The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has hosted an “In-Conversation” session with Prof Stefan Dercon, professor of economic policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, on the need for positive developmental outcomes in Nigeria through elite consensus.
The interactive session, which held in Lagos on Tuesday, centred on how an elite consensus could be formed in Nigeria and was chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation Leadership Council, AIG Fellows, Professor Attahiru Jega and Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru moderated the session.
At the event, Dercon, who is also the author of the book: “Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose,” said countries such as China and India had grown their economies and reduced poverty levels to such an extent that by 2030, extreme poverty would be an African phenomenon and the greatest number of the world’s poor would reside in Nigeria.
He argued that the answer to a nation’s development lies not in a specific set of policies but in a key ‘development bargain,’ where the elite shift from protecting their positions to gambling on a growth-based future.
He provided examples of countries where the elite have made successful bargains that have resulted in positive developmental outcomes and contrasted them with countries such as Nigeria where no such bargain exists and where socio-economic outcomes continue to deteriorate.
Obasanjo declared that it is important that Nigerians have unity of purpose or a common objective towards which everyone is working before an elite bargain for development can occur. He said, right now, everyone is focused on a personal agenda and the country is suffering as a result.
Also at the event, chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said one of the strategic objectives of the organisation was to build the capacity of the public sector and to persuade Nigerian stakeholders to actively participate in national transformation.
He said, “The conversation doesn’t just end here. We are taking this further in a discussion with senior public servants over the next few days and hopefully, sometime in the future, I may be able to confirm that this dialogue catalysed a process that led to positive change in Nigeria.”
The session also had in audience, among others, Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, former presidential aspirant Kingsley Moghalu, Mr. Pascal Dozie, Lady Maiden Ibru and a journalist Kadaira Ahmed.
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