THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (NEEDS) AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

1.0 Introduction

This topic National economic empowerment and development strategy, (NEEDS) was formulated as an economic policy directed towards National development, as was founded on July 2003 by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to help improve the people's well-being and human development and to ensure environmental sustainability and regeneration. National Economic Empowerment and development strategy in the vision of Nigeria serve as a new set of values and principles, which will facilitate the achievement of National goals and wealth creation, employment generation and poverty reduction.

National Economic Empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) envisages sisters programme which is state economic empowerment and development strategy (SEEDS) for the state government and eventually local economic empowerment and development strategy (LEEDS) in national development in Nigeria based on four cardinal principle of national economic empowerment and development strategy.

• Poverty eradication
• Empowerment generation
• Wealth creation
• Value re-orientation

1.1 Background of the Study

The international development targets (IDTS) were set in 1996 to improve the peoples economic well-being and human development to ensure environmental sustainability and regeneration. A total of 189 world leaders met in September 2000 and adopted the united nations millennium declaration which UN members states were committed to adopt and achieve by the year 2015

The millennium development goals are as follows:

• Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduction of child immorality
• Improve material health
• Combat against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other disease
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development.

Nigeria adopted the above millennium goals and the federal government equivalent is the national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) its goals are:

• Poverty alleviation
• Employment
• Wealth creating
• Value re-orientation

The state equivalent of national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) is the state economic empowerment and development strategy (SEEDS) with its ultimate objectives as

• Economic prosperity
• Generation of employment
• Creation of wealth
• Poverty alleviation

Although local empowerment and environment management project (LEEMP) and local government empowerment and development are drive from the federal government and state government policies, it is community based and provides infrastructural development and capacity building.

As local economic empowerment development strategy (LEEDS) is the federal and state government policies its goals are consistent with national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) and state economic empowerment and development strategy (SEEDS).

Since local empowerment and environment management project (LEEMP) is community based, its projects are community development project while the capacity building as mentioned earlier involve LEEM staff.

The training of the local community staff in the capacity building of the local empowerment and environment management project (LEEMP) is aimed at ensuring effective execution and maintenance of local empowerment and management project infrastructure.

The local empowerment and environment management project (LEEMP) is also charge with the responsibility of conducting surveys of community socio economic needs, national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) which is aimed at ensuring effective execution and maintenance of the local empowerment and environment management project to ensure the identification of the actual needs of the people and their efficient achievement. As it is a federal government project, LEEMP seeks finance, materials and technical assistant for the realization of its community based projects.

In conclusion one can state that local empowerment and environment management project (LEEMP) involves a set of community development specifically identified and set in target to be achieved within specified period. It is therefore the responsibility of the local government to achieve these set target of local economic empowerment development strategy (LEEDS) and local empowerment and environment management project before the year 2015

According to A.E.C Ogunna (2007:185); the national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) is the response to the development challenges of Nigeria. The goal of national economic empowerment and development strategy is to mobilize the resources of Nigeria to make a fundamental break with the failure of the past and bequeath a United and prosperous nation to generations to come. National economic empowerment and development strategy is a home grown reform programme put together through extensive consultation with major stakeholder in both private and public sector of the economy.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

There has been a persistent quest for an economic policy that will lead to the path of national development several attempts towards the realization of this have provided abortive, several factors have accounted for the failure of any meaningful attempt towards national development in Nigeria, of which corruption rank top in the list and it has been discovered that development policies in Nigeria have been unrealistic when it comes to implementation.

Moreover, political instability of frequent changes in government has also impacted negatively on development policies in Nigeria.

This is because every government comes within its own copy of economic reforms and policies. Hence lack of continuation of a particular reform policy, as a result of frequent changes of government it has also been another problem facing development strategy in Nigeria. No wonder, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo during his regime as a president was pessimistic about handling over power to another person. He had vividly stated that he would like to handover power to someone that would continue with reform policies, that he would not want his successor to abandon any of his reform policies.

There is no doubt that the national economic empowerment and development strategy has to an extent, impacted positively on the Nigerian economy. But the fact remains that some years after the introduction of national economic empowerment and development strategy. By Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the dividends of this committee as a panacea to economic development are yet to be fully seen.

National economic empowerment and development strategy has not really brought about the much expected development as envisaged in the committee's document. Some years after the introduction of National economic empowerment and development strategy. There are still unemployment, and the worst is that the rate of poverty in Nigeria is escalating.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to examine the National Economic Empowerment, Development Strategy, and National Development. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the implementation process of national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) as envisage by the NEEDS document.
2. To account for why national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) has failed to achieve economic development in Nigeria.
3. To understand the way in which national economic and development strategy (NEEDS) has failed to achieve economic development in Nigeria.
4. To ascertain the prospects of the proposed NEEDS programme.

1.4 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Does national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) have role to play in national development?
• Has the intervention of national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) in any way hindered development in Nigeria?
• Is there any factor affecting the performance of national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) in the role of national development?
• Has national economic empowerment and development strategy achieved its main purpose?
• Are there any challenges and prospects facing national economic empowerment and development strategy in development roles?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study is justified and significant because it addresses and examines the important issues of poverty eradication, wealth creation, and employment generation which are problems of most government, especially in developing countries; this also addresses the issue of corruption which is like a canker worm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigerian society, especially the political and administrative system.

This study will help proffer solutions to the fundamental development challenges facing the national such as inconsistent macro economic policy instability and policy reversals conflicts between different macro economic policy goals, public sector dominance in production and consumption, corruption, weak institutional capacity for economic policy management and coordination and high rate of unemployment.

Recommendation proffered in this study will be of immense benefit to government and non-governmental organization towards effective adoption and implementation of national development programmes in Nigeria.

Finally, this study will equally be useful to researchers, student and intellectuals in development administration even the bureaucrats and other development related disciplines.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is quite an-extensive one because it strive to cover and examine the national development and national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) as initiated by the Obasanjo led democratic government. The study will examine the concept of national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) as well as prospects and problem of national economic empowerment and development strategy.

1.7 Limitation of the Study

It is necessary to highlight some of the problems the researcher encountered in the course of carrying out the research, they includes

Inadequate Fund:

This made the project a problematic one hence the researcher is still a student, because of the collection of data for the project and high cost of transaction in the country today. I was unable to provide sufficient cash to carry out the research as a result of that the work was delayed.

Insufficient Materials:

This is another problem encountered on the course of this work, I went to several libraries, internet, newspaper, magazine, journals, tertiary institution, textbooks and lecturers consultation before I could get enough materials on the topic and all these involve money.

Non-Challant Attitude and Unwillingness:

It is another problem on this research work, the respondent were unable to give out the vital information needed either for the fear of being implicated or not to disclose the secret of the establishment.

1.8 Definition of Terms

In a work of this nature, it is imperative to give a definition of the basis concepts one would come across in this study. Concepts are terms that refer to the characteristics, event, situations group and individuals that we are studying in social sciences.

The following terms shall be considered in this study:

Needs:

This stands for National economic empowerment and development strategy. It is an economic reform policy introduced by Obasanjo led democratic government

Institutional Capacity:

This means the creating expansion, reinforcement or strengthening of institutions and agencies in such a way that they are able to perform the responsibilities assigned to them.

Corruption:

Corruption here means the illegal appropriation of public fund through, the instrument of political power and office. It could also imply the use of one's official position for personal aggrandizement and pecuniary gain.

Political Instability:

This refers to frequent change of government in a particular political setting.

Policy:

This refers to those definite acts or actions of government geared towards the fulfillment of the obligations of government on the citizens, which is the maintenance of law and order, and the provision of necessary social and economic facilities needed for an enhanced standard of living of the people.

Public Reversal:

This refers to sudden change of an existing policy.

Development:

Development is seen here as the qualitative improvement in the living standard of members of the society.

Policy Implementation:

Policy implementation here refers to process of giving effect to policy so that the objectives of the policy can be achieved.