From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
With eight years left to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, the Federal Government has lamented that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has eroded its achievements.
It has also hinted that if the global goals are to be attained by 2030, then it cannot rely on the traditional budgetary sources which it described as grossly inadequate to finance the SDGs.
The SGDs or Global Goals as there are known, are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said these at the Roundtable Dialogue on the Establishment of SDG Innovation Hubs in the Six Geo-Political Zones across the country, on Wednesday, while urging Nigerians to continue to adhere to the non-pharmaceutical measures of the COVID-19 protocol especially with the detection of cases of the latest variant, Omicron in the country.
She said: “I want to say once again that we have to double our efforts, we have to roll our sleeves, we have eight years to go and this is December 2021. So that we have the remaining years to evaluate what we have done.
“So, eight years is around the corner, let us work together to fast track the implementation of the SDGs. Already, COVID-19 has denied us the opportunity, it has eroded what we have achieved, almost everything has been eroded. So there is need for us to double action in this regard to claim all what we have lost during the COVID-19.
“We should be mindful also of the Omicron variant. So all of us must keep safe and ensure that we always encourage our Neigbhour’s to keep safe. If they are safe, we will be safe. If we are not safe, our neighbours will not be safe. We should remember our family, keep personal hygiene. We don’t want to have any problems at all with COVID-19 if we can. So all hands must be on deck to ensure that we keep safe, maintain personal hygiene and our face mask must be worn all the time and ensure that we maintain social distance so that we don’t allow this Omicron to delay our progress or erode what we’re trying to achieve.”
The presidential aide described the collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) on the initiative as both laudable and forward-thinking.
She explained: “It is a strategic initiative hinged solidly on the pillars of SDG-17, which recognise that the Sustainable Development Goals can only be realised through strong partnerships and cooperation, as well as the power of access to technology and knowledge in learning and fostering innovation.”
Orelope-Adefulire, commended the UNDP Nigeria and the UN System in Nigeria for initiating the ‘UN joint programme on Institutionalizing Social Protection for Accelerated SDG implementation in Nigeria’, which is targeted at strengthening social protection at the federal level in Nigeria through mechanisms such as the Innovation Hubs.”
She explained that “the proposed SDGs Innovation Hubs will be a platform through which the SDG State Offices with a good track record of SDGs implementation, will be given the leadership responsibility of coordinating SDGs advocacy and replicating global best practices on the SDGs.
“They will also be tasked with piloting innovative solutions on the most pertinent issues within their geo-political zones by aligning them with SDGs with the greatest multiplier effects to help meet these needs. In this regard, there is a strong need for concerted efforts through a multi-stakeholder approach to ensure that these Hubs are able to function outside the scope of this programme. They must be sustainable, inclusive, pro
“As we are well aware, traditional budgetary sources are grossly inadequate to finance the SDGs, and as such, adequate financial resources must be mobilised through both ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ sources. Thus, I urge you in your various capacities to key into the dialogue here today as we seek your commitment and support as critical stakeholders to help us fast-track the achievement of the SDGs by the year 2030. The establishment of the Innovation Hubs will no doubt facilitate a more conducive environment for ease of business and increased global investments – a win-win for all!”
She stressed that the SDGs cannot be achieved with standalone policies and programmes, adding “They must be carefully and scientifically integrated into our national and sub-national medium and long-term development policies and plans.
“Since this historic adoption, the Nigerian government has continued to demonstrate commitment in the overall implementation of the SDGs, including the timely establishment of institutional frameworks to ensure effective implementation of the Global Goals. Indeed, in the last six years, we have worked closely with the United Nations Development System and our development partners to strengthen SDGs implementation capacity at all levels of governance in Nigeria. Such strategic partnerships and support demonstrate our collective commitment to the transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda.
“Our beloved country, Nigeria is not without its challenges. We are working within complexities, including large population and ethnic diversity; structural challenges faced by the SDGs Offices at the State level; insecurity amid deepening inequality; as well as other social and environmental problems. It is widely acknowledged that to tackle these issues, all hands must be on deck. Governments, the private sector, development partners, civil society and other stakeholders are all required to collaborate at both national and sub-national levels to achieve the goals. Effective partnership (horizontal and vertical) is therefore, essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. This will unleash innovative ways of working to mobilize the requisite expertise and leverage on the available resources to create shared accountability in an increasingly constrained fiscal environment.”
In his remarks, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Lealem Dinku as represented by Clare Henshaw, explained that the joint UN project on Institutionalizing Social Protection for Accelerated SDGs implementation in Nigeria is being implemented by four UN Agencies (UNICEF, ILO, WFP and UNDP). He said: “In line with UNDP component, UNDP in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs (OSSAP-SDGs) is in the process of establishing SDGs Accelerator/Innovation Hubs in six states (Sokoto, Gombe, Enugu, Delta, Lagos and Nasarawa state) representing six geopolitical zones.
“The SDGs Innovation Hubs will proffer tailored technical solutions to each sub-region. In particular, the SDGs Innovation Hubs will play a key role in facilitating state level policy advocacy, including feeding to state level planning and policy implementation, acting as a learning/knowledge center on SDGs; conducting dialogues on critical development challenges at the zonal level with key stakeholders; experimentation on innovative solutions to critical development challenges to achieve SDGs through pilots including private sector and civil society funding strategies, utilizing key data evaluation and reporting mechanisms to feedback on SDGs implementation progress, documenting and replicating good SDGs practices especially in regards to the use of inclusive and sustainable technologies and participatory processes, and coordination with states in the respective geo-political zones for inclusive partnerships on SDGs.”
Minister of State for Budget and National Planning of Nigeria, Clement Agba, in his goodwill message, said that with the recent approval of the National Development Plan 2021 – 2025 by the Federal Executive Council at its meeting of 10th November, 2021, the stage has been set for the transformation of our country. “The plan has a robust social protection component and seeks to lift 34 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2025 and 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. The commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari towards laying the foundation to meeting these aspirations remains unwavering.
“The present administration’s vision for a people-centered society striking the right balance between sound economic development with creative solutions for social issues through the application of innovative technologies to help achieve the SDGs will be pursued with vigour, determination and commitment. The present initiative presents such an opportunity.”
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, in his goodwill message said that, “It is our expectation and desire that the Zonal Hubs will promote the integrated and inclusive implementation of all 17 SDGs through knowledge sharing, collaboration, and innovation on SDGs implementation in the various zones.
“The Hub will also be very useful in the development of SDG solutions and governance mechanisms which will promote achievements across SDGs thematic areas and outcomes. It will also promote partnerships by facilitating learning and knowledge sharing across the global network and with partners at the national and sub-national levels across the country.
“The SDG projects that have been developed through the Hubs will also contribute to policy coherence for the sustainable development goals.
“We are also delighted that this initiative will give state and non-state actors the opportunity to collaborate with each other to first check the progress made since the adoption of SDGs goals since 2015, and secondly to ensure that SDG is accelerated by the States, fired by Private Sectors and CSOs with Government creating the enabling environment for the innovators.
“Social Media is a good example of Innovation, you know how many people Social media employs, and we all know what happened when Government recently clamped down on Twitter we know how many businesses went down or seriously affected. Therefor accelerating the achievement of the SDGs is not the work of Government alone”, Fayemi who was represented by his Special Adviser, Development Partnership and SDGs, Margaret Fagboyo, said.
The event was also attended by Private Sector Advisory Group; State SDG Focal Persons and other senior government officials; Private Sector and Development partners; and Civil Society Organizations representatives.