Nigeria Country Dialogue 2004

These diverse groups came together during the visit in two large public forums and five separate meetings. The first public forum in Lagos had an attendance of about 300 people while the participation in the second forum in Abuja exceeded 400 people. The dialogues received extensive media coverage as well.

As part of the Dialogue, IPD brought up issues of financial accountability, decentralization, oil revenue spending and savings, macroeconomic imbalances and agricultural growth to the forefront of discussion. Transparency is a key issue in Nigeria. Nigeria has historically been plagued by corruption, resulting in lost revenues and a lack of public trust. Given this history, the public forums have been extremely valuable in enlarging the number of stakeholders active in the discussion.

Participants also debated ways to reach Nigeria’s goals of improved governance, reduced fiscal debt, and increased effectiveness of public spending, along with development of private businesses and human capital. The discussion centered on the issue of achieving an effective exchange rate and surviving the “resource curse” Nigeria has fallen victim to, with its increasing poverty, high unemployment, and strong effects of oil price changes. Saving oil revenue to invest in infrastructure and human capital was also highlighted as a policy option.

As Nigeria grapples with policy decisions and widens the participation of decision makers, IPD has and will continue discussions with our partner organization, AIAE, and the government of Nigeria on best practices, lessons learned and policy alternatives.

Participants:

• Hans Binswanger
  Other
  Sector Director for Rurual Development and Environment, Africa Region
  The World Bank
• Biobele da Wariboko
  Speaker
  Journalist
• Karen Matusic
  Journalist
  Spokeswoman
  Exxon-Mobil

• Akbar Noman
  Speaker
  Senior Policy Fellow
  Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD)
• Jenik Radon
  Speaker
  Adjunct Professor
  School of International and Public Affairs
  Columbia University
• Hamid Rashid
  Speaker
  Senior Advisor on Legal Empowerment
  United Nations Development Programme

• Joseph Stiglitz
  Speaker
  President
  Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD)