A wise man once said, “A failure to plan is a plan to fail”. Most problems in businesses, society, and government arise from this- a failure to plan. A book in the Bible- Proverbs has a mention of the need for us humans to emulate the ant, which plans on how it can survive scarcity of food in the period when food supply is bountiful.
Nigeria our dear nation suffers from a sincere lack of direction. There I’ve said it. That’s our major problem. Everything appears chaotic, haphazard and done without a solidly defined end-point. I read on THISDAY Nov. 23rd, the recent call by the former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Chairman, Barr. Olisa Agbakoba on the Federal Government to scrap the Ministry of Planning and replace it with a development portfolio of some sort. Well up till that moment I had hardly ever heard mention of the ministry. Why? Well, probably because I hardly saw the Ministry’s work in action as represented by the plethora of issues and problems still besieging most of our capital projects, initiatives that hardly last for a decade and multiplicity of Commissions whose goals and objectives though similar to their counterparts operate virtually as islands. Nonetheless I think his call for the scrapping of the Ministry might be too shortsighted, and being a learned colleague ought to see the need for a Ministry of Planning which the Federal Government must be applauded for seeing the need for establishing an entire Ministry solely for the purpose. The rationale behind the institutionalizing of the Ministry is absolutely justifiable, but would the structure and role it plays in government be judged as being effective?
In my humble opinion the Ministry of Planning ought to be put as a central focal point in every medium and long scale project being undertaken by the Federal Government and its state governments. The Ministry ought to be brought in right from the moment of idea conceptualization up on till the moment it is executed and thereafter. The Ministry of Planning ought to be put at the helm of affairs such as oil price boom and subsequent fall and how it affects the nation foreign reserves and GDP. It should be able to advise the Federal Government of why there is a need for the National Budget to be approved and implemented at the beginning of the year and not late in the second quarter as this undermines a developing nation that should be forward thinking and consequently undermines growth. The Ministry should be represented by capable leaders with sound vision and well grounded experience and training on project management (scenario planning) and economic planning. You might ask, “What and how does planning help in a nation that is distraught with multiplicity of problems ranging from inefficient power supply to youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region?” Well the Ministry of Planning if well managed ought to use its skills in assisting policymakers and other stakeholders in enhancing their skills in the areas of policymaking, long-term perspective planning and institutional and regulatory reforms as well as facilitate the emergence of policy ideas and consensus positions in Nigeria.
Without this as a guide the Ministry simply shouldn’t exist. But with the reports on the news- on how our N40 billion satellite- NigComSat 1 gets missing and is having a free rough and tumble fall in space, lack of proper accounting and auditing in government parastatals, food scarcity, lack of funds to pay pensioners, loss of foreign investment to foreign seafarers, lack of credible contractors for power projects and everything in between; is it safe to seat back at home and say scrap the Ministry of Planning? And replace it with what, if I may ask?
We are tired of having to see structures, projects, initiatives and commissions come into existence amidst much cheer and jamboree and then after a change in government, switch in leadership seats or mere passage of time; these projects lay to waste forever up until the building dilapidates- like our dear old National Theatre and dozens of other government initiatives that gets dropped like hot oil the moment the baton of leadership changes hands. So in a metaphorical sense of it we as a nation can be described an Olympian relay runner that changes course soon as a team mate hands him/her the baton. How do we ever get to the finish line?
We need a more active ministry of planning that is well grounded and if possible run in conjunction with professionals from the private sector. God knows we have a formidable army of management consultants, project mangers, and financial analysts that can get a proper blueprint of the economic, financial and socio-economic impact on any given major project to be executed for far less costs in terms of consultancy fees than it would save leaving matters like these in the hands of a few corrupt directors that might be looking for a quick kickback from approving a contract or maybe slightly more honorable- public awareness and accolades. Mr. Ijiebor McCarthy, founder of the Institute of Planning describes planning as “the link between an idea and action so that the action can have a well thought out and logical route to take you to the expected destination. It involves the establishment of objectives, formulation, evaluation and selection of policies. It is like a compass that a pilot uses to navigate his route from point A to point B while measuring the amount of fuel necessary from Benin to Lagos without which the journey won’t be embarked on”.
The Ministry of Planning should employ experts in carrying out the duties for which they were established. In every aspect of our policies and infrastructure building as a developing nation the Ministry of Planning ought to take charge of affairs by pointing out to the Federal Government the desired paths required towards projects and initiatives using an approach that puts Sustainability, Reaction and Scenario planning in its forefront.
We need a Ministry of Planning that has special sub-units for economic, production, financial, budgetary, logistic, educational, community development, occupational, project finance, taxation and last but not least scenario planning. This Ministry under the several sub units listed above can then position itself as a central chief consultant with oversight functions to the Federal Government of Nigeria and its 36 states. Every contract awarded after due process has been carried out must have been deemed worthy and approved by the Ministry of having a positive effect that would be long-lasting and outlive its initiators, founding fathers, project commissioners and signatories. Of course this can only be properly carried out by having sound leadership in the Ministry and a partnership with institutional investors (both foreign and local), private funded educational institutions, and management consultancy firms as partners towards moving the nation forward. Then we can move towards our Millennium Development Goals, Vision 2020, New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and the 7 Point Agenda of the current leadership of the country.
Until then majority of our citizens would remain disenchanted about the way and manner the Nigerian Government is being run and their dreams of seeing a continually progressive nation with sound policies and clear sense of direction will remain doubtful. But then again, who is a believer in an agenda without a clear cut plan. Anyone?
Send your thoughts to ebuka@jeanpaulconsult.com
Ebuka J. Anichebe
Member of the Institute of Planning (Corporate Planners) www.instituteofplanningng.com
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