Abuja – Panelists at the ongoing 21st National Economic Summit (NES) on Tuesday in Abuja called on stakeholders to see the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as business opportunity to boost the country’s economy.
This was the view of some panelists who spoke at the Plenary Session on “Business and sustainability in the age of SDGs’’ at the summit.
According to them, government should formulate policies that will empower Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development.
The moderator of the session, Mrs Wonu Adetayo, Chief Executive Director, Kainos Edge Consulting who gave the background report, said that the UN General Assembly adopted the SDGs in September.
Adetayo said that the SDGs would replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the end of 2015.
She said that while substantial progress had been made regarding the MDGs, as evidenced by 50 per cent in global extreme poverty rates, African countries missed most of the goals.
“It is pertinent to note that achievements have remained uneven, with African countries largely lagging behind.
“Nigeria in particular has not fared very well in all the eight indicators of the MDGs.
“It is clear that as we move toward SDGs, more effort is required to ensure that we perform significantly better on sustainable basis,’’ she said.
Mrs Bola Adesola, the Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, said it was imperative to create an understanding among stakeholders of what the SDGs were.
Adesola said that the stakeholders should be sensitised to how they were expected to reinforce the goals into the national aspirations.
“It is good for us (stakeholders) to embrace SDGs because it will help us articulate the goals and also make us to invest in them.’’
Dr Ayodele Odusola, Chief Economist, UN Development Programme (UNDP), said that SDGs were a platform for both private and government.
Odusola said that most targets stated in the SDGs were private driven, noting that the sector could be a major driver in achieving the SDGs.
He said: “Each of the goal is a business opportunity for you and if we must achieve the SDGs, you must play your role in collaboration with the government.’’
According to him, both government and private sector should be accountable for the implementation of the goals.
In addition, he urged the Federal Government to formulate policies that would empower the SMEs to reduce poverty and achieve inclusive growth.
Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, former Country Chair, Shell and Executive Consultant, Pam Ocean Oil Corporation, said almost of all the goals were interlinked.
Sunmonu said that focusing on achieving one goal would also contribute to achieving others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the session also focused on creating an understanding of the complementary role businesses have to play in implementing the SDGs.
The theme of the summit is “Tough choices: Achieving competitiveness, inclusive growth and sustainability.’’
