Abstract:
Abstract
Nigeria has embarked on several growth and development policies/programmes since
independence. These growth and development policies have failed to achieve their
various core mandates. The evidence of their failures manifests in the increasing rate of
poverty, massive rate of unemployment, infant, child, and maternal mortality as well as
dilapidated infrastructure among others. This paper assessed Nigerian growth and
development policies thus far, focusing on NEEDS and Vision 20:2020. These were
accomplished via the utilization of secondary sources of data from journals – national and
international, textbooks, government official gazettes, and so on. The paper is strictly
evaluation research analyzed from the platform of mixed development model. The study
found that the lack of effective and efficient implementation of these policies coupled with
corruption and Western influences among other factors greatly militated against their
successes. It is the conclusion of this paper that growth and development strategies are
not a parlour game or just podium talk, but need to be backed up with action and clear-cut
achievable objectives. It, therefore, recommends the formulation of clear and purposeful
policies, implemented with strong patriotism and effective focus, back-up with political
will free of corruption and Western interference as a pathway to ameliorating our growth
and development challenges.
