WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-11-30 Time: 18:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
By Peter Onochie-Igbidu
The economies of the world are undoubtedly metamorphosing from one stage of growth to the other and at different rates, depending on the structures directly or indirectly put in place by governments and agencies of respective sovereign nations of the world which are today, regarded as the major players in the global economy.
The structures of growth however, differ from one country to another, and from one government to others depending on the operational strategies, political platform and will-power, as well as the set objectives or fundamental priorities driving such economies. While the developed economies of the world have fully maximized the inherent principles in strict planning and implementation of strategies for economic growth, the developing economies of the world are still grappling with difficulties in adopting agents or structures of change that would inevitably pilot their economic growth from the relative to optimum.
Despite the differences in the adoption of principles of change, some developing economies in Asia, South America and Africa, have diligently taken a cue from other developed nations of the world, by implementing strategies to accelerate their economic growth. In Africa, for example, South Africa, Egypt and Ghana, are fast adopting measures that would in no distant time ginger economic growth and overall wellbeing of their citizenry.
One of these measures or change agents adopted by developed and some developing economies of the world for accelerated growth, is organised transportation sector; from the road transport ,railway, waterways, to air transport systems. This all-important sector of every economy is often misrepresented and never prioritised in the scheme of economic planning and adoption of developmental strategies in most developing nations, which alternatively has adversely affected growth of such economies as no alternative to this sector have been discovered and may never be found.
Nigeria is one economy with enormous potentials in both natural and human resources, but unfortunately fall within the relatives in the syncro-economic growth formula which the developed and some developing economies of the world have maximized for greater output delivery to become global economic players in the world today.
Over the years, Nigeria as one of the developing economies in the world, have consistently down-played the place of transport sector in its economic metamorphosis and have rather relied on tangible production sectors to drive the economy, which solely and evasively have rendered the ‘magic wand’ ineffective resulting to relatively slow pace in the growth strategy of the economy. However, the lukewarm attitude of government and its agencies towards activating and galvanising this sector for maximum output to accelerate economic growth, has remained unchanged despite the global challenges some developing nations in Asia, Africa and South America, are jostling to surmount in order to join the team of global economic players.
In a world of endless possibilities, Nigeria has remained insensitive and evasive to global trends in the transportation sector with respect to its central role in developmental strategies of any nation. Production of goods for domestic use or export for foreign exchange earning is imperative, while haulage of such goods at a relatively low cost to ports of destination adds value to the overall economic growth. Generally, low and efficient cost of transportation of goods, services and the people from one point to the other, would not only add value to lives but subsequently go a long way to ginger accelerated economic growth in Nigeria.
However, there are lots of noticeable challenges in the transportation sector facing the successive governments in Nigeria, that are not only surmountable, but economic-friendly, which if given priority attention in the scheme of planning strategies for economic growth, would facilitate such for the benefit of the citizenry. These challenges, no doubt cut across the four major transportation systems; railway, waterways, road and air transport.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation, by all standards, has the civic responsibility to provide rail services to the people, government, agencies and organisations, while the Federal Inland Waterways Department, both of the Federal Ministry of Transport, have the responsibility to provide ferry services and freights. Fortunately or unfortunately, these services are considerably not available while the economic effects of the non availability are in the negative and unproductive as far as indices for economic growth are concerned.
Similarly, the Federal Ministry of Aviation has the civic duty to oversee and regulate the activities in the industry to ensure that operations are in line with economic growth strategies of the country, while the Federal Ministry of Transport equally has the same responsibility in road transport regulations, but operations in these two categories lack the needed regulations or control. In comparison however, operations in the aviation department are more structured with unregulated costs. On the other hand, the road transport department lacks total regulation in costs and structure. The activities are left solely in the hands of private operators to the detriment of the economy and overall wellbeing of the people.
Since the late 80s,virtually every state and local government in Nigeria, labour unions and non-governmental agencies, have in one way or the other ventured into road transportation business services, and since then, have remained increasingly involved in the provision of public transport services, but at a considerably unregulated high cost with little or no difference to privately owned transport business services. This unregulated venture has placed the economic prospects in a tight corner and diligently driving the fragile economy to a danger zone of no possible access to quick recovery.
The heightened over-all effect of the widespread unregulated transportation sector to the Nigerian economy could better be imagined and remains a serious impediment to the dreams of becoming a player in the global economy even after the projected 2020,if nothing is done in the direction of arresting the growing trend of cost outweighing benefits in our national economy, as capitalism does not translate lawlessness. The earlier the government and its agencies vested with the constitutional responsibility of regulating these sectors, begin to put national interest first by living up to their civic duties, the better chances of Nigeria being positioned for accelerated economic growth to possibly become a global player in the world economy. God help us.
Original date published: 30 November 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201011300717.html?viewall=1