industrial estates, tertiary institutions, teaching and general hospitals, water works, airports, government secretariats, seaports, high income residential areas, major markets and commercial centres.
Agriculture
According to ARG, "policy framework should link agriculture with manufacturing, through extending agricultural value-chain to storage, processing and packaging". The group also believes that agriculture is meaningful, if it can boost food security and employment in the states. To accomplish these, it is recommended that states should increase budgetary allocations to the sector, first by five percent, and in another three years, by 10 per cent. The group also called for the establishment of Southwest Agricultural Market Information System.
Human capital development
The main thrust is that "education should be for sustainability and development". This, in ARG’s view, is achievable, only if it extends from mere knowledge acquisition to skill acquisition, and the skills should be relevant to industry, entrepreneurship, social values, justice and concern for the living environment.
ARG suggested that civics and basic science should be re-introduced in primary schools, adding that the civics syllabus, which should be based on Yoruba concept of Omoluabi, should promote the ideals of Yoruba heroes, including Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Fajuyi and others.
Other suggestions include a regional standard education inspectorate, computer education, elavation of polytechnics to degree awarding technical and technological tertiary institution, common data base for educational planning, and regional scholarship trust fund, collaborative research projects in education.
Health
ARG suggests preventive approach to medicare and a system of sanitary inspection, based on persuasion and incentives, rather than punishment and sanctions.
Transportation
Southwest governors should construct virgin roads, upgrade the existing ones and rehabilitate others linking them to the federal roads that leads to ports, since they have no control over the federal roads. Integrated rail transportation is also possible, if the hindrances are removed. ARG said the states can negotiate with the federal government to construct rail lines in the zone. It stressed: "A rail link from Benin City to Lekki Lagoon is a distance of 100-150 km. This will open up a tremendous amount of commercial activity with the eastern part of the country, reduce the pressure on the Lagos-Ore-Benin Road. Furthermore, it will open up the bitumen area of Ogun and Ondo States. This loop, to be completed by the development of inland waterways, through the Lekki Lagoon to Badagry, will turn the Epe axis to a major passenger and goods terminal with tremendous commercial benefits".
Housing and urban development
Southwest, says ARG, should establish a "Southwest Mortgage and urban Development Bank, which will be a secondary mortgage bank, to assist home owners, developers, primary mortgage companies and savings and loans operators to access funds for their housing development. The group also said that "the idea of the development of a "Rural Integrated Development Authority for the region is long overdue".
Security and law enforcement
ARG suggests that "community policing and neighbourhood watch capacity in the Southwest should be strengthened, beginning with raising of awareness in schools". It therefore, asked legislators to push for laws that would back state and community police.
Culture and Tourism
ARG advocates the establishment of Culture Board of Western Nigeria to coordinate the tourism activities and make the sector income yielding to respective states.
Governance reforms
Southwest government should shun avarice, graft, corruption and other vices. According to ARG, inclusive governance, accountability and focused policy with constant measurement would foster administrative efficiency in the region.
Conflict management
Four building blocks were suggested. They are the establishment or reactivation of the Public Complaints Commission/ Office of ombudsman, Regional Early Warning Centre, apolitical Council of Elders, and Peace Education at all educational levels. To ARG, these would encourage home-grown conflict management in the zone.
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