60th Birthday Colloquium of Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje on 'The Role of Education in Achieving the SDGs in Africa and the Developing World: Imperative of Strong Old Students and Alumni Associations'

The Role of Education in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa and the Developing World: Imperative of Strong Old Students and Alumni Associations Being Paper Delivered by the Vice Chancellor of Imo State University Prof. U. U. Chukwumaeze, SAN, FCArb, On the 60th Birthday Colloquium of Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje this 26th Day of February, 2024 Greetings I congratulate my senior, Dr Uzodinma Adirieje on this occasion of his 60th birthday. Senior Uzodinma is a man of style who is unique in all his ways. This quality is innate in him because having stayed with him in the same dormitory, House D, in Eziachi Secondary School Orlu in Imo State for 3 years, from 1978 to 1981, I saw in him then the quality of a great leader and achiever. Among his peers, he was a star, exhibiting an outstanding degree of statesmanship, a gift of steady application, and a knack for seminal creativity. He is proficiently intelligent, doggedly hardworking, and transparently honest. I was therefore not surprised when he called and told me how he wanted to celebrate his 60th birthday, in a very unique way, just like him. Once more senior, accept my sincere message of congratulations. Introduction Africa is made up of 54 countries, blessed with a lot of natural resources, has the largest world free trade area and a 1.2 billion person market. In terms of human resources, Africa is not lacking as it is projected that half of its population will be under 25 years old by 2050. However, the Continent is facing a lot of challenges like conflicts and violence which are negatively affecting economic activities. About 462 million of African population are living in poverty as at 2023 and the external debt of most African countries are so high that some have started restructuring their debts in order to achieve sustainability. It has also been stated that commodities account for more than 60% of total merchandise exports in 45 of the 54 countries in Africa and this makes the Continent to be highly vulnerable to global commodity price shocks which has been an impediment to growth and development of Africa. The implication is that despite being blessed with human and natural resources, Africa is facing a lot of challenges that are militating against its development. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the child of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 with the aim of producing a set of universal goals to address environmental, political and economic challenges facing the world. It is worth knowing that SDGs replaced Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which focused mainly on the reduction of poverty, prevention of deadly diseases, expansion of primary education for children, et cetera. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 SDGs was adopted in September, 2015. The SDGs are: no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice and strong institutions; and partnership for the goals. It can rightly be argued that the SDGs are all encompassing and as such, their implementation requires a lot of analytical thinking to understand the contents of the goals and what they intend to achieve. In other words, the role of education in effective and efficient implementation of the SDGs is imperative. SDGs intend to achieve development in every facet of a country and the world at large. Thus, their implementation is not only capital intensive, but requires every hand to be on deck to achieve its objectives. As have been stated earlier, Africa is facing a lot of challenges that are putting a strain on its resources. For instance, a data of spending on defence in Africa for 2023 shows that Africa is spending heavily on national defence and security. This means that there may not be sufficient fund to channel to the implementation of the SDGs. As such, strong old students and alumni associations can pull their resources together to assist government in implementing the SDGs. However, it is apposite to define two terms that will feature majorly in this paper to wit: old student and alumni association, and developing world. Old students and alumni associations are associations of former students of institutions who graduated from the institutions and decided to come together to form a group for mutual benefit. Developing world or country does not have any specific connotation. However, it refers to countries which, relative to other countries, have lower standard of living. This paper is structured in five sections. The first section introduced the paper. The second section analyzed the SDGs. Also in this section, the extent to which governments in Africa and the international community are implementing the SDGs is examined. The third section explored some of the factors militating against the implementation of the SDGs in Africa. The fourth section examines the role education can play in achieving SDGs. The section also explored how strong old students and alumni associations can help in achieving the SDGs. The last section concludes the paper and made necessary recommendations. Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals A closer look at the 17 SDGs shows that they are interconnected; in that the success of one leads to the success of the other. This means that to achieve a positive result, a holistic approach must be adopted in their implementation. Success cannot be achieved if States adopt a ‘pick and choose’ approach. However, the issue at stake is how these SDGs can be achieved. Who are the stakeholders that need to play one role or the other for successful achievement of the goals?Addressing these questions are necessary as it has been stated that not a single SDG is projected to be met by 2030, and developing countries are said to be worse affected. One of the steps taken by the United Nations (UN) towards the achievement of the SDGs is to encourage member States to adopt an SDG Stimulus. The SDG Stimulus has five components to wit: increase funding from multilateral development banks (MDBs) and public development banks (PDBs); enhanced reliefs to countries facing distress; expansion of liquidity by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and major central banks; empowerment and expansion of the specialized global funds; and expansion of private philanthropy with a focus on ‘ultra-high-net-worth’ individuals. Member States are also encouraged to endorse the reform of global financial architecture with special attention on increase funding from national and subnational governments and private entities, reform of current institutional framework and develop new and innovative mechanism to improve the quality and speed of deployment of international cooperation, et cetera. Thus, the United Nations recognizes the importance of finance and cooperation amongst member States if the achievement of the SDGs is anything to come by. It also recognizes the need for member States to develop sustainable development pathways to guide medium to long term approach to guide their sustainable development policies not only for 2030 but up to 2050. The focus of this medium to long term approach is on gender equality, universal education, universal health, sustainable cities, sustainable ecosystems and zero-carbon energy systems. Latin America and Caribbean recognized that SDG requires collaboration and coordination amongst nations. This led to the forming of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development (the Forum), with the sole aim of establishing a regional mechanism for the implementation of the SDGs. The Forum meets annually and includes other stakeholders like the civil society, academia, private sector, development banks, other United Nation agencies and regional integration blocs. It is expected that the involvement of all the stakeholders will enhance exchange of knowledge and ideas that will provide innovative approach of implementation of the 2030 Agenda and achieve the SDGs. It is worth noting that through this Forum, the Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean (ECLAC) is mandated to amongst other things build capabilities by organizing seminars, workshops, courses and technical assistance at regional, national and subnational levels and integrate SDGs into national and territorial planning systems including on taxation, budgets and public investments. The Forum through collaboration and partnership with the stakeholders listed above has been able to identify their targets and indicators in line with the SDGs and are working assiduously towards achieving them. It is worth noting that the European Union also has a blueprint of the current state of SDGs, challenges to implementing them and steps to be taken towards achieving the 2030 Agenda. A report on the progress of Africa towards achieving SDGs shows that Africa is struggling to meet SDGs targets. With respect to the provision of quality education, it is reported that 288 million school-age children are out of school; domestic violence, child marriage and gender mutilation is still prevalent in Africa; loss of forest cover, biodiversity, and land degradation is widespread in Africa. Available data shows that land degradation affects 46% of Africa land and 65% of the population, costing the Continent $9.3 billion annually. Also, Africa has made little progress in SDG 17 which has to do with partnering with the wider stake. Even though African Union Agenda 2063 is a blueprint and master plan for transforming the Continent into a global powerhouse for the future and also, a framework for inclusive and sustainable development for Africa, a lot still needs to be done to achieve the SDGs taking into consideration factors that are inherent to Africa. In other words, there is the need to look inward to achieve the SDGs. However, before examining the extent to which Africa and the developing world can look inward to achieve the SDGs, some of the factors militating against the implementation of the SDGs need to be explored. Factors Militating Against the Achievement of SDGs in Africa and the Developing World Corruption It has been argued that corruption is harmful to development. In fact, corruption is said to be number one barrier to sustainable development. The Transparency International in its 2022 Report stated that 44 of 49 African countries scored below 50 in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), while capital flight from Africa is in tens of billions of dollars each year. Statista found that Sub-Sahara Africa had the lowest global average score in the CPI as at 2022 with a regional score of 32%. A point worth noting is that Africa lost $89 billion to illicit financial flows in 2020. In other words, it is not in doubt that Africa is not just corrupt but the most corrupt continent in the world. Taking into consideration that corruption is the number one barrier to sustainability, it can rightly be argued that unless it is addressed, Africa will not be able to achieve the SDGs. Insecurity As stated above, achieving SDGs requires a lot of funds. Most African countries face security challenges like Islamic militancy, socio-political instability, kidnappings, banditry, human trafficking, cyber-crimes, gender based violence, et cetera. It costs a lot of resources to address these security challenges. The implication of this is that some African countries spend up to 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense and this runs into billions of dollars. Thus, denying the Continent of the requisite funds needed to achieve the SDGs. Also, in some African countries, bandits and Islamic militants prevent farmers from farming on their lands. All these constitute a great challenge to the realization of the SDGs. Lack of Unity of African Countries As can be seen from what is obtainable in the European Union and Latin America and Caribbean as stated above, SDGs can be better achieved if there are regional collaborations. However, recent events in Africa have shown that the Continent is not united. Recently, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Africa has many regional blocs to wit: ECOWAS; Arab Maghred Union (UMA); Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD); East African Community (EAC); Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS); Southern African Development Community (SADC); and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Most times, the interests of all the unions do not align and this denies Africa the needed partnership and collaboration to enable it achieve the SDGs. Too Much Dependent on Imported Goods Africa is said to be one of the least diversified regions in the world with respect to exports. Commodities account for about 60% of total exports in 45 out of 54 countries in Africa and this makes the Continent to be vulnerable to global commodity shock which is an impediment to growth and development. Thus, there is the need for Africa to put measures on ground in order to become an economic hub. This means that every trade barriers must be eliminated as this will enable Africa acquire fund needed to achieve the SDGs. It is worth knowing that eliminating trade barriers will also enhance foreign direct investment (FDI) into Africa, which will inturn enhance the revenue of Africa. Covid 19 and War in Ukraine It is argued that Russian War in Ukraine has disrupted the recovery of Africa from the effects of Covid 19 by raising food prices, disrupting trade of goods and services and tightening the fiscal space, et cetera. As of December 2022, food inflation in East and West Africa was 21.7% and 24.3% respectively. Nigeria on the hand is facing the worst economic crisis in West Africa with high inflation and all-time low currency against dollar. Considering the ‘big-brother’ position of Nigeria, it lacks the will power to lead other African countries to achieve SDGs as Nigeria needs to put her house in order before thinking of what affects other African countries. Also, economic crisis in most African countries means they would be more preoccupied with steps to address the crisis than how to achieve the SDGs. Climate Change SDGs 3, 6, 13, 14 and 15 talks about good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, climate action, life below water and life on land.It can rightly be argued that these SDGs can be achieved if the issue of climate change is addressed. Africa contributes just 4% of greenhouse emissions worldwide but is one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It is said that from 1970 to 2019, 731,700 persons died from weather, climate and water related disasters in Africa. The economic cost of climate change in Africa within this period is $38.5 billion. Thus, addressing the issue of climate change will go a long in achieving the SDGs. The Role of Education in achieving Sustainable Development Goals. The role of education is achieving SDGs cannot be overemphasized. In the first instance, SDG 4 talks about the provision of quality of education. The aim is to provide free primary and secondary schooling for all boys and girls by 2030. As stated above, achieving SDGs is not the responsibility of government alone but rather the wider stake. Thus, there is the need to create awareness through seminars, tutorials, publications, et cetera. Take for instance SDG 5 that talks about gender equality, education helps in creating the necessary awareness to know that what a man can do, a woman can do better. Understanding the need for gender equality may require a sort of mental reset especially for people from patrilineal societies. Also, a closer look on all the 17 SDGs shows that they cannot be achieved without education. One cannot for instance have good health and well-being without understanding what it is all about and how it can be achieved. As stated above, achieving SDGs is the responsibility of many stakeholders and also requires a lot of finances. It has already been shown in this paper that Africa is facing a lot challenges that are making it to have insufficient finances to achieve the SDGs. This means that there is the need to look inward on how to achieve the SDGs and the role strong old students and alumni association can play in this regard is worth analyzing. Even though this paper is unable to find data on the specific amount old school and alumni associations contribute to education in Africa, there is sufficient evidence that they not only exist, but have been contributing positively to education. A visit to the United States of America (USA) can give an idea of what can be achieved through alumni. For instance, in 2014, alumnus Kenneth Griffin donated $150 million to Harvard University. Harvard University stated that this gift from Griffin will impact positively on over 800 students by way of financial aid. As at 2022, Harvard University has an endowment fund of $50.9 billion and the endowment fund is made up of donations from alumni and donors. It is worth knowing that universities in the USA use endowment funds to provide financial aid to students, build campus medical centers, museums, research centers, et cetera, thereby contributing immensely to the achievement of SDGs.The need for old students and alumni associations to help in achieving SDGs in Africa becomes more necessary with the finding that most African countries allocate less than the 15% of their annual budget to education as required by United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to education. Thus, pulling resources together through old school and alumni associations can help close the gap in funding to education. Conclusion and Recommendations. This paper examined the role of education in achieving SDGs with special focus on strong old students and alumni associations. It analyzed the 17 SDGs and observed that they are interconnected. This is because the success in one of the SDGs leads to the success in the other. An analysis of steps taken by some countries towards the implementation of the SDGs shows the Latin America and Caribbean countries have taken positive steps to achieve the SDGs. However, Africa is struggling with achieving the SDGs. The reason for the difficulty of Africa in achieving the SDGs may not be unconnected with the challenges facing the Continent which includes corruption, insecurity, et cetera. It emphasized on the importance of education in achieving SDGs. Due to challenges that are peculiar to Africa, the paper suggested the need to look inward. By this, old school and alumni associations can pull their resources together and assist the government in achieving SDGs. Success in this regard in the USA is an eye-opener of the extent to which old school and alumni association can contribute to achieving the SDGs. Thank you for listening, happy birthday senior.