UN index report: ActionAid challenges government

A Non-Governmental Organisation, ActionAid Nigeria, has called on the Federal Government to quickly respond to the challenges of development in the country which it described as a time bomb.The anti-poverty agency was reacting to the recent human development index released by the United Nations which placed Nigeria in the 156th position out of 187 countries.The index measured three dimensions of human development including living a long and healthy life, measured by life expectancy; education which was measured by adult literacy and enrolment at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels and decent standard of living.The Country Director of ActionAid, Dr. Hussaini Abdu, said the position does not give a comfortable and comforting picture of the state of the Nigerian nation.He said, The recently released United Nations Human Development Index has shown that not only has the Nigerian government failed in its obligations to provide for the populace, it has put the poor in a precarious situation.Countries like Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Syria which have experienced social and political upheavals as well as violent eruptions have fared better than Nigeria. It is obvious that the nation is sitting at the edge.The ranking according to Abdu calls for serious concern as it has shown a steep drop not only in the level of development but also value for human lives.He said, For over 11 years, Nigeria has consistently designed and operationalised economic policies that have not only underperformed but have also added no value to human lives in the country. It is now imperative that we start thinking of alternate development strategies that not only present new routes to development but place human beings at the centre of development.
Click here to read full news..