Amidst looming discontent over governments impending policy review on fuel subsidy, and the pervasive poverty currently ravaging the country, Nigerians have been told that they occupy the bottom rung on the human development ladder. This years Human Development Index report released by the United Nations Development Programme last week placed Nigeria in 156th position out of 187 countries surveyed. If the government then makes good its threat to remove petroleum products subsidies, it is expected that the living standards in Nigeria would take a further nosedive.Nigerias performance this year is not significantly different from those of the previous years since the report was first published in 1990. For instance, out of the 169 countries surveyed last year, Nigeria placed 142nd, ranking among the worlds least developed countries. This is a clear indication that living in Nigeria is a harrowing experience, due to the lack of judicious deployment of the countrys huge natural resources to the improvement of the quality of life of the citizenry.HDI is a creation of a Pakistani economist, Mahbub ul Haq, who in 1990, came up with the widely acceptable means of evaluating the well-being of countries universally. In ranking countries, the UN agency takes into account longevity, measured by life expectancy at birth; educational attainment, measured by adult literacy rate and gross school enrolment figure; and income, measured by Purchasing Power Parity, which is calculated after eliminating price differences among countries. HDI also distinguishes the status of countries, categorising them as developed, developing and underdeveloped.Although last years report said several African countries have registered substantial progress in improving human development, it also acknowledged the fact that Nigeria, as well as other African countries, faced challenges relating not only to sustaining growth, but also addressing inequality and broader dimensions of empowerment.On life expectancy, this years report says a child born in Nigeria is expected to live up to 51.9 years, while Gabonese, Mauritian and Libyan children have a life expectancy of 62.7 years, 73.4 years and 74 years respectively. This years figure is a slight improvement on the 48 years projected for Nigeria in 2009 but it is still very poor compared to other African countries.Nigeria, the UNDP report pointed out, also lagged behind other sub-Saharan African countries in Gross National Income. While Nigeria boasts a GNI per capita of $2,069, countries such as Gabon, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea are credited with per capita income of $12,249, $13,049 and $17,608 respectively.Nigerias poor indicators also continued in education, where there is not much to cheer. A typical Nigerian over the age of 25 years, according to the UNDP report, is expected to receive an average of five years of schooling. The report also puts an average possible years of schooling for a child at 8.9.The grim picture painted by the report is not really surprising as Nigeria has been lagging behind in almost all the indicators that make living a pleasurable experience. The country, since independence in 1960, has been a victim of failure of governance, resulting in the collapse of the education and health sectors. Many Nigerians of means now prefer treatment in foreign hospitals for the simplest ailments, leaving others at the mercy of scantily-equipped hospitals laid bare by high exodus of competent medical personnel. This has worsened conditions in the health sector, resulting in very high rate of infant and maternal mortality, and a high prevalence of killer diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria.In the education sector, just as in health, Nigerians who can afford it now go abroad in search of quality education. Besides, many Nigerians have been denied access to education, either because of lack of space or their inability to pay the excessively high fees charged in many private and, sometimes, public institutions. Nigeria and Tanzania, according to another UN report, currently have the lowest rate of transition from primary to lower secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa. It is also estimated that over 11 million Nigerian children of school age are out of school.Poverty in the country has become endemic and it is estimated that over 70 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line. Things are even getting worse as the schools are churning out more poorly-trained and ill-equipped graduates at a time when there are no available jobs. More companies are closing down due to the prevalent unfriendly business environment. This is worsened by the decrepit nature of infrastructure and a high rate of insecurity that have hindered foreign investment and job creation.As sub-Saharan Africa is typically considered the region facing the greatest challenges in human development, Nigeria, as a prominent member of this region, owes her citizens a duty to address the deficits in the HDI report. The government should pursue the stalled privatisation programme as a major job-creation policy as only a private sector-driven economy can guarantee sustainable job creation. Tackling electricity and revamping the agriculture sector will also create jobs and reduce poverty.Nigerias attitude to meeting the UNs Millennium Development Goals could also lift the country up the HDI ladder. Unfortunately, the country does not look set to meet any of the goals by the target date of 2015. The government will also make a huge impact on the quality of life of the people if it addresses the imbalance between the recurrent and capital allocations in the budget. No country can develop with 30 per cent of its national budget for capital projects that will not even meet 40 per cent implementation, while 70 per cent goes for recurrent expenditure.
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