Good governance and the right policies are pre-requisites for Africa’s institutional and economic development. However, aligning policies in practice given the breadth and complexity of the 17 SDGs and their 169 targets, there is a need for collaborative efforts of public and private actors in both policy formulation and implementation because the different phases bring with them very specific challenges. Also, due to the fact that whatever developmental activities are taken on and policies passed, there is a need for national, regional and local level participation. It is therefore necessary to have an inclusive process and get the alignment from key stakeholders both within and beyond government.
The current continued governance crises in Nigeria, unclear goals/vision and large-scale corruption in Nigeria reveals diminishing accountability and ethical values and this has slowed down our development. The indices are clear, but priorities are misplaced leading to misalignment in budgetary provisions and ministries.
Achieving progress across the SDGs will require governments to work across policy areas and steer the delivery of these ambitious goals; this involves a scenario where all three (3) arms of government’s effective participation in the rule of law ensure transparency, responsiveness, equity and inclusiveness in an accountable manner.
In breaking the barriers, Nigeria needs to focus policies around peace building, education, health & expansion of economic opportunities mainly around optimization of local content.