ISERH Participates In 'Leave No One Behind' National Dialogue Consultations on SDGs

It was indeed a wonderful gathering of few great shakers, movers and drivers of Social Change in Nigeria at the Lagos Chambers of Commerce International Conference and Exhibition Center on Wednesday 16th Nov., 2016 where Nigeria Network of Nongovernmental Organisations (NNGOs), CIVICUS and Development Initiatives brought them for Dialogue Consultations on Sustainable Development Goals tagged ‘Leave No One Behind’ - A Dialogue Consultation happening in every country of the world.Initiative for Sound Education, Relationship & Health (ISERH), being an indispensable Nongovernmental Organisation in Nigeria, Africa and World at large, was ably represented at the Dialogue by its Executive Director: Mr. Abdulahi Abayomi Abdulraheem.

The dialogue commenced with a welcome address by Dr. Abiola Tilley-Gyado, President, Society for Family and Social Protection in Nigeria and Board Member, Nigeria Network of NGOs.

Consequent upon the statistics listed below, NNGOs deemed it fit for us to have a National Dialogue on SDGs where No One Is Left Behind. This compelled us to have a Panel Discussion during the Dialogue Consultation which was moderated by Mr. Oluwaseun Akinola, famous Splash FM, Ibadan Presenter. The panelists consist of: Professor Lanre Olaniyan – Director, Center for Sustainable Development, University of Ibadan; Mr. Yunus Abdulhamid – Communications Advisor, Plan International; Ms. Ijeoma Okwor – Program Officer, Female Leadership/Gender Justice & Good Govenance, Oxfam Nigeria; Ms. Fabia Ogunmekan – Alumni Engagement Manager, The Tony Elumelu Foundation; Ms. Crystal Chigbu – Executive Director, The Irede Foundation; and Ms. Shade Bembatoum-Young – Member, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Founder, African Sustainable Small Enterprise Export Development.

According to Development Initiatives, our country’s (Nigeria) profile reflects that the National Poverty Line in Nigeria is N149.04 per person per day. That is, any Nigerian who spends N149.04 or above per day is not classified as being POOR. Unfortunately, more than half of Nigerian Population (60.9%) spend less than N149.04 per day which translates to the fact that they are living below Nigerian National Poverty Line. 61.3% of Nigerians living below National Poverty Line live in Rural Areas while only 38.7% live in Urban Areas (Nigeria NBS 2010).

Based on 2010 data, the Highest Rates of Poverty were found in the North East (69.0%) and North West (70.0%) zones. This simply means that 69 and 70 persons out of every 100 Nigerians living in North East and North West are Extremely Poor.

At a state level, 81 (81.2%) persons out of every 100 persons living in Sokoto are living in Poverty while approximately 38 (37.9%) persons out of every 100 persons living in Osun State spend below N149.04 per day (Nigeria NBS 2010).

The International Extreme Poverty Line, which currently stands at PPP$1.90 a day, is used to measure poverty in all countries by the same standard. In Nigeria, those living below this line increased from 52.2% (i.e. 52 of every 100 Nigerians lived below the line) in 1990 to a peak of 66.0% (i.e. 66 of every 100 Nigerians lived below the line) in 2002. This has fallen to 49.7% in 2013 (World Bank’s PovcalNet).

Are we aware that in 2009, the Richest 20% in Nigeria owned 49% of National Income, in contrast to the 5.4% shared by the Poorest Nigerians that made up 20%???

On Education, in 2008, Nigeria’s Adult Literacy Rate stood at 51.1% (i.e. 51 of every 100 Nigerian Adults can read and write), down from 54.8% (i.e. approximately 55 of every 100 Nigerian Adults can read and write) in 2003. However, recent statistics show an increase in adult literacy rates to 59.6% (i.e. approximately 60 of every 100 Nigerian Adults can read and write) in 2015. Literacy rates for men stands at 69.2% (i.e. approximately 69 of every 100 Nigerian men can read and write) are much higher than for women 49.7 % (i.e. approximately 50 of every 100 Nigerian women can read and write) [2015, World Development Indicators].

The primary school net attendance declined from 71.0% in 2012 to 68.7% in 2014. In a similar trend, primary six completion rate decreased from 87.7% in 2012 to 74.0% in 2014 (2015 World Development Indicators).

The Nigerian government budgeted to spend 8.44% of her Total Budget on education in 2016 (2016, Federal Government and State Budgets).

On Health, Life Expectancy in Nigeria has increased from 46.1 (i.e. a Nigerian is expected to live up to 46 years before s/he dies) in 1990 to 52.8% (i.e. a Nigerian is expected to live up to 53 years before s/he dies) in 2014. Since 1990, the Mortality Rate of Children under 5 has steadily fallen from 212.5 per 1,000 (i.e. approximately 213 out of every 1,000 Nigerian Children of under age 5 died in 1990) down to 108.8 per 1,000 (i.e. approximately 109 out of every 1,000 Nigerian Children of under age 5 died) in 2015 (Development Initiatives based on World Development Indicators).

Aren’t the above statistics really scary? That is the reason why you must not be left behind in the actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals.

You are enjoined to look out for the Leave No One Behind National Dialogue Communiqué on Social and Print Media.

Nigeria shall surely be GREATER!!!

CREDIT/APPRECIATION:
ISERH sincerely appreciates:

1.       Mr. Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi, the Executive Director, Nigeria Network of NGOs for his all-inclusive administration.
2.       Prof. Olanrewaju Olaniyan, Director, Center for Sustainable Development for a free ride and insightful discussions.
3.       Ms. Shade Bembatoum-Young – Member, Lagos Chamber of Commerce; and Founder, African Sustainable Small Enterprise Export Development for opening up a link with us.