Dawn - Strategy Roadmap

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Main Report


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Table of Contents

SECTION A

1. Preface

2. Int roduct ion

3. Background & Context

4. Object ives of t he Integrat ion Strategy5. Operat ing Cont ext

5.1 National-Political

5.2 Economic

5.3 Demographic

5.4 International Perspectives

6. Implementat ion Prerequisi tes

7. Key Considerations in Constructing the Roadmap

8. Conclusion

SECTION B: Pillars of Development

1. Pil lar One: Economic Development

1.1 Special Case for Agriculture

1.2 The Mineral Resources

2. Pil lar Two: Human Capital Development

2.1 Education

2.2 Health

3. Pillar Three: Commerce & Industr y Focus on Manufacturing & SMEs

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4. Pil lar Four: Infrastructure Development

4.1 Information & Communication Technoloy [ICT]

4.2 Transportation Infrastructure

4.2.1 Road Transport

4.2.2 Rail Transport

4.2.3 Air Transport

4.2.4 Water Transport

4.3 Power

4.4 Housing

5. Pillar Five: Security, Law & Enforcement

6. Pillar Six: Culture, Tourism, Arts & Heritage

7. Pillar Seven: Environment, Climate Change & Habitat

8. Pillar Eight: Civil Service, Governance & Institutions

SECTION C

1. Conflict Management Imperatives

2. Postcript

References

Ibadan Retreat Participants

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Sect ion A

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t is a democratic right of any people in a multi-ethnic federal arrangement to associate and

discuss issues of common interest that are focused on agreed development agenda and doInot threaten the corporate existence, sustainability and stability of the nation-state.The emergence of progressive leadership in the Southwest region of Nigeria, coupled with

clearly-defined co-boundaries, the sizeable human and material endowment and strategic

location, plus historical antecedent, position this region to strategically explore a common

integrated development agenda.

Informed by this realisation, a gathering of intellectuals and practitioners of the Southwest

region of Nigeria embarked on a detailed and robust discourse and enduring creative

engagement to shape a roadmap and construct the pillars of integrated development for

Southwestern Nigeria, within the context of the Nigerian nation-state. An encouraging and

welcomed optimism is also the creation of the 21 persons' panels as a platform for articulating

and harmonizing common development aspirations across the States in the region that cut

across political party lines and other divides.

This intent of this report is neither the emergence nor development of a manifesto for secession.It is a blueprint for regional self-development in the context of a competit ive federal-state, that

explores and exploits internal reforms and refocus and synergies. To achieve these, the talents

and expertise that contributed to this report , underwent critical self-examinations to identify the

regional strengths and weaknesses, before suggesting a comprehensive blueprint for regional

development for greater interdependence in the Nigerian state.

Therefore, the recommendations and suggested actions, give cognizance to the intrinsic

strength of the region, the wide and deep pool of knowledge and resources it has, the new

progressive leadership, the homogenizing and refining impact of an ancient tradition of

urbanization, the high rate of political and social mobilization, the recurring resurgence of adominant progressive political tradition committed to good governance, and similar

developments in the international communit ies.

One of the central planks of this report is regional self-development. Therefore, this is a regional

development plan that provides serious consideration and articulation of a region-wide human,

social, infrastructural and economic development blueprint , and one that equally acknowledges

the local peculiarities in the constituent States and communit ies, whilst being sensitive to local

sensibil ities and recognizing the art ificial barriers of polit ical boundaries.

Preface

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2. Introduction

The emergence of the progressives in the Southwest of Nigeria following the recent April 2011

general elections creates an opportunity to start the development and establishment of

common development strategy influenced by shared political platform and ideology (noting

however the unique variance of some of the States)

This development opens a new opportunity for deriving the benefits of economies of scale in the

development process of the Region. The question is: What are we going to make of this new

opportunity? The answer, it seems, is to go back to what worked in the past and translate it to the

present and future context. Therefore, this report makes a compelling case for a regional

cooperation and integration of the Southwest states for development.

The purpose of this strategic initiative is to foster regional integration as a catalyst for

decentralisation. The good news is that this micro-integration is already in progress as indicated

by some of the pronouncements and follow-up actions of the political leadership of the

Southwest States.

There are several dimensions where one can identify the influence of the integration process in

the evolution of the decentralization model. The European Union is an example, where its

regional development policy makes provision for financing for the poorest regions in the EU.

These also provide incentives to become a more competitive and efficient economy, and to

require more policy and budgetary discipline. It is apparent that, given the tectonic shifts in

global political and social economy, alongside globalisation, a return to the halcyon days of

regional focus in Nigeria is an emerging paramount requirement. Therefore, a paradigm shift in

the Nigerian polit ical and economic order is imperative if the country is not to slowly waste away.

This report approaches the Southwest region's integration agenda from the followingperspectives:

a. From the beginning : a reminder of the history of the region and of the fundamental

Yoruba values and culture

b. From the top , down: approaching the issues via demonstration of thought leadership

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c. From the bott om, up: recognition for the meaningful involvement of citizens and the

spirit of co-existence - f i otun we osi, fi osi we otun l'owo fii mo

d. From the present, t o the future: cognizance of immediate problems, whilst still looking

at longer term, with solutions that t ranscend any polit ical arrangements

e. From the outside, looking in: exploring good practice and examples from abroad,

seeking international practice and funding solut ions, and engaging the Diaspora

f. From the inside, looking out: it is a quest for Southwest region's solutions to Southwest

region's problems.

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The integration and development of the Southwest region of Nigeria is imperative. The Region

needs to achieve its full potential and revisit and relive the peak of the Ife, Oyo and Benin

Empires, which were hubs of economic growth, demonstrators of good governance and

bastions of sophisticated culture for the entire African region.

For the purpose of this report, Regionalism is defined as sustained cooperation, formal or

informal, among governments, non government organisations or the private sector in three or

more contiguous communit ies for mutual gain. (Alagappa, 1994, 158). In line with this definition,

the ultimate goal of regionalismor regional integration is creating a 'win-win' situation where

various actors will cooperate with one another, either polit ically or non-politically. Regionalism

for the Southwest region refers to the polit ical (and leadership) structures that both reflect and

shape the strategies of governments, citizens, business corporations and a variety of non-

governmental organisations and social movements. (Katzenstein, 2000, 354).

Therefore, this report calls for closer integration of neighbouring Southwest states as the first

step in creating a larger regional market for development, trade and investment. This is to work

as a spur to greater efficiency, productivity and competit iveness, whilst reducing costs and risks.

Regional integration and cooperation is to be pursued as a means of promoting development

through greater eff iciency, rather than as means of disadvantaging others. Integration is not an

end in itself, but a process to support economic growth strategies, greater social equality and

democratization.

Therefore, the Southwest regional integration strategy aims to

Define the underlying philosophy of integrating states

Identify critical areas of possible cooperation

Design the model and insti tut ional mechanism for implementationAdopt a gradual process setting realistic targets and timelines

This will then lead to the development of an agreed and common set of development strategies

across all spheres of existence i.e. economic, technological, social, educational, human, etc

3. Background & Context :

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Table: The Physical Space for South-Western Int egrat ion

*70,252 sq. miles [1 sq km = 0.3861 sq. miles]

4. OBJECTIVES OF THE INTEGRATION STRATEGY:

a. To ensure similar

and equitable level

of development

across the above-

mentioned states,

to the benefit oftheir indigenes

and citizens

b. To cr eat e t h e

opportunity and

platform for shared resources and expert ise across the states, with an enabling

environment for common purpose, shared vision and good governance

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c. To enable the achievement of some of the key elements of the Millennium

Development Goals for the betterment and well-being of the indigenes,

ensuring the attainment of internationally agreed outcomes (e.g. infant

mortality, access to education, etc)

d. To support the achievement of the nation's 'Vision 20:20-20.'

e. To maximise resources, noting the limiting nature of this at national and

international arenas, with the joint exploration of new and innovative solut ions to

structural, human and infrastructural development across the states

f. To enable the leadership of the states to be more effective at state governance

and equipped with tools for tangible development indicators that enable

standards and positive comparators

g. To establish a common set of indicators that leads to good models of practice indevelopment that can be developed to international standard, shared nationally

and internationally, enabling the att raction of international funds, grants and aids

to support thematic programmes and projects

h. To develop and apply agreed and common outcome measures.

5. OPERATING CONTEXT:

1. National-Political

The emergence of the 'progressives' in the Southwest of Nigeria following the

recent General Elections - creates an opportunity to start the development and

establishment of common development strategy

The recent call by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dr Goodluck

Jonathan asking for the Nigerian geo-polit ical zones to rise beyond and above

political boundaries and become development terrains, further reinforces the

need for regional plans and approach to development and planning

The anticipated changes of national allocations to states in Nigeria that aim tocreate a central pot for core deliverables will further push for regionally-

determined and focussed activit ies as drivers for real and tangible change whilst

serving as subt le measure of value for money and austere spending

The closing of the gap in democratic deficits, experienced with the level of

turnout and engagement at the last general elections in April 2011, will trigger

demands for tangible and measurable development and results from the

populace. Hence, a regional approach to addressing common issues need to

suffice

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The progress made by Lagos State government in particular is flagging up the

possibility of development attainment whilst making the variance with other

Southwest states more apparent and increasing inequalities. Therefore, other

states will be required to share good practice from neighbouring states in an

effective and cohesive manner.

2. Economic

The limit ing pot of the Southwest States' finances is becoming more apparent.

Therefore, new solutions will be required to deliver on development agenda,

especially where such needs are apparent.

The long history of the Southwest states in joint economic activities is a legacy

that needs to be revived as part of the solut ion.

3. Demographic

The Southwest states are mainly Yoruba territories, with geographical contiguity. Hence,

the need for the common culture, language and history becoming a social asset, which

can best be maximised under a regional arrangement

Emerging population trend shows a growing youth population and a dependent

older generation. Therefore, a common solution is required to address the

unique needs that emerge with this trend, with some requiring socio-cultural

dimensions

The needs and wants across the Southwest region's population are fairly

common and the trends can be mapped. Developing a common approach to

addressing them will not only be humanly beneficial but also be of political

advantage as the 'progressives' will be seen as receptive governments of the

people whilst enabling common or similar interventions

4. Some int ernational perspectives

The current global economic downturn and challenges call for economic modelsthat have integration right at its heart, as demonstrated by the European

Commission states. Therefore, a Southwest regional development strategy

mirrors this international good practice that has been proven to be effective

The pursuit of the achievement of some of the key elements of the MDGs by 2015

are only realisable via strategic alliances and cooperation among communities

with synergy of purpose, issues and needs

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The recently-agreed Africa-Europe Cooperation and Strategy recognises and

agitates for stronger regional integration as part of the mechanism for achieving

the aspirations and ideals of this new international agreement

6. IMPLEMENTATION PREREQUISITES:

1. Legal:

There is the recognit ion that there may be the need to have legal instruments from all the

States' legislative houses to ensure that legal obstacles to inter-state planning and project

implementation are fully addressed, especially, where financial outlays are required to

prosecute joint projects. This should be complemented by mutual commitment to

agreed objectives.

2. Values redef init ion:

One of the first tasks in the region is some form of ethical reorientation andvalues' laundry. There is a need to reprioritize by making the citizens and people of the

region to see themselves in the light of who they really are asOmoluabi- virtuous and

honourable people. This would require consensus building around some key common

values. The strategic intent behind this is that achieving any group objective must be

presaged by self-perception, self-appreciation and a positive self- image. This renewed

values-revival, already being piloted in Osun State and Ekit i State, needs to occur in

every subscribing state in the regional integration and development framework. The

core message that the people of the region are virtuous and inherent in them is the spirit

of greatness and must be necessities for mental infrastructure, human and community

development.

3. Good governance:

With the current progressive political platform across the region, an agenda for

good governance becomes asine qua non. Good governance, in the Southwest region,

ensures that the voices of the most at risk segments of the society are heard. This is

integral to economic growth, the eradication of poverty and hunger, and towards

ensuring a sustainable development. Good Governance in the region will subscribe to

the following set of principles across public services to serve as a guide:

Focus: having a defined purpose and good outcome for the cit izenry

Effect ive performance in defined roles: clarity about government functions

and roles

Promot ion of values: putting values into practice

Informed and transparent decisions: being rigorous and transparent in

decision-making.

Capacity and capability: ensuring that those to be elected or appointed into

positions of responsibility have the requisite skills, knowledge, experience and

the integrity to function properly

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Stakeholders' engagement and making accountability real, with active and

planned approach to dialogue with, and being accountable to the public.

7. KEY CONSIDERATIONS IN CONSTRUCTING THE ROADMAP:

a. There should be a comprehensive blueprint for regional development that

aspires to greater inter-dependence among the Southwestern states of Nigeria.

This will be an integrated regional development strategy and plan that

coordinates infrastructure development and ensures strategic collaboration

among these contiguous states.

b. The central plank of this strategy isself-development and self-sustainability, with

strategic focus on the internal resources of the constituent local governments

and states. This should be informed by a detailed audit and/or mapping of

available resources to see how they can be best deployed and harnessed. Thecomparative advantage of the localities should be exploited in a holistic

framework.

c. Strategic attention must be given to human capit al development with built- in

standards as the irreducible minimum preconditions for the region. The concept

of Omoluwabi should be revitalised and consensus built around some key

common values. For example, the primacy of the Common Good, seeing and

treating public off ice as public service, justice and equity, respect for women and

minority rights, the quest for enduring legacies and a good name.

d. A major requirement of this development blueprint must bejob creat ion with

complementary programmes that addresses youth unemployment. The

emphasis should be on self-reliance hinged upon creating skilled workers who

can operate within the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

e. Robust systems to engage citizens, stakeholders and the involvement of the

wider concentric circles of our regional neighbours must be in place. This should

be supported by the recognition, articulation and promotion of common

interests, spelt out in a blueprint for all to see. Enlightenment and mobilization of

stakeholders traditional rulers, polit icians, the intelligentsia, women and youth

- around the core developmental ideals are essential. We must identify and

resuscitate ties with current allies and seek new ones to achieve this agenda. No

stakeholder group should be excluded in our drive for development. The zero-

sum, winner-takes-all approach must be jettisoned to achieve higher strategic

goals. It must be 'win-win.'

f. There must be development of model communities with all modern amenities in

the rural areas to reduce the pressure on the urban centres. We therefore need to

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ensure a balanced development of the

various areas of the region. Already,

some parts are ahead of others often

significantly so; and there is an urgent

need to bridge the gap between therelat ively-advantaged and the

e v i d e n t l y - d i s a d v a n t a g e d

communities. This is to ensure that

some areas do not become regional ghettoes.

g. An integrated agricultural development framework, with cognizance to all

elements of the value chain, needs to be in place fairly urgently.

h. Regional qualit y assurance agenciesmust be established to promote common

standards, quality and service delivery in areas such as health, education,

housing, agriculture, sanitation, environmental management, etc; where pooled

results and coordinated efforts will produce a synergy that will yield better and

cost-effective results.

i. Special attention should be given to tourism, social and cultural development, as

well as the resuscitation of pan-Yoruba cultural activities to strengthen bonds.

j. There is the recognition that there will be legislative requirements and challenges

to inter-state planning and project implementation, especially, where financialoutlays are required to prosecute joint projects. However, it is pleasing to see

indications of mutual commitment by the leadership of the States in the region,

indicated by the establishment of dedicated Ministry and/or Departments on

Integration and Inter-governmental Affairs in some of the States. These are

opt imistic indications of progressive buy-ins.

k. There is a need to ensure that this development strategy creates a space to

ident if y gaps in progress and opportunit ies to showcase successso that good

practices can be disseminated across and, even beyond, the region.

l. The Yoruba Academy should become the regional Think-Tank where ideas for

the development of the region can be processed and disseminated.

8. CONCLUSION:

The Southwest states each have their own distinctive defining quality and at the same time are

united by many common characteristics. These features will determine the unique

developmental approach necessary to capitalize on the existing economic activit ies, resource

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base and inherent strengths, while mit igating perceived weaknesses.

There is a need to demand for and relate among

Southwest states on the basis of true integration. It is

only by meaningful integration that one part will notbe dragged down by others in a plural country like

Nigeria. It is only true integration that will compel the

region to develop its people, economy and

environment.

To achieve an effective integration arrangement, a few crit ical success factors must be in sight :

Ownership and participation at all levels of government and the populace is

crucial. The success of the implementation is dependent on the commitment and

cooperation of all

Each state must complement rather than compete with one another

The plan must complement existing States' projects and plans

Living on federal allocation is bad economics, lazy and insupportable in the long run in a federal

system. The Southwest region must get out of this trap. The time is now, when the people of

Southwest region must rally its entire progressives, well-meaning and resourceful sons and

daughters to respond to the challenges of history.

This is the time for positive collaboration that requires the building of a common (progressive)

platform with like-minded ethnic nationalities across the Southwest region whose focus must be

on development of both human and natural resources for the good of all.

As Governor Rauf Aregbesola puts it our destiny is

set before us. We have an enviable past, even if our

present is not very encouraging but our future is great if

we can maximise our potentials

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SECTION B'PILLARS OF

DEVELOPMENT'

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1. PILLAR ONE: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Poverty is triggered as a result of limited link between the common man and the nation's GDP,

especially, in relation to oil, agriculture and wholesale trading, which makes up over 70% of

Nigeria's GDP. A high manufacturing environment also helps in wealth and jobs creation, which isnot the case with our nation. For example, Nigeria manufactures at capacity utilization of 53%,

with idleness of 47% capacity.

Vision & Mission:

The economic vision is for the Southwest Region to at tain developed count ry infrast ructure,

human capital, living standards and governance.

The mission is to ensure that the Region records the highest annual average rate of growth in

GDP and HDI in Sub-Saharan Africa by the Year 2020.

To realize these aspirations, the Region's economic policy needs to ensure the availability of

financing for the development of:

- Agriculture

- Infrastructure

- Industrialisation

- Mining and Minerals

Development

- Housing Development

- Education and Health

I n s t i t u t i o n s a n d

Infrastructure

- Sm al l and M ed i um

Enterprises (SMEs)

- Micro Enterprises

- Self-Sufficiency in Power Generation and Distribution

- Revitalisation of Agriculture and Manufacturing

There is therefore the need to establish policies and frameworks for sound macro-economic andfiscal policy management amongst Southwest states. The fiscal policy needs to

a. Shift emphasis of budgets towards capital expenditure

b. Advocate for fiscal federalism-taxes, VAT; revenue allocation; and devolution of power

c. Leverage PPPs under appropriate institutional mechanisms

d. Institute regulatory systems and aim for transparency in procurement

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e. Establish a regional development finance institution with project financing

arrangements for specific programmes and projects and mechanisms for lending

arrangements for SMEs, with the support of Mult ilaterals and International DFIs.

f. Lagos State, in particular, should take ownership and lead advocacy and execution of the

FSS 2020 objective of Lagos as an International Financial Centre (IFC)

h. Engage with federal authorities, CBN and SEC on the issue of resolution of the capital

market and banking crisis

I. Establish strong integrated links and partnerships with international development

partners, multi laterals, and international DFIs to access global finance opportunities

1.1. SPECIAL CASE FOR AGRICULTURE & AGRI-BUSINESS IN THE SOUTHWEST

Despite Nigeria's rich agricultural resource endowment, the agricultural sector has beengrowing at a very low rate. Less than 50 percent of the country's cultivable agricultural land is

under cult ivation. Less than 5% of available Fadama land is under cultivation. It is no longer

news that Nigeria is a net impor ter of food including billions spent to import rice, wheat, fish etc.

Statistics are available in l iterature to indicate that 70 percent of Nigerian men and women find

livelihood in the agricultural sector and that the contribution of agriculture to the GDP at the

moment is around 40%.

In spite of these high level of importance, agriculture has all been neglected or dismissed as a

dir ty job. Farmers are aging. The Southwest of Nigeria is even worse off, because the largest

markets for the consumpt ion of both domestic and imported food are in this region. In spite ofall the blessings of land and water resources, favourable weather conditions, and relatively high

level of education, the region is yet to wake up to achieving her agricultural potential. Evidence

exists to show that if the southwest as a result of this meeting rises up to expectation, food

production can be increased within the next four years threefold.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of the Southwest states, as over 65% of the people

are engaged in the sector. The sector is characterised by low productivity due to several

structural and institutional constraints. The states have not been generating substantial

productivity in the sector.

Yet, there is high potential domestic and industrial demand for agricultural products, especially,

in centres of population concentration such as Lagos and Ibadan which constitute important

market hubs for the Southwest as well as export market demands for value added agricultural

products.

Lagos is estimated to consume about N2 billion worth of food a day and demand outstrips

supply. The production estimate for rice in Nigeria was 3,567 metric tons in 2005 while the

imports were 1,350,000 metric tons in the same year. By 2008 the production estimate had only

reached 4,179 metric tons indicating that there is a high level of unmet needs in the domestic

market.

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The estimates of the number of hungry people in Nigeria are very high and poor households

respond to food insecurity by consuming more staple foods and fewer fruits, vegetables and

foods from animal sources. This has serious nutritional implications for well being, economic

productivity and mortality rates especially among women and children. The food habits of the

Southwest where they tend to eat relatively less vegetables and animal protein than other ethnicgroups may result in protein deficits.

The spill-over effect of the food crisis worldwide between 2007 and 2008 was serious especially

for countries such as Nigeria which are net importers of cereal grains. The effect of weather

conditions and the lack of access to fertilizer, in Nigeria, further resulted in decline in agricultural

productivity and low harvests. The price of cowpea has remained high instead of dropping at

harvest due to import restrictions from Niger Republic and prices of cassava products are still

rising steeply despite productivity increases generally reported.

Const raints of the Agricultural Sector

The constraints of the agricultural sector in Nigeria and specifically in the Southwest include;

a. Labour productivity in agriculture is very poor, also resulting in low quality of agricultural

products. One of the major causes lies in poor access to and low use of productivity

enhancing best-of-breed technologies. Tractors are out of reach of the average farmer.

Even when it is available, the fragmentation of land among the farmers does not facilitate

the effective utilization of tractors apart from the apparent lack of maintenance and

mechanization input management capacity of the farmers. Apparently wage for

agricultural labor is very high due to labour shortages, rising labour costs, and ageing

farmers. Many young people are not interested in farming.

b. Declining land fertility due to ineffective crop rotation and poor access to inputs. The

supply and distribution of quality inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides and improved

seedlings are inadequate. Many farmers lack access to fertilizer and fertilizer selection

skills or cannot afford the high costs due to poor distribution systems, political

manipulation of supplies and lack of manufacturing capacity in the country. Fertilizer

costs are now four-to-six times the world average. Other factors include low fertilizer

quality and non-availability of fert ilizer when required as well as fake, adulterated, andmisbranded ferti lizers and underweight fert ilizer bags that are prevalent in the Nigerian

market.

c. Underdeveloped agro processing/storage and marketing facilities in many chains. The

rate of post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables are extremely high in Nigeria (30-50

%).

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d. Non-competitiveness of export crops and weak linkages between agriculture and

industry, inadequate private investment due to poor investment climate and collapse of

rural infrastructure development.

e. There is low access to credit by farmers in the rural Southwest economy, yet 40.5% ofMicrofinance Banks are in the South-West alone. Only 21% of Nigeria's populations

have a bank account and majority of them are in the Southern part of the country.

Generally speaking, farmers and low income Nigerians are excluded from the financial

sector due to a number of reasons associated with their sheer size of operations.

However, despite the fact that all over the world, innovative methodologies have been

successfully introduced to improve their

access through the group approach, many

MFBs are not practicing MFBs according to

international best practices, thusexacerbating an already bad situation.

f. Weak integrated water management; etc.

Goals & Aspirat ions

a. Policy framework should aim at linking agriculture to manufacturing through

extending agricultural value chain to storage, processing and manufacturing

b. Encourage the modernisation of agriculture and agriculture-related infrastructure

c. Transforming the agriculture sector such that it becomes a source of employment and

entrepreneurship for graduates and young persons

d. Establishment of a Southwest Agriculture and Industrial Development Bank in liaison

with World Bank; AfDB; IFC, EIB, DFID, USAID etc to finance agriculture, industry, mining

and infrastructure in the region

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e. Rapid investment in modern agricultural and industrial infrastructure

f. Develop agricultural estates, especially middle and small holder farms

g. States must provide incentives (land, infrastructure, advocacy etc) for investors in

agriculture-linked manufacturing

h. Establishment of systems for training and skills acquisition in farming

I. Land Reform: Removal of Governor's Consent

Imperatives

Whatever is done to develop this sector, we need to:

Have policy advocacy and be proactive at the policy level to ensure our

innovation is not disadvantaged

Be aware of potential policy that could impede progress, especially from the

national

Be competit ive if we put our intervention in place, we may satisfy the domestic

market. However, to export, the cost of production must be low to compete in the

international market

Not reinvent the wheel. We can 'borrow' ideas from others e.g. Botswana; go after

the good practices

Better util ize our lands' potentials, therefore a land use strategy, putt ing all the

open used farm land in the Southwest region under consideration

Explore other open accessible land to be cropped.

Recommendat ions & Nest Steps

There is high potential capacity for agricultural production (rice, cassava etc sometimes on

biennial basis, e.g. cassava) if a number of structural and institutional constraints can be

addressed.

Agricultural Mechanisation: A large market exists for the introduction of single

axle tractors and simple post harvest technologies into the farming systems.

This will boost production, productivity and reduction in post harvest losses.

Other strategies include the following:

Commission technical, financial and economic analysis of agricultural

machinery available and make information available to end users

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Develop mechanism for soliciting and publicizing best-of-breed

technology

Facilitate linkages between fabricators, users and commercial financing

structures

Improve management capacity of fabricators and end users

Facilitate the promot ion of linkages and information sharing among

fabricators; and between research and development institutions and

fabricators

Strengthen agricultural mechanization component of ADPs

Promote private - public partnerships in technology development and

diffusion

Improved Access to Input s

Create a favourable environment for the development of local ferti lizer

manufacturing and mixing plants in the region

Make available to farmers simplified soil nutrient maps to guide testing

and choice of organic and inorganic fertil izer type for different areas

Establish fert ilizer procurement and distribution centers in the region

Train a network of rural stockists and retailers and scale up input dealers'

and community-based networks across rural areas to enhance robust

distribution networkswith adequate access to credit sources

Expand financing for private sector importers and distributors of

agricultural inputs; "Smart" subsidies for the poor and vulnerable

(subsidy at point of use) and the establishment of a fertilizer

development financing mechanism.

Others

Develop a clear strategy and action plan for public-private partnerships inagricultural infrastructure, institut ion building, agribusiness development, input

and product markets

Init iate investment incentives like tax breaks/holidays, investment financing and

guarantees

Develop the market to provide timely and relevant market forecasts and

information to enable pricing negotiations and contractual decisions and

agribusiness planning

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Have effective and transparent regulation transparent administration of

incentives for land access, input and output markets, infrastructure

development

Ensure contract enforcement and dispute resolution to ensure transparency in

the settlement of business disputes. Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms

to be developed using community structures

Demonstrative pilot cases to showcase success stories and disseminate

possibilities

Increase budgetary allocations to the agriculture sector immediately to 5% and

progressively to 10% within the next three years by each state

Establish farmer's Development Centers at States and Local Government levels to

provide informal training/education in basic business/skill development andacquisition. This is to enhance their capacity to access opportunities including

agricultural finance and to contribute to the development of MIS.

Improve feeder roads infrastructure network within the rural areas to enhance

movement of agricultural inputs and produce to reduce overall cost.

Each state in the region to legislate that any family land that is arable and is left

fallow stands the risk of being taken over by the state for public use.

Some Exist ing Opport unit ies

The level of technology skills required to maintain these tractors already exist in

the rural areas as most of the artisans required - such as blacksmiths, welders,

motorcycle mechanics are maintaining motorcycles

A lot of literate youths are currently engaged in the commercial motorcycle

business. If we divert this skill capacity to use in agricultural production systems,

then we can attain production by the masses for the masses rather than

production by the few for the masses

Large number of prototypes and materials, spare parts and service facilities are

available. Most agricultural machines that end users need have been developed

by Tcs

Good distribut ion of R&D insti tut ions with equipment in the region are in place

(CRIN, FRIN, NIHORT, IAR&T, IITA, NCAM, Moor Plantation etc)

There are established fabricators & TCs assisting other smaller fabricators. Many

of the champions exist in the Southwest zone. (Nova, Peak, Addis etc) The major

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fabricators have highly qualified sophisticated fabricating facilities. Some

relationships already exist between TCs and fabricators (IITA & Nova, Addis and

Peak)

Soil nutrient maps are available at the Institute of Agricultural Research and

Training (IAR&T) Ibadan

The Songhai Centre - a trail blazing international centre for cottage industry

development is located in Port Novo, a Yoruba (known as Anago)-speaking area

of Benin Republic.

Key Produce in the States

Fert il izer Issue (Agr icult ural Inputs)

Farmers will need to shift from low-yielding, extensive land practices to more-intensive, higher-

yielding practices, with increased use of improved seeds, fertilizers and irrigation

To the farmer, the main constraints to effective fertilizer application are high

prices, low fertilizer quality and non-availabilit y of ferti lizer when required.

Despite a multifaceted fertilizer quality regulatory process with numerous and

diverse part icipants, fertilizer quality remains a challenge in Nigeria.

Fake, adulterated, and misbranded fertilizers, as well as underweight fertilizer

bags are prevalent in the Nigerian market.

Poor transport, low trade volumes, and lack of local production capacity

contribute to this high cost.

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A critical question, therefore, is how to transform the fertilizer system to deliver

promptly, improved quality products at the required quantity to the ultimate

farmer.

This will require a holistic approach that ensures farmers have access to

affordable, timely, and good quality fertilizer for increased agricultural

productivity and food security

Dealing with the inputs (particularly fertilizer issue) requires:

commitment and honesty and determination to eliminate fraud in the process

dealing with quantity and quality issues

establishing mixing plants in the region

using soil nutrient map to guide in choice of fertilizer type for different areas

(said to be available at IAR&T)

Fert il izer needs (needed outcomes):

1. Access:

Improve access to fertilizer possibly through establishment of fertilizer

procurement and distribut ion centers;

Create a favourable environment for the development of fertilizermanufacturing and promote local fert ilizer manufacturing;

Train a rural network of retailers;

Develop and scale up input dealers' and community-based networks across rural

areas.

Develop agro-dealers (rural stockists) across rural the region;

Robust distribution networkswith adequate credit sources, retail outlets,

transportation, and markets, as well as transfer of technology and knowledge

Take specific action to improve farmer access to quality seeds, irrigation facilities,

extension services, market information, and soil nutrient testing and mapping to

facilitate effective and efficient use of inorganic and organic fertilizers, while

paying attention to the environment

Urgent need for a strategic investment program to increase the availability and

use of ferti lizer alongside with other inputs

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2. Affordability:

Measures to lower fert ilizer costs (now four-to-six times the world average);

Expand financing for private sector importers and distributors of agricultural

inputs;

Improve farmers' access to fertilizer, by granting targeted subsidies in favour of

the ferti lizer sector

"Smart" subsidies for the poor and vulnerable (subsidy at point of use) and

Establish a fertilizer development financing mechanism.

Agricultural Mechanization:

Tractorization: it would be helpful to concentrate on the use of only a few brandsof tractor as this would hopefully ensure better and faster acquisition of

maintenance and management proficiency

Need to deal with the following issues in a comprehensive manner

Land tenure

Equipment maintenance

Management of mechanization inputs

Appropriate mechanization inputs

Zero/minimum tillage

Problem statement:

Low labor productivity in agriculture

Low quality of agricultural products

Absence of efficient mechanization of labor intensive operations

Apparently high wage for agricultural labor

Where we are now:

Good distribution of R&D institutions with equipment

Large number of prototypes available

Good availability of materials, spare parts and service facilities

Poor links between R&D institutions, ADPs, fabricators and users

Poor linkages between fabricators, end-users and financial intermediaries limits

adoption

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Emergence of champions with excellent feed-back to technology development

Poor information on best-of-breed technologies and financial returns - increases

risk and reduces rate of adoption

Overriding issue of political environment and erratic policy High agricultural production (rice, cassava etc) sometimes on biennial basis, e.g.

cassava)

High potential demand for agric. machines

Established fabricators & TCs assisting other smaller fabricators .

Many champions in zone (Nova, Peak, Addis etc)

Some relationships between TCs and fabricators (IITA & Nova, Addis and Peak).

Most agricultural machines that end users need have been developed by Tcs

Many major fabricators have highly qualified sophisticated fabricating facilities.

Lack of awareness of agricultural machines developed by technology centers.

Some critical machines such as destoner are not available in the market.

There are no strong associations of fabricators.

Determinants of labour productivit y:

Quality of production package

Natural & Environmental parameters

Type and quality of agricultural machinery used

Intensity of use of agric. equipment and machinery

Constraints of f armers and users of agricultural technology:

Farmers and users demand lower cost equipment (easier entry)

Poor knowledge of availability and capabilit y of technology and their financial and

economic benefits; thus there is high risks in adopting new technologies

Poor linkages to ADPs, technology centres, financial resources

Short payback horizon

Poor management skills

ADPs are not very effective in agric mechanization

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What to do:

Facilitate technical, financial and economic analysis of agricultural machinery available

and make information available to end users

Develop mechanism for soliciting and publicizing best-of-breed technology

Facilitate linkages between fabricators, users and commercial financing structures

Improve management capacity of fabricators and end users

Promote linkages and information sharing among fabricators; and between research

and development institutions and fabricators

Strengthen agricultural mechanization component of ADPs

Promote private - public partnerships in technology development and diffusion

Existing Replicable Models in the Agricultural Sector : The Nucleus Estate Init iat ive (NEI):

The approach involves networking a number of small producers/processors/marketers around a

major producer, processor or marketer; weaving small farmers around big industrial

firms/ farmers, which provide markets for produce at pre-agreed prices. This could enhance their

access to inputs, technology as well as other monetized and non-monetized incentives. The big

farms/firms will serve as a co-coordinating centre of a concentric of several small farmers in the

production and supply chain in the industry. While the nucleus firm provides inputs and other

production support, the contract with the smallholders in the network will ensure the right

quality and quantity of produce.

It is a variant of out-grower/agribusiness model of private sector- led agriculture and is founded

on public-private partnership in agricultural development. While the private sector owns and

operates the programme, the government provides the enabling policy and regulatory

environment favourable for NEI success. Elements of the enabling environment include the

channelling of agricultural support and incentives to the NEI networks and value chains.

The potential impact of the NEI includes:

Development of the commodity value chain and agribusiness systems

Guaranteed markets, better and assured incomes/ returns for smallholders, thereby

improving incentives for the sustained use of modern highly efficient technologies

Enhanced linkages between research, extension and the farmer

Promot ion of domestic industrialisation based on agricultural raw materials produced

locally

Bridging of gaps between small scale farmers/processors/marketers and the formal

finance institutions

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Increased productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural value chain works to

attract private sector investments and higher-quality of t rained persons into agriculture.

Some big concerns that utilize agriculture products as primary raw materials have been

employing the NEI principles. Examples include:

Fumman Juice Company, Pamol, Okomu Oil, Presco Plc, AFCOTT Plc and the tobacco

processing companies notably, British American Tobacco, BAT, as well as Best Foods

Global Nigeria Ltd, have used the principle with appreciable success. Cadbury has also

been doing same in sorghum and cocoa to the mutual advantage of farmers and the

firm.

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) is working with 20 companies to take part

in the pilot stage of the programme: Fumman, Pamol, Olam, Stanmark Cocoa, Best

Foods, Presco, Afcott, Gacon, Murtala Foundation Botanical Garden, African SolaceFoundation, Risonpalm, Dangote Sugar, Ajanla Farms, West African Cotton, Felimar

Aquaculture Centre, BigFish Ltd.

This has been found to be replicable in food crops including fruits and vegetables, cash

crops, tree crops, livestock and poultry, and fishery sub-sectors.

The Southwest governments can work further with NESG on this init iative, in the following areas;

a. Training, incentives, organisational and networking capacity building;

b. Clear and transparent contract enforcement and dispute resolution systems;

c. Development of a legal framework and a clear strategy on Private Sector Participation in

agriculture in order to engender confidence of domestic and foreign investors;

d. Development of a framework for Private Sector Participation in Agricultural Extension

Services and adopt ion of Nucleus Estate Init iatives (NEI) by the states and building it into

a Public Private Partnership arrangements aimed at boosting agricultural productivity,

improved employment opportunities and gradually eradicate poverty.

Youth in Agriculture (YIA):

This is the agricultural training centre of the Leventis Foundation model type. It is based on

partnership with agriculture-focused NGOs where they can manage such schools as a replicate

of Leventis Foundation. Support is provided after training to ensure business start up and

growth support can be in form of guaranteed loan at reasonable interest rates.

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Requirement for Successful YIA:

a. Create awareness about the opportunities that exist within agriculture of self-

employment and sustainable livelihood for youths

b. Create an environment and offer incentives that are capable of att racting youths

into agriculture

c. Institute training of youth for self-employment in agriculture involves social re-

engineering of their mind. This is best done by an NGO/private sector rather

government. Hence, a PPP arrangement is proposed.

Commitment of Government could be in the form of:

a. Provision of basic infrastructure necessary for effective start-up of the school

b. Meeting their share of agreed counterpart contributions

c. Workable arrangement to support trained youths to successfully start their

farms (grant and/or provide guarantee to help them secure bank loans)

Benefits Derivable from YIA:

a. Creation of a new and younger generation of farmers to replace the aged

generation

b. A corps of educated and trained farmers that are better able to understand and

uti lize improved technologies

c. Development of a group that can serve as mini-extension agents for other

farmers to see and learn

d. Improved technologies can be disseminated through them to other farmers

e. Successful young farmers will serve as role models towards attracting other

youths into agricultural/farming careers

f. Enhanced productivity from investment in agriculture

The most competit ive crops and other agricultural enterprises that need to be promoted include

the following:

Cocoa

Cocoa is Nigeria's biggest non-oil foreign exchange earner. Southwest Nigeria is regarded as the

cocoa belt of the country, accounting for 70 per cent of Nigeria's annual production of

242,000 metr ic tons in 2008. The commodity is enjoying some support from the government

in the form of the National Cocoa Development Committee (NCDC), made up of the 14 cocoa

producing states in the country. There is also the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) by the

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government - the EEG is an export incentive that seeks to promote local industry by off-setting

30 per cent of production costs on all processed exports.

The price of cocoa hit a high value of $2,581.6 per tonne in January 2009, declined in 2010 and

rose to about 460,000 naira in January/February 2011; and then to a record all ti me high farmgate pri ce of 535,000 naira ($3,490) a metr ic ton in March 2011. The price has now (May

2011) fallen by as much as 28 percent to 400,000 naira ($2,567) a metric ton in Akure, and

384,000 naira a ton in Ikom, Cross River State. Some cocoa processors have relocated to Ghana

because of the poor investment environmentbut it is noteworthy that Agro Traders Limited, a

major cocoa exporting firm based in Akure, Ondo State, indicated that its N2.6bn cocoa

processing factory will be processing 20,000 metric tons of cocoa into cocoa butter, cocoa

liqueur, cakes and powder, among others as from December 2010.

The cocoa sector has not achieved the competit ive edge due to problems that border on

- Production constraints (aging farmers and farm trees- the length of time

required for a cocoa tree to produce its first beans (pods) is an average of three

years)

- Absence of appropriate macroeconomic and policy environment to enhance the

competit iveness of Nigerian cocoa in the international market.

- Preference of European Union to buy Nigerian raw cocoa beans instead of the

processed cocoa. High tariff is placed on processed cocoa while the raw cocoa

beans att ract very low tariff.

- The problem of low and disincentive cocoa pricing mainly caused by very low

domestic consumption of cocoa, cocoa products and the by-products from

primary processing.

Stakeholders agree that if the domesti c consumpt ion of cocoa is greatl y improved, it wi ll

bring about a mul ti pli er effect i n the competi t iveness of the industry.

Cassava

20% of national output of cassava comes from the six Southwest states but they experience low

yield per hectare compared to what is achievable thus leading to high tuber cost. There is high

domestic demand for cassava root and products of processing are high. It is the major staple

food in Southwest and across Nigeria, processing mainly gari, chips, meals (Akpu, Fufu,) flour,

starch.

Production is still highly subsistent - about 80% are small holders and are mainly women.

Processing equipment is mainly traditional and inefficient but the recent establishment of

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small/medium scale mechanized processing plants has introduced some improvements. Other

constraints include the response to unimplemented government policies recently which created

a glut, poor supply of labour as youth migrate from farming/ rural areas; and financial constraint

limiting expansion of area cultivated. Southwest states have the following capacity for cassava

processing industries in metric tons per day:

- 400 in Ibafo Lagos Ibadan Expressway; (Ogun State)

- 150 at Aiyede Ogbese on Owo- Akure road; (Ondo State)

- 150 at Asejire near Ibadan; (Oyo state)

- 150 in Ososa near Ijebu Ode; and (Ogun State)

- 60 at Ikoya in the riverine area (Ondo state).

The five processing factories with a single shift will consume 910 metric tonnes of cassava rootswhile it is estimated that within this geopolitical zone alone and upon the existing processing

industries we need a minimum of 500,000 metric tonnes of raw cassava roots per annum. These

industri es produce good qual it y and the best cassava starch for about N128,000 per t onne

but the imported industrial starch costs only N70,000 per tonne. Increased and more

efficient production can be stimulated and sustained by increased non-food use of cassava (flour,

starch, glue, beer, etc.) and improved management practices in cassava cultivation (improved

cuttings, fert ilizer application etc.)

Palm Oil

Production of palm oil and palm kernel oil has increased in the last 10 years but there is still

substantial deficit and local prices of palm oil and palm kernel oil are about twice the

international prices. It is estimated that 80% of palm oil is produced by micro, small and medium

scale processors using inefficient technologies. 29% of nati onal oil palm output comes f rom

the 6 Southwest states.

There is high domestic demand by households and MSMEs for oil palm products (PO, PK, PKO

etc) across the country from predominantly wild old groves of durapalms, (over 75% ) with only

small areas of organised plantings of tenerapalms and small and poorly managed oil palm

nurseries.

Production is mainly on a small scale, with inefficient and environmentally-harmful mills

producing poor quality oil. It has a value chain with many linkages that have evolved to match

small scale producers to small volume end-users. All palm oil products are sold and consumed in

Nigeria with minimal export markets. Improved seedlings are difficult to find while labour for

harvesting palms is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. Processing is concentrated off-

farm and is dominated by traditional method/small scale millers with low extraction rates. The

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cost of processing is high due to poor power and water supply and high cost of diesel.

Importation of oil palm products also affects the market.

Strategies for sector development p lan must involve:

Conversion over t ime from predominantly dura palms to planted teneras.

Capacity building for existing and new nursery operators and linkage with NIFOR

etc to enable them supply high quality seedlings

Support for smallholder farmers to apply fertilizer to increase yields and farm

incomes

Support for the establishment of large scale, modern, efficient mills and linkages

to generate a new market for small farmers where mills should purchase fruit at

the farm gate. Linkages should also evolve to generate a new market outlet for

palm oil, with commercial food manufacturers.

Plantain/ banana

It is a main source of food for local consumpt ion in the Southwest region-popular delicacy and a

major source of income and employment for rural families. There is huge demand in the regions.

Micro scale producers (between 1- 3 ha under cultivation) constitutes about 60% of the farmers

involved. The constraints include very high cost of labour (needed for land preparation, weeding

and harvesting) and transportation constraint in moving produce from farms to markets.

Opportunities however exist for commercial production of plantain/banana and processing of

plantain/banana into other products: flour, chips, juice, etc.

Yams

19% of national output of yams comes from the six Southwest states. There is high domestic

demand for yam across the states and the crop is identified as one of the crops with expansion

potentials for rural economic activities.

Fisheries

With 800 kilometers of coastline, there is paradoxically an estimated N800bn fish imports

annually, implying a high dependence of the country on imported f ish. The high demand for f ish

by hotels and restaurants creates a ready market for fish production in the country. Major

challenges are however low output, high cost of feeds, lack of fund to purchase modern

equipment for processing/no processing plant and the pollution of fresh water and dearth of fish.

Poultry

Opportunities exist in the poultry industry due to the following factors: increasing demand by

hotels, restaurants, catering and fast food outlets; preference for white meat; ban on

importation of frozen chicken; source of employment,; and numerous sources of sales to

consumers

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However, the constraints include the following: High start-up cost, lack of fund for poultry farm

expansion and purchase of processing/storage machines, lack of funds to construct processing

plant (including packaging) in order to meet international standards; and all inputs are

imported. Hence, expensive, oppor tunit ies exist in processing and packaging, establishment of

processing factories and attachment of poult ry farmers in a NEI programme.

1.2. THE MINERAL RESOURCES

17 Minerals in 40 Locations in SW

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Chief Concerns for Success for DAWN

Key Success Factors:

a. Common datab. Sharing Data

c. Capacity Building

d. Streamlining Activities of States without affecting or abusing independence and

constitutional rights Baseline Studies, Exploration, Extraction, Partnerships,

Commerce

e. Central ICT driven Platform

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2. PILLAR TWO: HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

A major plank of the economic blueprint must be job creation. Given the common

traditional focus of most Southwest States' governments since the 1950s on mass

education, there must be a complementary programme that addresses youthunemployment. Emphasis should be on self-reliance hinged upon creating skilled

workers who can operate within the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

2.1. EDUCATION:

Policy imperati ve:

Education should be for sustainability and development i.e. education that extends

beyond knowledge of specific disciplines into acquisition of skills that are relevant to

industry, entrepreneurship, social values, justice and concern for the living environment.

Vision & Mission:

The underlying principle of the governments in the Southwest region should be the

aspiration to provide their citizens with the most sophisticated and qualitative

education they require and desire. Education should not be limited to basic texts but

should include skilled vocations. Every school leaver should be certificated in one

vocation or the other. This is to equip him or her with a skill on which a micro industry can

be established with minimum capital and making such person self -sufficient. This is a

paradigm shift from the orthodoxy of school leavers and graduates stagnating between

white collar jobs and unemployment. The Southwest region must take the cultivation of

the intellect of its youth much more seriously.

Current Context:

Education and capacity building

hold the key to other conditions

of existence. While the Nigerian

educational system has expanded

over time in response to a

plethora of policies, Nigeria andindeed the Southwest have

unfortunately in the last two

decades witnessed an increase of

underdevelopment in education.

Yet, the Southwest people were

known in the past to be in the fore-front of educational development. The policy of

free and qualitative education introduced by the administration of the late sage,

Obafemi Awolowo, did not only transform the region but also gave it the leading edge in

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all areas of human development. Although the numbers of learners are multiplying, the

standard of education and infrastructure is gett ing poorer.

Distribut ion of lit erate population [Age 6 & above] by State & Sex, 2006

Source: NBS, Social Statisti cs in Nigeria, 2009

The population of out-of-school children is on the increase due to the poverty status of mostparents. Even where education is relatively free, there are some other unaffordable indirect costsincurred by parents. The region has a high number of trained staff both at the primary and

secondary levels of education. According to the Social Statistics in Nigeria, as at 2006, Ekit i andLagos States have 90% of their teaching staff as trained while other states also had over 80% asqualified teachers. Unfor tunately, the quality of the trained staff is questionable as this has nottranslated to improved academic performance by students in various external examinations.

Percentage of Candidates wi th min imum of 5 Credit s (includ ing Engl ish and Mathematics

in WAEC Examination May/June 2003-2008

Source: West Af rica Examination Council, Lagos

Data indicate that all the states recorded less than 35% success rates despite the large stock of

qualif ied teachers. From 2006, there was a decline in the performance of all the states. While the

commitment of the teaching staff could be in question, the commitment of the students also

demands critical attention.

As in all other regions of the country, the state of education and capacity building in the

Southwest region of Nigeria is presently in a comatose stage as many who go to school do not

acquire the relevant skills to function in a knowledge-based economy. Many youth in the

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Southwest region yearn earnestly for university education to the extent that demand far

outstrips supply of admission spaces as shown in the Table below, where the rate of university

admissions to applications between 2005/06 and 2007/08 reveals that the social demand for

university education has not been met by any of the states during the period. The rate of

admissions relative to applications had been below 10% and became even lower by 2007/08despite the preference of secondary school leavers for university education, vis-a-vis other types

of tertiary education.

Rate of Candidates' Admissions to Universit ies by State

2005/ 06 2007/ 2008 Sessions

Source: Calculated form NBS Social Stati st ics for N igeria, 2009

Today, most Nigerian university graduates are unemployable because of their proven

deficiencies while employers of labour (Nigerian Employers Consultative Association) affirm that

graduates do not meet the demand of industry because they are deficient in four crit ical areas

which are: Communication; Technical; Conceptual/Analytical; and Human Interactive/Social

Skills (Dabalen and Oni, 2000).

The political and socio-economic ingredients developing responsive policies, developing

appropriate structures and systems and delivering educational services that really educate the

citizenry for the benefits of the society - are not in place. These require a lot more than ad hoc

reforms but a comprehensive strategy that should begin at the very beginning.

Some Causes of the Educat ional Prob lems:

Many problems plague the education and capacity building process in the region. Some of the

general problems along various sub-sectors of education in Southwest are shown in the table below:

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Necessary Actions:

In order to provide education that will be relevant to the knowledge economy, the content and

process have to change radically where learning involves both education and learning by doing,

by using and by interacting. Initiative, creativity, problem-solving and openness to change also

become increasingly impor tant. All persons, irrespective of social and physical conditions, musthave access to adequate and appropriate educational provisions.

What Education?

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Other Recommendat ions & Actions:

a. All Southwest region students should be taught Yoruba language and culture as

compulsory subjects

b. Re-introduce subject like Civics to all primary schools to accentuate children as

Omoluwabi

c. Introduce all students to science, making them relevant to the environment i.e., applied

practical science

d. Basic standard should be the ability to read and write and speak Yoruba and English

fluently

e. Introduce training for the acquisition of skills as against t raining for the acquisition of

knowledge

f. Establish Life-long Centres, for formal and informal learning, as environments for

disruptive innovation. They should be centres of excellence located in international

standard

g. Develop a regional standard inspectorate, similar to OFSTED in England, with

responsibility for learning standards and quality assurance

h. In order to ensure that the appropriate skills are produced for the market, ALL the states

in the region must develop a common strategy for the provision of higher education atthe post-secondary level. Staff and student exchange programmes among the states

should also be encouraged. To achieve the expected collaboration the following are

important:

- Establishing a strong network among all the states' Ministries of Education in the

region;

- Developing a common data base on all aspects of educational planning in all the

States;

- Developing a common database on Labour Market

Information (This must be updated periodically);

- Collaborative research projects in education. The job

market should be conducted periodically to ensure

synergy between manpower supply and demand; and

- Institutionalising performance management systems for

all levels of education system throughout the region.

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2.2 HEALTH

thNigeria's health system performance is ranked 187 of 191 member countries (World Health

Report). Rout ine immunization coverage, which stood at >85% in 1990, reduced to < 20% in the

early 2000's and the nation is still struggling to return to the acceptable coverage level asnational coverage in 2008 was just 23%, although 43% in the Southwest. (NDHS 2008)

The nation's health indices are poor; with maternal mortality ratio of 545/100,000 live births

being one of the highest in the world while under-five mortality of 157/1,000 live births are

higher than the average for Sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria (24.1%) and diarrheal diseases (15.7%)

accounting for high percentage of child mortality. Vaccine preventable diseases alongside

poverty, ignorance and lack of good governance are the main causes of child morbidity and

mortality.

Though, health indicators from the Southwest states show a marginally better performance than

other zones in the country; these figures are still far below international standards. Under-five

mortality rate in the Southwest is 89/1,000 Live birth; MMR is 165/100,000. Qualitative health

service is available only to a small percentage of the population, despite the existence of many

Primary Heath Care Centres all over the states. These centres are ineffective to a large extent in

spite of the fact that they are expected to be the closest to the people.

Current Status:

The health profile of the Region is sti ll a far cry compared with regions on comparable economic

pedestal in other countries.

Comparison (Source: NDHS 2008)

RI Rout ine Immunisat ion

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Nigeria is a signatory to the MDGs and an effective health system wil l contribute significantly to

the attainment of these goals as four of the MDGs (3, 4, 5 & 6) are direct health goals while the

remaining 5 goals are indirectly related to health. The above table shows the level of attainment

in some indices.

Although the PHC system is expected to be the most important health facility for the generality

of the people, the system is plagued with a lot of problems which include poor sitting, lack of

personnel, lack of facilities and supplies and ineffectiveness of the community related health

committees in ensuring service delivery. The referral system is also ineffective due to lack of

adequate information on the system and general lack of infrastructure to handle emergencies

when they do occur.

A major issue of accessibility relates to poor sitting of PHC facilities where some facilities are

located in places where no settlements exist and in some cases are cited for polit ical reasons in

remote locations. This has implications for accessibility by patients. The table below shows that

there are many PHCs in all the states. However many of them are mere structures overgrown with

weeds and in deplorable conditions.

Health Instit ut ions in Southwest States

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Recommended Actions:

Nigeria has developed several policies and strategic documents relating to strengthening the

health system such as NEEDS/SEEDS/LEEDS, Health Sector Reform Programme (HSRP 2004 -

2008), Blueprint for Revitalizing PHC in Nigeria (2004- 2008), Ward Minimum Health Care

Package (WMHCP, by NPHCDA 2006) and the most recent; the National Strategic HealthDevelopment Plan (NSHDP 2010- 2015).

These documents should be reviewed at both state and regional levels for adaptation, adopt ion,

harmonization and implementation. The NSHDP document has been identified as the most

comprehensive of the listed documents as it is complete with cost implications of each activity

and interventions, timeline, responsible organs/ individuals for implementation etc. The NSHDP

focuses on 8 priority areas that are imperative for an effective and efficient healthcare delivery

system. The priority areas are:

- Leadership and Governance for Health

- Health Service Delivery

- Human Resource for Health

- Health Care Financing

- National Health Management Information System

- Community Participation and Ownership

- Partnerships for Health

- Research for Health.

The 36 States of the Federation and the 774 LGAs have each developed their SSHDP documents

including the cost implications and the LGA documents have been harmonized into the SSHDP. It

is however not certain if any state has started implementation which was supposed to have

commenced since January 2010.

The SSHDP (2010 2015) is comprehensive, realistic and sustainable as it attempts to

institutionalize the eight priority areas that are imperative for an effective and efficient

healthcare system. It focuses on 8 priority areas that are imperative for an effective and eff icient

health care delivery system. States must therefore commence the implementation of their

respective SSHDP in order to facilitate the transformation of the heath sector. Some specific

suggestions include the following:

Geographical Equity in Sitting PHCs:

To improve geographical equity and access to health services, apart from mapping and

establishing GIS for health facilities, community representatives should participate in the

development of the criteria for sitting/re-sitting facilities in the state because of community

dynamics which may tend to influence the use or non-use of such facilities.

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Behavioural Change Communicat ion:

On sensit izing the general public on the different levels of the healthcare system and procedure

for referral, CSOs are expected to mobilise and sensitise communities on the importance of

referral and strict adherence to guidelines relating to referrals. The secondary and tert iary health

facilities are overburdened by handling cases that an effective PHC system can effectivelyhandle.

Furthermore, most diseases are avoidable or preventable as many of them are related to

behavioural and harmful t raditional practices. It is therefore important to implement the Health

Promot ion Policy, with corresponding adaptation to reflect local realit ies. Budget lines for health

promotion through Behavioural Change Communication is expected to be provided at all levels

and a programme monitoring and evaluation system put in place.

There should be evidence-based public enlightenment via the popular media, religious

institutions, e.t.c., using local languages to enhance people's knowledge on dangerous health

practices. A radio discussion or phone-in programme on the issues is encouraged since the

radio is a popular medium in most of the states. The awareness that could be created, for

instance, on evidence-based MMR and IMR trends will contribute to the generation of a crit ical

mass of advocates for an improvement in the t rend.

For the BCC to be effective, however, there is need to do a rapid Knowledge, Attitudes and

Practices study in each state prior to the mobilization in order to identify demand-side barriers

to accessing health services and to be able to respond to the areas of felt need for behavioral

change. Researchers and the academia must participate in this process to ensure appropriate

linkage and experience sharing between the academia and the health sector. There is also a

need to set up a Joint SMoH (PDPD/SHB) Programmes & Diseases Control Commit tee to

consider, priorit ise and update communicable and non-communicable disease burden profile

of the state so that interventions can be appropriately and strategically designed.

Free MCH:

The administration of free MCH is highly supported. However, the level of understanding of the

implementation of free MCH is varied in the states and must be addressed.

Personnel and Inf rast ructure:SMoH should provide a functional and well-equipped ambulance in at least one facility per

ward. Addit ionally, rural communities are encouraged to formally organize community means

such as bicycles, carts, motorcycles and taxis to handle emergencies. The need to build the

capacity of relevant health personnel and stakeholders on the implementation guidelines for all

cases such as emergency obstetric care, complicated malaria, road traffic accidents, etc is

important. Training institutions are encouraged to undergo an audit of their curriculum and staff

capacity assessment to ensure the relevance and adequacy of their training to felt needs. The

need to redeploy staff equitably between rural and urban areas and at the different levels of the

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healthcare system in relation to needs, paying attention to staff mix cannot be overemphasized.

All qualified people in the state should be considered when employing health personnel

irrespective of their political or ethnic affiliation.

Private Sector Part icipat ion:For the full potential of the private sector to be realised, guidelines for partnership, training and

outsourcing of services should be developed while joint performance monitoring mechanism

for the private sector is also developed and implemented at the regional level. Private sector

regulation must be enforced at the state level as a number of illegal facilities are operating in the

states with the associated negative consequences on the heath of the public.

3. PILLAR THREE: COMMERCE & INDUSTRIES - Focus on Manufacturing & SMEs

There should be a strategy for promoting and developing commercial activities in the

Southwest. Impediments to commerce (in the form of traditional buying and selling, trade inindustrial raw materials and products as well as general movement of goods) must be minimal.

Such impediments include bad transportation networks, inadequate/inappropriate storage

facilit ies, extor tionist activit ies of the police, customs, NDLEA, etc.

Importantly, a great potential lies in the utilization of Agbabu village in Ondo State as a veritable

miniport or enhanced jetty for the delivery of goods to and from eastern Yorubaland, i.e. Ondo,

Ekiti and parts of Osun State. It played such a role during the colonial era. However, major

revamping works are necessary.

No nation that wants to shape informed policies and take effective action on its economic

development can be without its own independent capacity in Science and Technology (S&T).

Therefore, the Southwest region needs to harness its human and material resources for the

development and growth of its citizens and environment. Developing engineering

infrastructure to fast-track home-initiated and home-grown industrialisation are achievable

through local machine designs and machine building capabilities. This will result in general

provision of capital goods and equipment that encourage the proliferation of viable small and

medium enterprises.

No nation that wants to shape informed policies and take effective action on its economic

development can be without its own independent capacity in Science and Technology (S&T).

Therefore, the Southwest needs to harness its human and material resources for the

development and growth of its citizens and environment. Developing engineering

infrastructure to fast-track home-initiated and home-grown industrialisation are achievable

through local machine designs and machine building capabilities. This will result in general

provision of capital goods and equipment that encourage the proliferation of viable small and

medium enterprises.

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Nigeria, as a nation, depends heavily on imports and this has drastically affected our

infrastructural development. Our dependence on the developed nations has inhibited the

evolut ion of our own engineering infrastructural base.

Current Status:Most of the engineering and manufacturing infrastructures developed and located in the

Southwestern zone have been under-managed. An example is, Osogbo Steel Rolling Mill

Dawn - Strategy Roadmap

Documents

Transcript of Dawn - Strategy Roadmap