The Imagine Nigeria Report is the culmination of research and multi-stakeholder engagement on the future of Nigeria.
The report includes an overview of the major trends, alternative scenarios and recommendations to building a desirable future for all.
The report starts with an Analysis section which shines light on the country’s past and present realities and challenges as well as global trends. This is followed by the Futures section which explores 4 possible future scenarios and ends with the Recommendations section offering 5 pillars for a transformational future.
Why Imagine Nigeria?
The year 2020 started off like any other year; optimism rife in the air as people made plans for the future. Nobody envisioned the world stopping in its tracks to face the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. As the virus continued to spread, governments and people had to contend with border closures and series of lockdowns. Life, as we knew it was never the same. From social distancing to mask wearing to the constant hand sanitising to mass testing, it was clear that governments and people were playing reactive roles to a stubborn and mutating virus.
In Nigeria, the pandemic exacerbated some of the lingering issues, including poverty and insecurity. Some of the economic gains of the previous years was wiped away as unemployment grew and many people lacked the opportunity, technology and infrastructure to transition to remote working. The children were not left out of the quagmire with many cut off from receiving an education as schools shut down. For Nigeria not to be caught unawares in the future, she had to take the first step in envisioning a new reality.
The Imagine Nigeria report was conceived as part of multi-stakeholder efforts to create a desirable future for Nigeria beyond its current realities. It is a move to paint pictures of alternative futures for Nigeria and to mobilize all stakeholders to begin the process of building the desired future now, rather than letting things fall apart. The report comes from research and high-level deliberations between key representatives of Nigeria’s public, including private and public sectors as well as civil society. Led by the Imagine Nigeria High Level Panel developed the Imagine Nigeria report and the exercise received support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the federal government.