TO present a graphic picture of Nigeria's limitless potential as a catalysing agent for the much-awaited giant leap towards development on the African continent, analysts have typically described the map of Africa as having the shape of a gun, with Nigeria being at the point of the trigger.Others have gone on to talk of South Africa as being located at the nozzle of the gun, which if fired right, is capable of shooting down all the continent's woes: poverty, disease, economic dependency, and armed conflicts, amongst many other travails.This gun and trigger myth, which gives Nigeria a much-vaunted role in the transformation of Africa, is anchored on the country's natural capabilities: a huge population, a robust human capacity, and the presence of a vast array of natural resources.However, if key development indices are guide, it would seem that Nigeria, instead of being the progressive trigger that would shoot the rest of Africa up the development ladder, is a country lagging behind, and even backsliding in a number of areas. From the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to corruption and Human Development Index, Nigeria has either stagnated or dropped embarrassingly.The figures are startling. According to UNICEF, with a total population of 140 millions inhabitants, Nigeria's under-five mortality rate stands 195 per 1,000 live births. Beyond this, life expectancy at birth is 48, while infant mortality rate is put at a high 100 per 1,000 live births.As for neonatal mortality rate, UNICEF figures put it 53 per 1,000 live births, while antenatal care coverage stands at 58 percent.Saddening, too, is the maternal mortality ratio, which is figured to be 800 per 100,000 live births. The gory statistics show that an estimated 44,800 Nigerian women die from pregnancy related complications out of 5,600,000 pregnancies.'Although many of these causes are preventable, the coverage and quality of health care services in Nigeria continue to fail women and children. The key problems are both technical and operational,' UNICEF said of Nigeria.Infant And Maternal MortalitySPECIFICALLY, from the way things stand today, Nigeria is a 'world leader' in both infant and maternal mortality rates; it remains second only to India.In May, when the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon visited the country, to have a first-hand impression of the extent and effectiveness of government efforts in addressing the crucial issues of maternal and infant mortality, he ostensibly went away with a good impression. The realities on the ground were, however, very worrisome.Nigeria has keyed into global commitments in relation to tackling the issues that revolved around saving 16 million lives by 2015, preventing 33 million unwanted pregnancies, protecting 120 million children from pneumonia and 88 million children from stunting.Others include advancing the control of deadly diseases such as Malaria and HIV/AIDS, and ensuring access, for women and children, to quality facilities and skilled health workers.The international community, with the specific goal of tackling maternal and infant mortality, earmarked the sum of $40 billion for the global initiative. But from research, it has been shown that the most tepid improvements in the MDGs for reducing child and maternal mortality rates to one-third of their 1990 levels by 2015 have been in Africa, with Nigeria being specifically guilty of moving at snail speed.This is validated by a recent study, sponsored jointly by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which pin-pointed Nigeria as the second worst case in neonatal deaths; concluding that it may take the country, among others along the same path, about 150 years before it could meet up with new-born survival rates in the US or UK.Disconcerting, too, is the country's mortality rate with about 105 to 1,000 live births, and its burgeoning under-five mortality rate with about 178 to 1,000 live births, despite recent progress made in medicine and pharmacy.Also, over 144 women give up the ghost everyday in the country due to pregnancy related complications. A breakdown shows that between 800 and 1,500 women die in every 100,000 live births as pregnancy-induced deaths claim one woman every 10 minutes.Thousands of others end up with injuries, infections, diseases or disabilities that can cause lifelong suffering every year, among which are obstetric fistula or Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), ruptured uterus and paralyses.On the basis of these dismal ratings of Nigeria by both the WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the logical conclusion is that the country contributes over 10 per cent of the world's total estimate of maternal deaths.Experts are of the view that there is no reason for the situation to be so bad. It has, thus, been noted that supervision of births by skilled health personnel, and access to emergency obstetric care, in addition to the provision of sufficient nutrition and basic health-care services, would drastically reduce the risk of maternal death.Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)AS for other MDGs, the scorecard for Nigeria has not been remarkable, as shown below by some of the conclusions of relevant agencies on the other MDGs.Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, the number one MDG, is obviously yet to the achieved. Recent economic growth, particularly in agriculture, has markedly reduced the proportion of underweight children, from 35.7 per cent in 1990 to 23.1 percent in 2008.However, growth has not generated enough jobs and the effect on poverty is not yet clear (the most recent data is from 2004. Growth needs to be more equitable and broad-based.)' As for promoting gender equality and women empowerment, gradual improvement in the proportion of girls enrolled in primary school, though noteworthy, is not enough to meet the target. There are signs of backsliding in tertiary education.Although few women currently hold political offices, the new policy framework is encouraging. Regional variations in the determinants of gender inequality mean that state and local government efforts will be critical to the achievement of this goal.' Ensuring environmental sustainability is another area Nigeria has fared badly, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It asserts that Nigerian natural resources are some of its most valuable assets but are still seriously threatened.'For example, between 2000 and 2010, the area of forest shrank by a third, from 14.4 per cent to 9.9 per cent of the land area. Safe water and sanitation became less accessible between 2003 and 2005, but the situation has improved due to more effective investments. The proportion of the population accessing safe water is now 58.9 percent and the proportion accessing improved sanitation, 51.6 percent.'' Results focusing on the goal of developing a global partnership for development, show that debt relief negotiated by Nigeria in 2005 greatly improved the macroeconomic environment.'Debt servicing fell from 15.2 percent of exports in 2005 to 0.5 percent in 2008. Development assistance, too, has grown, although it is still low on a per capita basis. Trade agreements, unfortunately, are still not equitable and constrain exports and economic growth. The rapid spread of technology has yet to bridge the digital divide: 41.6 percent of the population own a mobile phone and only 15.8 percent access the Internet.'Living StandardsDEVELOPMENT experts and activists have insisted that one of the most unsettling features of Nigeria's human development profile is the gap in wealth between the North and South of the country, on one hand, and the rich and the poor on the other hand.A 2009 visit by a UK House of Commons committee concluded that, 'some of the States in northern Nigeria have the worst human development indicators of any region in the world which is not affected by conflict.'The World Bank observes that, 'growth has been resilient during the recent global financial crisis.' But it also estimates that there are 50 million underemployed youths in Nigeria, conceding that, 'strong economic growth has not translated into higher employment rates.'In a similar vein, economists have argued that the malaise that underscores the pervasive poverty in Nigeria is the failure to distribute the country's vast oil revenues more equitably. Also, there is the lack of will to diversify into non-oil sectors such that, in 2010, oil revenues contributed 89 percent of exports and 65 percent of the national budget.Federalism is equally crucial in ending the constant frictions, and mind-boggling bloodletting that the Nigerian polity is known. With over 250 ethnic groups, Nigeria's near unwieldy diversity, it has been reasoned, calls for a decentralised structure of government administration.The challenge of efficient delivery has been undermined by a pervasive culture of corruption. Dysfunctional government agencies at federal, state and local levels, therefore, impede poverty reduction strategies.Demographic pressures place additional demands on both household and government budgets. Between 2000 and 2008, population growth was 3.2 percent per annum, far above the global average.Urban migration is projected to bring 60 percent of the total population into the cities by 2025, fuelling the unplanned slum settlements where poverty is entrenched, and life is brutish.Failing Anti-corruption WarCORRUPTION has been identified as one major reason why Nigeria has been absolutely unable to trigger Africa towards development. Despite early optimism in its recent anti-corruption efforts, analysts and citizens are losing faith in the potential for progress.With so many cases against corrupt politicians entangled in the somewhat reluctant, or even complicit mills of the judicial process, Nigerians are increasingly feeling hopeless about the possibilities of change.In September, rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) jolted a sleepy nation with a scathing report that in essence concluded that the war against graft had derailed. HRW advocated immediate action to maintain public confidence that fighting corruption can make a difference.HRW said the main graft-bursting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had initially 'captured the imagination of Nigerians' and made them believe that corrupt politicians could be held to account.Established by the administration of President Olusegun in 2002, the commission was given broad powers to investigate and prosecute economic and financial crimes, including government corruption.President Goodluck Jonathan has also spoken out against corruption. This year, in the lead up to April's presidential elections, he ran on a strong anti-corruption platform, vowing not to interfere in the operation of the EFCC.When he swore-in his new administration in July, he continued to insist that all levels of government would be investigated, declaring that corruption was a 'monster that we need to confront and defeat.'Yet, confidence in the EFCC and Jonathan's government is fading. Nigeria stands at 134 in Transparency International's annual corruption perceptions index, which ranks 178 countries in order of least to most corrupt.Although it expressed mild optimism that the EFCC is still the brightest hope for combating corruption in Nigeria, HRW warned that 'the public face and the potential of the EFCC has started to slip (and) it needs public legitimacy to function.'Without prompt action to improve the commission, public confidence may erode too far for its legitimacy to be restored, it counseled.
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