Nigeria: The obstacles to achieving the MDGs
Endowed with abundant natural and human resources, Nigeria represents a huge gap of achieving the Millennium Goals. Available statistics indicate that poverty in Nigeria remains pervasive, multifaceted and chronic. The national poverty profile has been on the rise with more than half the population (70%) living on less than a dollar a day. With a […]
Endowed with abundant natural and human resources, Nigeria represents a huge gap of achieving the Millennium Goals. Available statistics indicate that poverty in Nigeria remains pervasive, multifaceted and chronic. The national poverty profile has been on the rise with more than half the population (70%) living on less than a dollar a day. With a per capita income of barely $300, the country remains among the 20 poorest nations of the world and 20% of Africa’s poor are Nigerians. It is also clear that reducing child mortality by two-third remains a mirage; according to DFID report of 2009, one in five children die before the age of 5 and World Health Organisation ranked Nigeria as 187th out of 191 member states. Both DFID and Save the Children characterise Nigeria’s Primary Healthcare as being in a state of collapse. With almost 8 million school age children out of school, the country is off-track in achieving UBE. The neglect of agricultural sector spells doom for the country’s effort to achieve food security.
These are some of the problems the MDGs are facing in Nigeria. Coupled with lack of political will, corruption, weak infrastructure and greedy elites, the achievement of MDGs in Nigeria remains a myth. Reports provided by the MDG office in Nigeria on the progress made towards achieving the MDGs was highly criticised by Civil Society Organisations as not reflecting reality on ground. This is not farther from the truth. Considering the fact that all over Nigeria, there is hardly any city that can boast of having access to clean water.
Visit any public school, whether primary or secondary school, which accommodates a large chunk of children of the poor; what greets you is dilapidated structures, crowded classes and poor quality teaching staff.
Achieving the Millennium Goals in Nigeria needs more than rhetorics but deliberate policies, commitment and people’s involvement in the planning and execution of any development policy. It also needs investment in health, education and economic development. We need real commitment to democracy, good governance and social justice and respect for human rights. Our political leaders on their part need to really sacrifice and show readiness to change their ways. It is one thing to talk about commitment to change and another to practicalise it. Unless that is achieved, Nigeria’s achievement of the MDGs will remain a myth, not in 2015 but in 50 years time.
Kabiru Danladi Lawanti, Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria