Wishful Thinking as a State Strategy
It is cultural in Nigeria to wish your loved ones a prosperous new year. There is nothing wrong with having such lofty aspirations. Of concern is that, lately, this culture has crept into governance and development. Our leaders wish us a hunger and poverty-free new year. They extend it to make statements of intent without any plan to translate the aspiration into concrete results. It is normal to hear, “We shall have stable power this year”, and “lift 50 million Nigerians out of poverty this year “. What is lacking is a measurable plan built on an overarching vision to achieve this goal.
The art of wishful thinking is shared by our government and people alike. It is one of two things among the people: either a resignation to a culture of long disappointment or a relapse into habitual superstition. The belief is that Somehow things will be alright. For the government, it is a surrender to routine and a lack of creative and deep thinking. It’s like in the prayer: As it was in the beginning! The challenge of the moment is to burst the routine bubble and venture beyond the familiar in policy thinking and service delivery.
“Wishful thinking” as a state strategy refers adopting optimistic views without a realistic or well-founded basis. While optimism and hope are essential for motivation and national morale, relying solely on wishful thinking as a state strategy can have significant drawbacks, especially in governance and policy formulation. State strategies need to be grounded in realism, evidence, and comprehensive planning to address the complex challenges faced by Nigeria effectively.
We are currently experiencing many negatives of relying on unbridled optimism, hedonistic fatalism, and political gimmickry in dealing with matters of great importance in governance and political craftsmanship. These negatives are accentuated by the hopeless anomaly of state actors misconstruing electioneering campaign mantras or projects and programmes as a strategy. Annual Budgets or Midterm Expenditure Frameworks are erroneously deemed strategies at the national and sub-national levels. This is a farcical matter, reflecting the vicious circle of bad choices and failure of outcomes prevalent today in government.
We need an overarching vision for Nigeria and significant national strategy, goals, Key Performance Indicators (KPI),and actionable plans across the entire federal, state and LGA governance structure. It is correct that in the past, we have done some strategic or National Development Plans such as the first to fifth National Development Plans and Vision 2020. We need a clear, coherent, strategic plan driven by data and evidence and, most importantly, disciplined, transparent, and consistent execution.
Universally, we acknowledge that a goal without a plan is wishful thinking, our bane. Wishful thinking and boisterous slogans have never resulted in tangible results - compelling vision, planning, and diligent implementation of projects do. Across government MDAs and at the subnational level, we must go beyond manifesto thinking to strategic thinking and planning.
Throughout history, no nation has achieved a substantial leap without a vision, strategic thinking by its leaders, and a clear, coherent plan built on evidence and realism. China under Deng Xiaoping, Singapore under Lee Kwan Yew, and South Korea under Park Chung Hee are ready examples. On the contrary, an executive presidential system requires that government planning take the form of a political action plan and a business plan combined. No amount of whimsical, unplanned, and hurriedly reactional actions or even inactions can trump an excellent and well-articulated strategic plan judiciously executed for the sub-national or country’s benefit.
Most 36 states and local governments need actionable strategic plans, not political gimto