World Bank Vice President Praises Nigerian Government for Reforms

WB Africa Region VP Ezekwesili embraces Mrs. Jummai Mohammed, head of the Danu Bank Assisted Borehole, a LEEMP project.

Such were the words of appreciation picked by Adamu Ciroma, thevillage head ofDanu, in Niger State, words used to express the gratitude of his people to the World Bank.

Ciroma spoke during a recent visit by World Bank Africa Region Vice President Obiageli Ezekwesili, to one of the community-driven development (CDD) projects funded by the Bank in Nigeria.

A previously inaccessible and remote hamlet offering a life of terrible drabness, Danu has benefited from the kind of rapid and significant changes that core investments in CDD programs aim at achieving in rural areas: improved access to and the quality of basic services (education, health, water and sanitation) to the poorest of Nigeria’s poor.

The joy of Danu beneficiaries overflowed in the dances they performed to welcome Ezekwesili during the visit. At Suleja, a neighboring community, the vice president was crowned “ Saraunian Fadama” (meaning the Queen of Fadama in Hausa), where she commissioned yet another CDD project.

WB Africa Region VP Ezekwesili flanked by Danu Village Head Adamu Ciroma (L) and WB's Michel Wormser.

She encouraged the governments to put more of their own resources into CDD projects such as Fadama, which guarantee that decisions of development are made and administered by beneficiaries themselves.

In Danu, as in the other places she visited during her five-day stay in Nigeria (January 14-18), Ezekwesili returned to the theme of her first tour of Nigeria since she was appointed to the World Bank in May 2007: governance, fiscal responsibility and management of oil resources, and revenues for higher development impact.

That theme was echoed in the audience Ezekwesili had with Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and during meetings with key government officials, private sector actors and civil society representatives.

She commended the Nigerian government for staying the course of reforms and for sustaining macroeconomic stability. She stressed the need for government to maintain focus and “send right signals” to the international community on its commitment to improve governance and strengthen the fight against corruption at both federal and state levels. (Click here to learn more in the press release).

Ezekwesili agreed with President Yar' Adua’s observation, during the audience, that “corruption is a cancer stunting development of the country,” and spoke on the need to ensure prudent management of financial resources in ways that impact positively the lives of ordinary Nigerians, especially the majority who live in rural areas, which have lagged far behind the booming urban areas and which, in some cases, as in the Niger Delta, have witnessed unrest or growing violence.

At meetings with the governors of Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa states as well as with other development partners, Ezekwesili signaled the readiness of the Bank and other development partners to assist this region of Nigeria in strengthening public resource management and accountability. The Bank, she said, is also available to help establish systems like NEITI (Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) at the state levels to ensure that resources spent achieve tangible development impact. (Click here to read press statement on the meeting.)

Despite being endowed with more resources than most other states across Nigeria, poverty levels remain high in the Niger Delta States (43 percent) and human development indicators remain weak (average life expectancy is 43 years and 12 in every 100 children do not live to see their first birthday).

The crisis in the power sector was at the center of Ezekwesili’s meeting with the Nigerian government’s Economic Team. Power – a shortage of its generation; inefficient management, distribution and use of it; a lack of investment in it and sabotage of the sector – Ezekwesili noted is one of the main bottlenecks to Nigeria’s competitiveness and growth. She commended the government for making this a priority and committed the World Bank to help in the reform of the power sector, not only with funding, but more importantly with technical assistance and policy advice to ensure a marked improvement in performance and sustainability of the sector.

In addition to commissioning Bank-funded projects in Abuja, Nasarawa, Niger and Lagos states, Ezekwesili met with law makers, staff employed on projects funded by the Bank, and representatives of civil society organizations. She also met with the organization People Living with HIV/AIDS, donors and other development partners, the private sector and World Bank employees.

“I was very impressed with the results I saw on ground and how communities are taking charge of their destinies, in a transparent way, with the little resources made available to them through the community driven projects”, Ezekwesili told reporters during a press briefing where she summed up her five-day visit.

Oil accounts for nearly 90 percent of Nigeria’s revenue. The country has earned no less than $30 billion per year from oil and since 1970 has earned about $350 billion from it. Yet, about 120 million of the country’s 140 million people live below $2 a day. A World Bank publication says the country is characterized by “poverty in the midst of plenty”. Presently it has a foreign reserve of about $54.2 billion.