NEW ECONOMIC AGENDA AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM FOR NIGERIA
NEW ECONOMIC AGENDA AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM FOR NIGERIA
By Dr. Otive Igbuzor
It is a settled matter that every society can develop as people expand their capacity to confront the environment and solve their problems through a variety of means including science, technology, innovation and development knowledge. Nigeria as a nation has faced a lot of challenges from pre-colonial times. The country has faced huge challenges in all spheres of life-political, economic, social, security, environment and technological. The leadership selection process has ensured that it is difficult for competent, dynamic and visionary persons with integrity to emerge as leaders. Over the years, there has been degeneration in every sector compounded by monumental corruption. It was therefore very easy for Nigerians to buy into the change agenda of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the April 2015 general elections. After winning the elections at the federal level, Nigerians expected the new administration to implement a change agenda in all sectors and bring the succour to citizens.
One area where great changes are needed is in the economy. In the last one and a half decades, the Nigerian economy has been reported to have grown enormously that Nigeria has become the largest economy in Africa. In fact, from 1990-1999, the growth rate was between 2-3 percent but from 1999-2015, the growth rate more than doubled. One of the major problems is that economic growth in Nigeria has not created meaningful employment as many of the country