Nigeria’s Vision 2020—How far?

The target year, 2020, is here and it is worth asking how much of Vision 2020 has been actualized. How have Nigeria’s development indicators compared with those of advanced countries, the first 20 of which Nigeria had aspired to join by 2020?

Written by Onyenekenwa Eneh

Mar 23, 2020

Orisunbare Ijora Badia slum. Lagos, Nigeria. April 2015. GEORGE OSODI/ ICIJ

In 1970, the Yakubu Gowon administration came up with its policy for reintegration, rehabilitation and reconstruction (3Rs), as a major development plan after the Nigerian Civil War. Despite the ‘No victor, no vanquished’ declaration that ended the war, what followed the war were an abandoned property saga, the capping of Eastern bank savings at £20, and indigenization decree which further marginalized some already kobo-less, jobless and homeless citizens. The decree was the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree 1972 aimed at effecting changes in the ownership structure of multinational corporations in Nigeria and providing opportunity for indigenous capital to have assertive control of the economy.

The Gowon administration prepared the Second National Development Plan (1970-1974) with five (5) main national development goals. These were building: ‘a free and democratic society’; ‘a just and egalitarian society’; ‘a united, strong and self-reliant nation’; ‘a great and dynamic economy’; and ‘a land full of bright opportunities for all citizens’. The plan was received with such fanfare that, in 1973, it was endorsed as the necessary foundation for the Nigerian National Policy on Education first published in 1977. Until the mid-1990s, National Development Plans would take centre stage of government planning.

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About the Author

Onyenekenwa Eneh

is a Senior Research Fellow/Lecturer with the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus. He is also a consultant, a public affairs analyst and commentator on national and international issues.

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Nigeria’s Vision 2020—How far?