Introduction
Sustainable development goals are, in principle, universal, indivisible and interrelated. However, despite the ambitious targets and noble principles, the SDG document appear to lack clear strategy on how to monitor and ensure adherence to those principles during the implementation of the goals (Rotimi Jaiyesimi, 2016). As a result, governments or implementers likely make compromises when they try to achieve one goal at the expense of the other. For example, sacrificing forests or protected areas to increase food production (in a bid to ensure food security and end hunger), evicting indigenous communities to establish national parks and improve conservation of wildlife, etc., are highly possible in places like Africa. Hence, reconciling such conflicting interests and coming up with compatible synergies present enormous challenges mainly in Africa where there are very limited alternatives.
In theory, sustainable development needs to be inclusive and take special care for the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable segment(s) of the society. In addition to the social justice, it should be environmentally friendly, i.e. cause no harm to the environment. The twelve sustainable development goals proposed by the African Union in 2015 are well in line with the sustainable development goals later adopted by the world leaders (ECA,
However, there are challenges to transform from rapid economic growth into sustained and inclusive development that foster economic diversification, job creation, reduce inequalities and poverty (AFDB, AU, 2015). The SDGs envision the world economy to grow by 7% (Ighobor, 2015). However, the falling price of commodities (e.g., oil) has stagnated economic growth in various parts of the world including in oil producing African countries like Nigeria and Angola (African Union Commission,