An International Development expert and one time Consultant on water to the World Bank, Engr Micheal Ale says lack of finance and inability to domesticate development model as designed by United Nations to meet Nigeria situation is responsible for poor implementation of SDG’s in Nigeria.
Engr Ale explained that Nigeria’s late entry into the earlier Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), model, had adversely affected its socio-economic development pace adding that there is an urgent need for government at all levels to domesticate the principles of the seventeen SDGs in the Nigeria context for the nation to achieve meaningful development.
The International Development expert who also doubles as the National President, Association of Water Well Drillng Rig Owners Practitioners (AWDROP) said the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were designed to eradicate poverty which is more prevalent in Africa, Nigeria inclusive but couldn’t meet up with the global indices of MDGs in the nation it joined so late.
“If we want to grow the sustainable development, it must be domesticated in the Nigerian context. What is peculiar to Ghana may be very alien to Nigeria. What suits U.K that is already developed may not suit Nigeria that is a developing nation.
The SDGs must be made to grow in the Nigerian context. Every nation is to pick the goals as a guiding principle on how to domesticate the implementation of that suggestion by the UN and bring it to our own status of development and probably keep on developing and maintaining the level of development we have.”
Engr Ale said It must be something that people know and correspond with what is now in vogue Covid 19, which had already been domesticated and everyone now realizes how to prevent it and measures to keep it at bay, same way SDGs must go viral among the political actors as they are the ones who will take the overriding decisions on development.
“From what I see around, especially where I reside, I can say there is zero impact of SDGs probably because states couldn’t accept the funds. We got the funding for the MDGs from the Paris fund. For SDG we do not seem to have any fund for it and it is becoming issues for states to key into it. The information has not gone so much for the state to have the understanding of what SDGs is. We need the infrastructure to develop SDGs not just the soft copy that is merely advertising the goals in offices of our administrators.”
While commenting on the possibility of Africa meeting up with the SDGs, Engr Ale said there there is no African nation that can achieve it now with major challenge which is finance.
” Once the finance is provided, the human resources will be available. We should work at our own pace, adapt to our own situation and work with that. In 200 years, it might be very difficult for us to meet up with the developed nations. But you look at United Emirates as they took a political will and decision to turn desert to a tourism centre and that happened.
He urge government to look in a new direction, with laudable innovative thinking, ideas and strategy adding that there is no need to key into an ambitious task which is very difficult to meet because of lack of finance.
Engr Ale advocate for creation of national development strategy that will make it develop at a pace irrespective of having a timeline to meet with SDGs.
