By Aichienede Akhabue Goodluck
Most progressive nations always have a working document on which the wheel of their development turns.
Many have attributed such document to a “development plan”; a document that details the overall strategy of a project in order to guarantee proper planning and sustainable development of such venture or project.
However, for a development plan to be well crafted and implemented effectively there is need for accurate and sufficient data that will guide or influence decision making both at the conception and execution stages of the project.
In the words of the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, “Every agency must now have a planning team and the head of that agency must be the Chief Planner because you are the one we will hold responsible. You will tell us how you intend to roll out your services to our people.
“We will need to beef up our planning as we are undertaking data to re-plan the existing areas. There’s a need for the Ministry of Budget and Planning to be involved in this, because we have to tie the socioeconomic planning and physical planning together.”
In the light of the above, the role of data becomes inevitable in order for development plan to achieve its desired aim or set objectives. It is against this backdrop that the Obaseki-led Government has been in the vanguard of data gathering and management in its decision-making processes, with a bid to transforming the State into a modern smart city.
The novel project tagged Operation Plan Edo is one among numerous data gathering and management initiatives of the Obaseki-led Government aimed at sourcing information on government presence in respect of infrastructural challenges across the 18 local government areas of the State. This project is laudable because of its immense benefits.
One of such benefits was evident when the Commissioner for Physical Planning, Urban and Regional Development, Isoken Omo, said: “The Ministry has concluded the recertification exercise in the Amagba axis of Benin City, visiting over 5,000 properties in the area by walking from street-to-street and door-to-door.”
She said there are approximately 25,000 residents in the area, noting that there are 3,796 bungalows, 756 Storey buildings and 608 vacant plots in the axis. Decision making by Government in this locality will have positive impact in view of the data made available by the Operation Plan Edo in Amagba Community.
Furthermore, the data collated from the Operation Plan Edo will enable Government to determine the various infrastructural shortfalls across the State, most especially hard reached localities which previously lacked government presence.
In the same vein, the data from the Operation Plan Edo will enable the Government to prepare its budget and also place its priority on projects that will have far-reaching benefits and direct bearing on the socioeconomic ecosystem of the people. In addition, there will be a reservoir of data which relevant government MDAs can leverage on when planning and executing projects across the State.
Furthermore, the data base will enable potential local and foreign investors to access information that will help their investment decision making that will guarantee viable and sustainable returns on their investment, thus boosting investor’ confidence and making Edo State an investment destination. This will consequently boost job creation for the youths and increase the internally generated revenue of the State.
Suffice to say that the Operation Plan Edo initiative will help collate resourceful data that will fast-track the actualization of the goals and objectives of the Edo State 30-year Master Plan, which has been the basis of the Making Edo Great Again mantra. Governor Obaseki’s commitment towards repositioning Edo State is undoubtedly on course.
It is pertinent for all stakeholders both in the public and private sectors to support and provide all the necessary information that will be needed in making the Operation Plan Edo initiative a rewarding venture and a document for a sustainable development of the State.
