Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Clarion Call

Prof:

Greetings. Trained experts, who have the capacity to investigate, have their place, but it should not be to determine development priorities. That job belongs to those individuals and communities whose lives would be affected directly by the policies or programs that are eventually adopted. After all, it is these diverse peoples who have the time-and-place information that the trained analyst needs in order to come up with effective and relevant development programs. While a rural inhabitant may not know how to run a regression equation or do calculus, he or she can adequately articulate what ails him or her and hence, provide the critical information that is needed for the expert to prioritize the development agenda. Without such participation, the expert, who is likely to be based in the urban center, will come up with development programs that are not particularly relevant to the lives of the poor. Such a top-down, elite-driven approach to development, one that usually pushes aside the contributions of the poor, has never worked in any country or community. Consider the IMF and World Bank SAPs--while there are many reasons for why they failed, one of the most important is that they were top-down, elite-driven, and non-participatory.

Stay well. John

JOHN MUKUM MBAKU, ESQ.
J.D. (Law), Ph.D. (Economics)
Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Attorney & Counselor at Law (Licensed in Utah)
Presidential Distinguished Professor of Economics & Willard L. Eccles Professor of Economics and John S. Hinckley Fellow
Department of Economics
Weber State University
3807 University Circle
Ogden, UT 84408-3807, USA
(801) 626-7442 Phone
(801) 626-7423 Fax

>>> "Ifedioramma E. Nwana" 01/10/13 5:09 AM >>>

Dear All,

I agree that the issue of selecting some people to handle a situation such as the situation of Nigeria creates the problem of exclusion.  However how else does one overcome the problem of establishing proper and socially significant topics and priorities?  It is a difficulty encountered in many social research endeavours that bringing in what has been called the real experts {-the masses--the poor, the historically marginalized and deprived (women, those residing on the urban periphery), rural inhabitants, and the various ethnic and religious minorities} creates a maze of untutored preferences, which distort the proper competitive order that should ease the analytical task.  Yes, the masses should be involved but it is those who have been trained and have the capacity to investigate, analyse and deduce who have the challenge to do the task.  

        [Dear oa, kindly use larger fonts, some of us are getting old and have difficulties reading your postings.]

 

Ifedioramma Eugene Nwana

Professor of Agriculture & Economic Entomology

From: "Anunoby, Ogugua" <AnunobyO@lincolnu.edu>
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>; "pamogu@gmail.com" <pamogu@gmail.com>; "naijaintellects@googlegroups.com" <naijaintellects@googlegroups.com>; "NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com" <NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com>; "naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com" <naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com>; "nigeria360@yahoogroups.com" <nigeria360@yahoogroups.com>; "NigerianID@yahoogroups.com" <NigerianID@yahoogroups.com>; "NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com" <NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "godwinonu2003@yahoo.com" <godwinonu2003@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 9 January 2013, 20:19
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Clarion Call

Exclusion is never a good idea in the effort to advance the public good. If it is political and economic development, ignorance is not bliss.

Develeopment does not happen simply because those seeking to develop have good intensions. Development is serious business. There is always the technical knowledge dimension of development. It has to be conceptualized, planned, financed, and managed. A model has to be in place which model informs actions and activities.

A better idea in my opinion, would be to have representives of all stakeholder groups participate in the search for and operationalization of solutions to development problems. This arrangement is more likely to agree, enshrine and ensure checks and balances which in constitutional arrangements, drive responsibility and accountabilty- two  deficit commodities in Nigeria. 

The tyrany of the elite is unacceptable. So should be the tyrany of the masses. Composite materials (metals for example) tend to be stronger and better bound than elements.

 

oa   

 

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John MBAKU [jmbaku@weber.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 10:05 AM
To: pamogu@gmail.com; naijaintellects@googlegroups.com; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com; naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com; nigeria360@yahoogroups.com; NigerianID@yahoogroups.com; NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com
Cc: godwinonu2003@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Clarion Call

Please do not bring Nigeria's political scientists and other intellectuals together in an effort to find solutions to the country's multifarious development problems. If you really want to attack these problems and do so effectively and fully, bring together the real experts, the masses--the poor, the historically marginalized and deprived (women, those residing on the urban periphery), rural inhabitants, and the various ethnic and religious minorities). Real development is bottom-up, participatory, and inclusive and not top-down.

Stay well. John

JOHN MUKUM MBAKU, ESQ.
J.D. (Law), Ph.D. (Economics)
Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Attorney & Counselor at Law (Licensed in Utah)
Presidential Distinguished Professor of Economics & Willard L. Eccles Professor of Economics and John S. Hinckley Fellow
Department of Economics
Weber State University
3807 University Circle
Ogden, UT 84408-3807, USA
(801) 626-7442 Phone
(801) 626-7423 Fax

>>> Peter Amobi <pamogu@gmail.com> 01/08/13 7:17 AM >>>
Sometimes, I wonder if the problem with Nigeria has gone beyond all
political theories and philosophies. Or are Political Scientist across
the country in slumber? Can't we make instructive inputs in this mess?
Somebody is already laughing at me. How many Political Scientist have
ever served as even governor of a state in Nigeria? If there are what
is/was their performance? I am convinced that we can form a forum that
could bring the best of brains together (think-thank) for
positive/sustainable development in our country even without holding
leadership positions. I thus, call on all Political Scientists across
Nigeria to come under a particular umbrella and search for dependable
solutions to the problems with Nigeria. NPSA may not have served us
very well in this direction.

--
Amobi P. Chiamogu
Special Assistant to the Rector and Lecturer, Department of Public
Administration
Federal Polytechnic, Oko
Anambra State - Nigeria
+2348034306261, +2348123232658
pchiamogu@yahoo.com, panomanikz@yahoo.com

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