Abstract:
Over the past 6 decades, Nigeria has experimented with a plethora of development plans and programmes intended to stimulate national development. However, the country remains troubled with socio-economic and political challenges which continues to dampen the prospect of development. This paper examines the dilemma of development planning in Nigeria within the context of national development. It provides a historical analysis of the various development plans and programmes that have been adopted to stimulate national development. The paper reveals that despite the concerted efforts of both military and civilian administrations evident in the array of development strategies introduced over the years, development planning is yet to bring about substantial national development, which largely stems from the failures of development plans to achieve projected results. The paper further identifies political instability and lack of continuity, corruption, lack of relevant data, indiscipline and lack of political will, ambiguity and over-ambitious plans, the inefficiency of the public service, and lastly lack of adequate public-private partnership as the major impediments to effective development planning in Nigeria. The paper concludes with potential remedies for addressing the problem of national development in the country.
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