In the past few years, the Nigerian government has consistently proclaimed and fostered this concept of a Vision 2020, despite showing no evidence of an intelligent incremental positioning strategy. It boggles my mind to think how a nation can achieve any objective or goal, without putting in place and establishing a base for a calculated, intelligently designed, critically assessed plan and strategy for achieving set goals and objectives.

In simple terms, Vision 2020 is the objective of Nigerian government to grow the size of Nigeria’s economy from its current position of 40th to the 20th Nation in the world by the year 2020. Having said this, it is important to remember that the 40th position is by no means a measure of the government’s performance or of the living standards in Nigeria. The 40th position was not achieved! - It is simply so by virtue of the fact that Nigeria is the 8th most populous nation in the world and the 6th largest exporter of petroleum. For a true measure of development and government performance in Nigeria, we have to look elsewhere. Currently, Nigeria ranks very low in the Human Development Index (HDI) as compiled by United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Human Development Report 2007/2008. Nigeria ranks 158th out of a possible 177 position! When using the much lauded "Ibrahim Index of African Governance", which was specifically sponsored and designed for sub-Saharan nations of Africa by Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF), Nigeria ranks an embarrassingly low 39th position out of 48 African nations. The 9 countries in sub-Saharan Africa which we seemed to better were all countries that are either currently at war or are recovering from war, genocide or famine.

In Nigeria, I have come to recognize an exaggerated and excessive culture, a diversionary method of governance, the use of which is prevalent and ubiquitous - The eagerness of the government and all its proponents to have visions, launch useless products, engage in talks, organize seminars, attend conferences, host workshops and even sponsor symposiums. The ostentatious display of 'capacity' and 'intentions' whilst remaining completely devoid of true knowledge and capabilities to actually accomplishment the set goals and touted objectives! In simple terms, our leaders are mostly charlatans - showy and pretentious without any real substance! I have no doubt that there are many who will not agree with my observations and that is fair. I however admonish you to watch your NTA news tonight and tell me if you will hear anything of substance outside of the usual barrage of Seminars, Conferences, Workshops, ‘Talks’ and the occassional meaningless 'Launching'. This unfortuate phenomenon has been going on for the past 15-20 years! – since the days of Babangida and his useless MAMSER program and nothing has changed. This strategy is used to shroud a thriving culture of corruption and incompetence! Sadly, Nigerian journalists, who are suppose to see through this thin veil and call the government to order, have become a proponent and an extension of this massive scheme of self delusion and fraud.

I recently read an article where the Nigerian government was making preparation and arrangements for nuclear power plant facilities. I laughed to the point of rolling on the floor (but it is a sad laugh too!). I have never been able to understand why we always feel the need to outdo and ridicule ourselves before a world audience!. Here is a nation that failed to maintain a simple coal fired powerplant and has NOT the organizational intellect to maintain a gas turbine plant (even as we speak), yet they strut around in obtuse ignorance and promenade, talking about Nuclear power - A technology that is capable of destroying an entire nation if mishandled! Currently, any nation that is using nuclear power technology, has had to develop it themselves! It is simply not a technology that one can buy on the shelf! It is as if what is going on with Iran and North Korea is totally lost unto us! We make ourselves the laughing stock of the world when we exhibit such ignorant and unschooled naiveness.

I often read statements left on threads and you can tell that Nigerians are angry, disenfranchised and frustrated - to watch their purpose, and dreams, and hopes for a better tomorrow slip away, hijacked by depraved and incompetent leadership! To look at the horizon and see a vicious cycle of corruption, greed of mythical proportions with no end in sight. To be raped, defrauded and demeaned repeatedly, again and again, by the very "leaders" charged with public trust and to see no justice. To be humiliated, rejected, mocked and demeaned in foreign countries and to come home and be subjected to worse treatments! To see acute immorality and corrupt perversions continuously rewarded and to watch true nobility, honour, hardwork and honesty, disdained and sent to the gallows, left to rot in misery. To listen to loud and lame speeches, endure grandiloquent plans that never come to fruition year after year and to see one's hopes, aspirations, future and God given resources wasted on white elephant projects, squandered on redundant and obtuse minded projects and to have your sensibilities assaulted with hopeless visions, proclaimed and promoted by doomed and God forsaken 'leaders' - It is the most painful thing in the world!!  And I share in that pain!

And now, they talk about Vision 2020!!. What the heck is Vision 2020?? How can a president who failed to fix ordinary roads (even the one to his own hometown) in 8 years have any vision?? I guess it makes sense for a nation to move from the 158th position (out of 177 possible positions!) to the 20th position of the Human Development Index, in the space of 12 years!!  Especially a 'great' country like Nigeria which has spent the last 20 years in absolute and complete failure! - failing to provide even the most basic infrastructural needs - national infrastructures such as oil refineries, power plants and road networks have gone to the dogs!. Industries and manufacturing bases have been devastated and have become extinct amidst inane, acutely constipated and convoluted government policies. And now the same pack of morons suddenly have a vision! Yar'dua was in London, talking about vision 2020 and I watched in dismay, as the Westerners in attendance mockingly nodded their heads. What irks me most is not just the ubiquitous failures and lameness, but the so called 'Vision' and the mockery and ridicule that such uneducated, unintelligent and unrealistic projections bring upon our nation! Take a simple look at the history of any developed nation and see how long they have been at it, understanding the systematic and intelligent application of scarce resources to achieve their objectives over time - this tells the whole story!. It baffles me that while we have not even shown that we are able to successfully accomplish what the Roman Empire accomplished 2000 years ago (Coliseum, Water Aqueduct, Roads, Bridges etc), much less what developed nations demonstrated 60 - 100 years ago (Industrialization, WW2 technology and social Organization), we are willing to strut around, in abysmal ignorance, consumed with 'epileptic fits' and moronic 'nuclear visions' of the year 2020!.

What "Vision" ? - How about showing us what Obasanjo did with the $200 billion oil windfall in his 8 years of misrule?? How about showing a little humility and learning to climb a tree from the bottom up, rather than this wasteful, senseless and unproductive synapses that lead us to believe we can do the unthinkable and climb from the top down!. We need to tell these leaders to stop having 'visions' and to start showing us productive, efficacious and intelligent, step by step plans - and it starts with fixing the terrible mess which 30 years of misrule and misdeeds has left the nation grappling with! It is amazing just how much damage a single generation of irresponsibility can inflict on a nation! If it took 30 years to utterly destroy the hopes and aspiration of a nation, it will certainly take a heck of a lot more than 12 years to fix it, even with a genius behind the wheels! - and we all know that the present crop of leaders are NO geniuses!!! (not even close)

Finally, the question in mind should not be whether Nigeria can accomplish the goal of becoming one of the 20 most industrialized nations in the world – of course, we can! (eventually!). The question should be what are we putting in place today, to ensure that we are strategically placed to become one of the 20 most important economies and industrialized nations tomorrow. It goes without saying that the days of shameless corruption and mindless incompetent leadership have got to come to an end. We must enter a new era of accountability, intelligent planning & projections and smart articulate leadership. For the day is far spent and the inevitable gloom of wasted and squandered potentials draws closer! If nothing at all, we should learn from history and from the contemporary example of a tiny nation like U.A.E, for beyond the horizon of current excesses lies the impending doom of an era of radically diminished crude oil importance! It will be calamitous and devastating to reach that point and have a nation that is totally unprepared and is still largely underdeveloped!

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@poster, is it with this kind of ministerial nominees? i don't think so except the president should reshuffle/drop some names

Stalin made the USSR a Superpower in 15 years, from being one of the most backwards countries in the world. It's possible to do the same in Nigeria, of course, at a cost.

It is very much possible, if you pay attention to the business section of the newspapers, these plans are unfolding day by day, and action is being taken. For example, they're already estimating how much money they need to allocate to match the power needs of present day, and for the future, PLUS, the government is taking a China-like (as in not exactly) approach to increased growth of industries, which will lower the unemployment rate, severely.

Blackspade & Kenezi,

While I appreciate your optimism, I must absolutely disagree with your prognosis. I just can't help noticing that we always prance about talking about plans and having blueprints! What happened to the plans that were hatched 20 years ago and 30 years ago?? And since when did china become the messiah that leads underdeveloped nations to fast development??.

Kenezi, Accomplishing military might is not the same as economic development. Russia achieved its military might at great cost to the people!. Do you have any clue how many people perished, suffered and died to accomplish Joseph Stalin's goal?? (and by the way, Russia was not a backward country!). Are you advocating for such or are you equating Nigeria's do-nothing government to Russia's communist machinery?? It is important to understand and be aware of ramifications when we make comments. You need to understand that there is a cost to everything and certain costs are undesirable. This is 2008 and not 1945!!

Blackspade, What China has accomplished has been in the works for 50 years and is still an on-going process!. More importantly, what China is today was envisioned by chinese and developed for chinese using chinese idiosyncracies, peculiarities and culture!. Most importantly, China accomplished its present status the only known way - consistent work, honest hard work and more grueling work!! Finally, China is China and not Nigeria or any other nation. While there are great lessons and wisdom to be gleaned from China's development, there is no known blueprint for the development of any nation. All Nations must develop, taking advantage of God given resources, natural endowments and peculiarities, building around the strength, culture and aspirations of its people, encouraging both native intelligence and acquired knowledge, showing great resourcefulness and enterprise, toiling, strifing, growing and holding together in common hope unto a better tomorrow. A little progress, even if attained with much sweat and hardwork, is better than a mountain of blueprints and empty talks!

My argument is not about the possibility or impossibility of achieviing Vision 2020 (that is a waste of time). My point is, given Nigerian government's history of perfomance and it's current level of incompetence and overwhelming corruption, can we reasonably expect anything to come out of Vision 2020 or any other vision for that matter. I am a pragmatist and one who bases my judgement on what I know and see, and not on what hasn't transpired!(that is called dreaming!). History is credible, history is truthful and you can not keep doing things the same way, over and over again, and expect a different result. Based on our history and what I see now - we will be lucky to be a Nation in 20 years much less being developed!