The strategic plan developed by the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs is a novel plan to reposition and align its activities towards the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. The plan will indeed lead to the desired collective prosperity of Nigeria. In his first presentation at the inaugural meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Mr President laid out his vision for Nigeria which includes to “Improve the lives of Nigerians in a manner that not only reflects our humanity but also encourages compassion towards one another and fully rewards our collective efforts to resolve the social ills that seek to divide us’.
To achieve this vision, President Tinubu laid out an eight-point agenda which all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, should key into. This became necessary because Nigeria’s economy is presently characterised by slow growth in terms of real GDP, sub-par oil production, diverging and depreciating exchange rates, high inflation rates, depleted gross foreign reserves, increasing debt service to revenue ratio, high unemployment and multi-dimensional security concerns. The combination of these factors has made Nigeria a very challenging place to live and work. This also makes it difficult for the country to attract the necessary capital and skills to improve its fortunes.
The implementation of the 8-point agenda of the Tinubu administration is therefore geared towards attaining significant milestones in addressing the deplorable state of the economy into one that is progressive and restores the hope of citizens. The document, which was launched today by the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Hon. Zephaniah Jisalo, contains specific targets on key economic indices to be met by the ministry in the next five years (2024-2028) across the eight point agenda. By its statutory mandate, the ministry is uniquely positioned to impact greatly in actualising Mr President 8-point agenda.
The minister, therefore, deserves commendation for his efforts in re-strategising and repositioning to achieve its set targets and statuary responsibilities. The minister envisioned the development of a large diversified, sustainable, competitive economy that effectively harnesses the talents and energies of citizens as well as available resources to guarantee a high standard of living for Nigerians. Specifically, his vision aims at increasing national productivity and significantly improving Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) rankings.
It is understandable that there is nothing wrong in having lofty aspirations as a nation. The new strategic plan must not be allowed to fail the way others in the past did. In the past, government officials make statements of intents without any plan to translate the aspirations into concrete results for the nation. But it is hoped that this time with the renewed hope agenda of President Tinubu and the seriousness attached to this strategic plan by the minister of special duties, the ministry would not fail. This is because the minister is aware that what was lacking in the past efforts was a measurable plan built on an overarching vision. For the government then, it is a surrender to routine and a lack of creative and deep thinking.
The new document is a conscious and deliberate step to avoid the mistakes of the past and in confronting the challenges of the moment which is to burst the routine bubble by venturing beyond the familiar in policy thinking and service delivery. This is a clear departure from the past wishful thinking in policy formulation and implementation. The difference between the new strategic plan and those before it is that it is grounded in reality, evidence and comprehensive planning to address the complex challenges by the ministry for the country’s benefits.
Thank God that President Tinubu and the special duties minister are leaders with overarching vision and the needed significant strategic plans, key performance indicators (KPI) and actionable plan to succeed. Through the sagacity of the minister, the ministry now has a clear, coherent strategic plan driven by data and evidence, and most importantly, a disciplined, transparent and consistent execution template to succeed. And it will.
Musa Wada writes from Abuja
