Economic Development Management in Nigeria: Dynamics, Dialectics and Outcomes

Abstract

Economic development is a process whereby the real per capita income of a country is increased and sustained over a long , period of time subject to some caveats. First, this process is subject to the stipulations that the number below the absolute poverty line does not increase and that the distribution of income does not become more unequal (Meier, 1976 and Aboyade, 1976). Second, such a process must experience some elements .of modernisation such as enhanced productivity, social and economic equalisation; improved knowledge, attitudes and institutions; and rationally coordinated policy measures that are capable of removing all obstacles to socio-economic transformation (Abciyade, 1976; Obadart, 1998; Ohiorhenuan, 2000). The World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995 and its follow-up in June 2000 added yet another caveat which is to popularise the human dimension of the issue. With this caveat, human beings are placed at the core of any meaningful economic development. They are the means and ends of economic development. As clearly evident in Nigeria's development documents, the primary goal of economic development policies has been geared towards the actualisation of a solid base for long-term economic and social transformation of the country with a view to establishing peace, progress and prosperity. The realisation of this laudable objective informed the adoption of several economic policies and strategies . in the country. Since independence, economic development policies have been very dynamic. Between 1960 and 1985, government thought that a fixed medium-term National Development Plan framework would transform Nigeria into the type of society it envisaged. The economic crisis of the early 1980s clearly showed the futility of this approach in the Nigerian context. This, therefore, led to the adoption of a comprehensive Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) which emphasised a policybased economic management strategy (1986 - 1990). After more than five years of implementing SAP, it became obvious that its performance was mixed and . tilted towards nonaccomplishment of its major objectivesJ The adoption of a three-tier planning system since 1990, a framework that comprises a perspective plan, a three-year rolling plan and an annual budget, also left much to be desired in terms of achieving its goals.