Nigeria: Brilliant Ideas, Zero Execution.

No one will read the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper by the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS),?published in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Country Report in 2005, and not marvel at the brilliance of the 101-page essay on Nigeria's strategy out of poverty.

17 Years later, 40.1% of Nigerians?live below the poverty line of $1.90, Nigeria?ranks 150 of 157 countries?in human capital development, and 143rd?in the overall Prosperity Index rankings since 2011.

According to NEEDS- Nigeria's Plan for Prosperity in 2005, below are the four key strategies to make poverty a thing of the past in Nigeria, create a Nigeria that Nigerians can be proud to belong to and grateful to inhabit, and a Nigeria that rewards hard work, protects its people and their property, and offers its children better prospects than those they may be tempted to seek in Europe or the United States.

Reorienting Values- leading a campaign to re-instill the virtues of honesty, hard work, selfless service, moral rectitude, and patriotism.

Reducing Poverty- Offering farmers an improved processes and machinery, offering children an improved education system, and improving the health care system.

Creating Wealth- Implement an integrated rural development program to reduce the flow of migration from rural to urban areas, replacing the pension scheme with a contributory scheme, and improving power and road infrastructure to encourage businesses expansion.

Generating Employment- supporting small and medium-size enterprises, seeking long-term capital for investment, and improving trade policy to enable businesses to flourish.

The question is, what happened to this plan?

Anyways, this article is not to lament about the problem but to offer solutions. Any learned individual will agree that at the core of wealth is "quality education" (not schooling). Schooling is only a form of education that has become the most popular. Parenting, travelling, mentorship, etc., are also forms of education.

For anyone to break free from poverty, the person has to think right. Thinking right stems from right mindset and perspective to life. Such mindset has to be taught by key influencers of the family or society. I wish the concept of "wealth literacy" is gaining media attention as it should.

Reducing poverty is not about just about acquiring certificates or skills. There are many skilled or certified individuals who don't know how to create wealth with what they have. They end of living hand to mouth and remain average or middle class at the most.

Yes, we need the government to create an enabling environment for ideas to thrive. But if their discretion won't tell them, we have to demand or create it. Taking a cue from the top 3 most developed countries of the world, here's how they got so developed:

1) Norway: Huge stocks of natural resources combined with a skilled labor force and the adoption of new technology?made Norway a prosperous country during the nineteenth and twentieth century (Economic History of Norway).

2) Switzerland: Switzerland becomes so rich?because of its stable political and economic system. Most wealthy individuals place their money in Switzerland because they trust the system and its neutrality (Data Driven Investor)

3) Ireland: Ireland's well-educated and skilled workforce allowed the country to attract long-term foreign direct investment (Investopedia.com)

The three key playing factors here are: Natural Resources, Skilled Labor Force, and the Political System. These three factors are within the control of reasonable citizens. Even if we can't control the political system, we can acquire relevant skill to harness the natural resources at our disposal.

With a 70% youthful population under 30 years, acquiring the right skills to be a relevant player across sectors is the main challenge of Nigerians.

If 70% of the population decides to take responsibility for each of the sectors at their disposal, and get the right knowledge and skill to explore and exploit such sector, the government will have no choice but to support or partner like they are doing with the Dangote Refinery project.

It's time that the citizens take the development of this nation into their hands. Want to be a part of this movement, join the waitlist for the "Young, Nigerian & Hungry Summit" coming up by February, 2023 themed The Nigerian Dream & Whatever it Takes.

Click to Send Your "Name and Location" to join the "YNHS" Waitlist.