PROF. Charles Okigbo has recommended strategic planning as panacea to issues of under development plaguing most African countries.

Okigbo made this known while presenting the lead paper during the 5th International Conference of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, COOU.

The conference was held at the Igbariam Campus of the University.

According to him, strategic planning is critical to achieving sustainable development in African economic dynamics, unlike in the western world, where every record and data is captured for planning purposes.

“We are not paying attention to planning. We don’t have statistics to aid planning in Africa. There ought to be records of deaths, births and related issues.

“The problem with Africa is that we don’t have reliable statistics with which to plan. The Nigeria Population Commission (NPC) said we are now 198 million, nobody knows the true figures,’’ he added.

Okigbo, a Lecturer at North Dakota University, U.S., was speaking on the theme of the conference: “Glocalising the African Society for Sustainable Development’’.

While identifying wealth creation, bilateral relationships, education and savings culture as ways the continent could conquer poverty, he challenged African leaders to take advantage of favourable global trends to fast-tract development in the continent.

He mentioned Egypt, Morocco, Angola and South Africa as nations that rank among 25 emerging economies in the world.

The don, however, expressed dismay, saying that due to poor planning, ethno-political crisis, Nigeria failed to make the list.

Earlier in a welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Prof. Greg Nwakoby, said the event was designed to tackle socio-economic issues militating against development in the continent.

“When there is a failure of governance, food production and security, government is not blamed alone; universities are also blamed because they have centres that could provide solutions.

“Looking at the theme, it is obvious that this may launch us in the global map,’’ he noted.

While describing the theme of the conference as unique, he praised the faculty for taking the lead in dissecting policy initiatives to proffer solutions to societal issues.

Nwakoby was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration, Prof. Elis Idemobi.

He pledged to support all the faculties to enable them to place the institution in the forefront of global knowledge infrastructure.

The Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Basil Nwankwo, said the theme was chosen to explore ways of adopting emerging global trends in the continent to promote development.

He added that time had come for the continent to compete in the world economic dynamics, and shed challenges contributing to its backwardness in the global economy.

“There are so many global ideas; our concern is to get these global ideas in our circumstances to make them applicable to us to achieve the very goals. That is what glocalisation is all about,’’ Prof Nwankwo said.

In a keynote presentation, Prof Chris Ogbondah, from  the University of Northern Iowa, U.S., narrated how Singapore and many other nations in Asia  applied the concept of glocalisation to move from third to first world nations.

He challenged Africa to key into global marketing of ideas with unity of purpose to foster development and conquer poverty in the continent.

– July 12, 2019 @ 11:37 GMT |