Experts Demand New Development Model for Nigeria at SAP 40

At a high-level conference in Abuja marking the 40th anniversary of Nigeria's Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), civil society organizations, labor leaders, and experts demanded a new development model for the country. They criticized the market-driven reforms associated with SAP, which they argue have failed to achieve industrialization and mass job creation, leaving Nigeria dependent on crude oil exports and facing high unemployment and poverty.

Dr. Otiv Igbuzor, Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership Strategy Development, emphasized the need for a reassessment of Nigeria's economic policies, noting that the ability to create jobs and reduce poverty should be the ultimate measure of economic reform. Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi, Director of AIPCTA, described SAP as one of the most influential economic reform programs in Nigeria's post-independence history.

Celestin Odo from ActionAid Nigeria highlighted the severe social and economic hardships caused by SAP's austerity measures, while Dauda Garuba from the Centre for Democracy and Development criticized the ideological foundations of SAP, arguing that it prioritizes market forces over people's welfare.