Vision 20: 2020 Realities and Challenges

Abstract

Development planning is a pre- requisite for achieving national development in the world. However, the Nigeria experience in development planning has been a failure.A recent effort initiated by the government in realizing national developmental goal in Nigeria is the Vision20: 2020. Vision 2020 is expected to place Nigeria in the comity of one of the developed 20 economies in the world by the year 2020. It is just eleven years to the end of the time frame for realizing the vision. But the question is could this vision be realizable within this time frame? This question is imperative considering some of the developmental challenges in Nigeria. This paper examines some of these challenges and their implications in realizing Vision 20:2020. The paper identified the following challenges which could be an impediment to the realization of Vision 2020.They include: low development of science and technology, inadequate infrastructural facilities i.e. roads, power, low level of industrialization, lack of budget discipline, lack of virile and ineffective fiscal and monetary policy, lack of policy consistency and continuity, decay and ineffective educational sector, ineffective human resource development, high rate of corruption, high rate of poverty and unemployment and lack of good governance. The paper concludes that unless drastic and urgent measures are taken to overcome these challenges, the Vision20: 2020 will be a mere dream. The paper believes that the only way out is for the leaders to be more committed, honest, self disciplined, transparent and more accountable to the people. The present effort to bring about attitudinal change tagged, ‘Re-branding’ is appreciated. But the re-branding needs to start from the leadership.

Keywords: Development, vison 20:2020, planning, challenges, corrruption