Nigeria on development scale

Development indicators and statistical revelations to determine whether Nigeria is developing or not is not straight forward as from goverment reports they keep on giving statistical revelations that shows Nigeria is developing. While on the otherhand local and international organisations development indicators shows that Nigeria is not developing with huge resources the country has especially from the proceeds from the oil sector.

Nigeria has all it takes to achieve full food security and be a major net provider of food to global community, but unfortunately agricultural sector is not growing at any appreciate rate with less than 50% of the country’s cultivable land undercultivated. 90% of the land now under cultivation is being tendered by small farmers using largely antiqueted production techniques . And Nigeria spends $2.8 billion to import for local comsuption and 90 million of the country;s 140 million people face food insecurity and cannot afford three square meals a day . Also 70% of our population are living below poverty line.

Also the latest figure from National Primary Health Development Agency(NPHCDA) showed high maternal , newborn/neonatal and child mortality rates in the country. Maternal Mortality Rate(MMR) is 800 per 100,000 live births while Neonatal Mortality Rate(NMR) is 48 per 1,000 live births with wide variation between regions.

According to the State of the World Children 2009 report recently released by the United Nations Children Fund(UNICEF) Nigeria is the 8th worst performing country in a list of 148 nations in 2007 on under five mortality as 189 new babies died in every 1,000 live births in the country. Yearly, an estimated 52,000 Women die from pregnancy related complications, while an estimated 250 new born die every year in Nigeria.

Decent livinghood is not also within the reach of many Nigerians as according to National Bureau of Statistics in 2004 poverty is about 57 percent and studies showed that an estimated 2.8 million graduates enter labour market annually with little over 10 percent securing a job. Estimated 80 to 90 million Nigerians lived in poverty. Only India and China have more poor people than Nigeria. India and China has a population of over one billion to Nigeria’s 140 million.

Presently an average Nigerian Child lacks basic education , adequate primary health care and a balance diet, and a good home. To make matter worse about 90% of Nigerians have no good roads, more than 70% lacks access to good health care and over 80% has no access to good water.

Per Capita Income has drastically reduced from over US$ 1,000 per day in 1980 to US$ 240 in 1997 and today less than US$ 1 per day. Inflation rate increased from 5.5% in 1985 to 5.6% in 1988, 57.2% in 1993, over 60% in 1994 and 72.8% in 1995. Today , the standard living of Nigerians have deterioted as there has been increase in socio-economic problems as a result of joblessness, homelessness and poverty that continues to be visited on Nigerians due to bad goverment policies , poor management and primitive corruption.

Though on the part of Nigeria’s goverment according to it’s officials have been trying it’s best to change the lives of Nigerians and claimed that reports by International organisations on Nigeria is misleading. According to Nigeria’s goverment statistics poverty ratio in the country is dropping . In 1980, 28%, in 1985 the poverty ration grew to 46% and dropped to 42% in 1992. In 1996 the population of poor increased to 65.6%, in 1999 it stood at 70% and in 2004 it feel to 54.4% and presently at 50%.

The present administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua has vow to implement the Millineum Development Goals(MDGs) agenda of reducing extreme hunger and poverty. The goverment will put it;s effort to achieve a national growth rate of 6% per annum through agriculture as it remains one of the key components of the Nigerian economy and a focal point of our development. Yar’adua’s administration according to it’s officials have made appriciable progress with budgetery increasement from 7% in 2008 to about 10% in 2009 as well as providing intervention funds for the advancement of the sector.

As far as statistical evidence available is concern to determine whether Nigeria is developing or not, the answer is capital NO. Nigeria is not developing even when compare with the huge resources the country is earning which unfortunately ends to develop some few individuals and their families than the the 140 million Nigerians. There is no any no development plan the country is religiously trying to implement , but rather rhetorics of some un-cordinated 7 – point Agenda which