The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has hosted an in-conversation session with Prof. Stefan Dercon, an expert on economic policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, on the need for positive developmental outcomes in Nigeria through elite consensus.
The interactive session, which held in Lagos on Tuesday, centred on how an elite consensus could be formed in Nigeria and was chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation Leadership Council. AIG Fellows, Prof. Attahiru Jega and Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru moderated the session.
Speaking during the event, Prof. Dercon who is also the author of the book: “Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose,” said countries such as China and India have successfully grown their economies and reduced poverty levels to such an extent that by 2030, extreme poverty would be an African phenomenon and the greatest number of the world’s poor would reside in Nigeria.
He argued that the answer to a nation’s development lies not in a specific set of policies but in a key ‘development bargain,’ where the elite shift from protecting their positions to gambling on a growth-based future.
He provided examples of countries where the elite have made successful bargains that have resulted in positive developmental outcomes and contrasted them with countries such as Nigeria where no such bargain exists.