UN Report Paints Blissful Picture Of Nigeria’s Economy -Economist

A United Nations (UN) report released recently on Nigeria’s Common Country Analysis (CCA), has revealed a deeply  alienated society based on the plurality of ethnic,  religious and regional identities  that had tended to label the country’s political  existence.
Fielding questions  from journalist, in Port Harcourt,  Saturday  on the future  of Nigeria  and other issues, a renowned economist and teacher at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Dr. Catherine Ogubor stated that  the report which was read during a consultative conference  on the formulation of the UN Development Assistance  Framework IV (UNDAF IV) for the  South -East geo-political  zone in Awka, Anambra State, observed that for decades, various segments of Nigeria’s population had at different times expressed feelings of marginalization, of being short changed,  oppressed,  threatened, dominated,  or even targeted  for elimination.
The report, according Ogubor, also painted a dismal picture,  with most of the social indices and development in the country recording  much below  acceptable  standards.
The report which read thus, “Nigeria, with a population of over 175 million, is the most populous in Africa and the  seventh most populous in the world. Her population will be approximately 200 million by 2019 and over 400 million by 2030, becoming one of the top five  most populous countries in the world.
“Nigeria is one of the poorest and  most unequal countries  in the  world,  with over  80 million or 64  per cent of her  population  living below poverty line. The situation has not  changed  over the decades,  but increasing poverty and hunger have remained high in rural  areas, remote communities  and among  female-headed  households and these cut across the six geo-political zones, with prevalence ranging from approximately 46.9 per cent in the South-West to 74.3 per cent in  the North-West and North-East.
“In Nigeria, 37 per cent of children  under five years old were stunted, 18 per cent wasted,  29 per cent underweight and overall, only 10 per cent of children aged 6-23 months are fed  approximately  based on recommended  infant  and young children  feeding practices. “Youth unemployment which  is 42 per cent in 2016 is very high,  creating poverty, helplessness and despair and easy target from crime and terrorism. Over  10 million children  of school age were out of  school with no knowledge and skill”, she said.
As she  puts it, “Nigeria’s economy in the report is currently in a recession and it is estimated  that government  revenues have fallen by as much as 33 per cent, which has  further  political  existence need to be proactively strengthen for enduring future.”
She, however, said that since independence in 1960, Nigeria has struggled to build and sustain  national integration, stressing that the report equally recommended that transforming and diversifying Nigeria’s development  paths needed a radical  and new approach, especially by investing in people  and in a viable state for  prosperous  economy for the country.
Ogubor  also called on Nigerian leaders, politicians and other stakeholders to design  and support the joint programmes of government and the United Nations to address  good governance, peace and security in the country.