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COMMUNIQUE OF THE 60TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE NIGERIAN ECONOMIC SOCIETY Theme: ECONOMIC POLICIES AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN AFRICA

2019-09-25

Conference No: 191736
Date: Mon, September 16, 2019 to Wed, September 18, 2019
Venue: THE NAF CONFERENCE CENTRE AND SUITES, ABUJA
Time: 10am
1. Preamble The 60th Annual National Conference of The Nigerian Economic Society (NES) held between 16th and 18th September, 2019, with the broad theme,Economic Policies and the Quality of Life in Africa. The overall objective of the Conference was to x-ray the nexus between economic policies and quality of life in Africa and to proffer evidence-based recommendations to policy makers on the pathways to address the palpable disconnect between economic policies and the quality of life of citizens in various countries across the continent. In attendance was a distinguished audience drawn from a broad spectrum that cuts across the academia as well as public and private sector practitioners, from the banking and other industries, across Africa.The Conference was declared open by the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, who was ably represented by the Minister of State for Budget and Planning, Mr. Clem Agba. In his keynote address, the Vice President provided an insight into the various policies that the Federal Government of Nigeria has implemented over the years to improve the quality of life of the citizens of the country, in light of the debilitating scourge of unemployment and poverty that has become endemic in the country. These policies include the School Feeding Programme, the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, the N-Power Programme as well as various policy interventions that have been made in the health and educational sectors, with the aim of improving the delivery of services that could improve the quality of life of the citizenry. In all, seventy well-researched papers, consisting of 8 papers were presented in two plenary sessions while sixty-two others were presented in the concurrent sessions at the Conference. These papers covered a wide range of topics that addressed economic policies and the quality of life of citizens from different perspectives. There were also two Policy Round Table sessions at which carefully selected Panelists provided highly enlightening insights into the nexus between economic policies and quality of life, drawing useful lessons of the link between these two critical variables from other countries and regions of the world, thus making possible the much needed cross-country comparison between Nigeria and these other countries in the other regions of the world. One noteworthy comment from participants at the Conference is the topical nature of the theme of the Conference, given that it sought to shed the much-needed light on the impact of economic policies and programme of governments in African countries in general and in Nigeria in particular on the quality of life of the citizens. 2. Observations and Recommendations from the Conference 2.1 Observations The key observations that were made at the Conference include: 1. The lack of progress in developing a one-nation consciousness and in developing the Nigerian economy to lift the country and its people out of poverty. Despite the huge resource endowment, this incapacity is fueled by the seeming inconsistencies in government objectives as well as discontinuities in policies and programmes by successive Nigerian Governments, thus explaining the disappointing outcome in which Nigeria has failed to make any meaning progress that will impact positively and significantly on the quality of life of the citizens. 2. Policy-makers and other economic stakeholders at all levels of government are faced with decisions (economic, environmental and social) which impact on the quality of life of individuals in the society, especially having regard to the underdeveloped state of the African continent, characterized largely by weak access to such basic needs of life as food, shelter, water, sanitation, health, education and employment. 3. The measurement of quality of life goes beyond mere GDP growth and its per capita measure, to include progress made in eliminating unemployment, poverty, inequality, as well as progress made in raising life expectancy and educational attainment, in terms of adult literacy and enrolment in schools and universities and overall general wellbeing. There was a consensus of opinion that the availability, reliability and consistency of data are essential elements in measuring the quality of life. 4. The economic conditions in Africa in general and in Nigeria in particular which include high and rising unemployment rates and levels, high rates of inflation and high lending rates. Others are dependence on export of primary commodities, rising mortality rates, poor delivery of health care services, weak and dysfunctional educational systems and outcomes, insecurity, weak quality of governance, massive poverty, armed conflicts, drug abuse, weak or non-existent sewerage and sanitation facilities, heavily degraded environment, high and rising population growth rates, among others. All these have severe adverse implications for the quality of life of citizens in the country and in the continent. 5. The African continent has disappointingly lagged behind all the other continents of the world, when assessed by every development indicator, with the continent being home to twenty-eight of the poorest countries of the world. The poverty rate in the continent which ranges between 24% and 72%, is significantly higher than that of Latin America of between 8.6% and 44% as well as that of Asia that ranges between 0.4% and 24%. In addition, Africa is, rather sadly, home to at least five of the ten countries with the lowest quality of life in the world. Of this number, Nigeria ranked 108 out of 111 countries. 6. Nigeria and indeed several countries in Africa have posted rapidly progressive deterioration or at best feeble improvements in such key development indicators such as infant and maternal mortality, life expectancy and literacy rate as well as level of youth employment, access to water and sanitation facilities, labour market opportunities, health care service delivery, quality of education, severity of inequality, among others. Sadly, too, the undesirable trends in the aforementioned key development indicators have been compounded by weak governance and such natural challenges as drought and desertification, all of which have served to relegate most African countries in a near permanent way to the lowest rung on poverty and quality of life ratings. 7. Most African countries are characterized by slow and weak diversification of their economies, low labour productivity, large share of informal sector employment and very low share of formal sector employment, weak participation in international trade, as seen, for example from the Sahelian countries which account for a mere 0.094% of global exports and 0.14% of global imports. 8. Poverty, in addition to being an economic problem is also a social problem and thus deserving of policy attention, having regard to the fact that poverty appears to be more endemic among females compared to their male counterpart. Participants were of the view that implicit in the computation of the Human Development Index (HDI) are such variables as opportunities, rights, freedom of choices, access to opportunities for educational advancement, among others. 9. Participants were of the consensus of opinion that while security and good quality of life go together, insecurity and good quality of life are strange bedfellows. Accordingly, participants were of the view that the crisis-ridden nature of most countries in the African continent serves to undermine the desire of citizens, especially such vulnerable groups as women, children, the elderly, the physically challenged, etc. to enjoy good quality of life. C. Recommendations 1. Authorities on the continent should put in place sincere, transparent, focused and dedicated governance structures which are critical in enhancing the improvement of the quality of life of the citizens on the continent. The public sector in Africa should thus enhance the provision of the much needed physical and social infrastructural facilities that make economic activities possible. 2. Policy makers in Nigeria and in Africa in general to take pragmatic steps to initiate policy actions to address the myriads of problems of poverty, unemployment, inequality, etc. in the continent. 3. Citizens must hold their governments accountable as a panacea to the continuously deteriorating quality of life of citizens in most countries in the continent. 4. Authorities on the continent should articulate and implement policies that are aimed at creating a viable private sector that is less dependent on the government and which, rather than being engaged in rent-seeking behaviour, will be more engaged in genuine productive activities that contribute meaningfully to the economic progress of African countries. Since private sector players have problems with infrastructure, with most SMEs providing such infrastructure as roads, water, security, etc., the Conference recommended speedy government intervention to address these limitations that stand in the way of a viable and efficient private sector. 5. The private sector, with the support of the public sector, needs to play a complementary role in the delivery of goods and services that make improvement in the quality of life possible. 6. Given that neither the private sector nor the public sector can do it all alone, there is need for public-private sector collaboration to tap into the advantages of each sector in efforts at improving the quality of life of the citizens. Hence the public-private-partnerships (PPP) should be encouraged by the authorities in delivering public goods and thus enhancing the quality of life of the citizenry. 7. There is need for effective monitoring and evaluation of interventions by way of government policies and programmes that are put in place to bring about improvement in the quality of life of the citizens. In the case of Nigeria, for example, there is need to shrewdly evaluate the effectiveness of the School Feeding Programme, the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, the Trader Moni initiative, the N-Power Programme which have been put in place as palliative to improve the quality of life of the citizens by alleviating the debilitating scourge of poverty in the country. 8. There should be an enactment of policies that address the special needs of the vulnerable groups, in order to enhance their quality of life, particularly given their significant proportion in the total population. This includes the high and rising numbers of internally displaced persons in many African countries. 9. Given that women in Sub-Saharan Africa largely suffer deprivation in opportunities for advancement, compared to their counterparts in other parts of the world, there is the need to put in place a comprehensive scheme for women empowerment, which will help to reduce their predisposition to early marriages, a critical factor in the feminization of poverty. 10. There is need to address the numerous security challenges in the continent posed by such groups as Boko Haram in Nigeria, Janjaweed Militias and Al-Shabab in Somalia, Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) and Islamic State in West African Province, (ISWAP), among others. In addition, there should be a reduction in election-induced violence which has characterized many African countries in the fierce struggle for the apparatus of government, especially in mineral-rich countries, leading to conflicts which serve to undermine the quality of life of citizens in these countries. Signed Professor Tamunopriye Jones AGIOBENEBO (President, NES) Professor Hassan Ebhozele OAIKHENAN (Conference Editor)