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Background Information
Nigeria is a country found in West Africa. Its capital city is Abuja. Other major cities include Lagos, Kaduna, Calabar, Ibadan, Kano and Maiduguri. Some of the neighbouring countries include Ghana and Sierra Leone (Falola & Genova).
After gaining independence from the British in 1960, Nigeria witnessed a lot of political instability ranging from military coups, dictatorship rule to unstable democracy. However, in 1999, the country held its first-ever acceptable democratic election which was an incentive to stabilise the country politically. Since then, Nigeria has been politically stable except for the tension which exists between the Muslim northerners and southern Christians over which region should produce the head of state (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2010).
Politics influences all parts of the economy and the social behaviour of the people. The political elite usually offer bribes to the voters when seeking political office. Nigeria is generally a pastoral and agricultural country. The main crops are rice and wheat, which are produced both for local consumption as well as for export. Other major crops include sugar, oilseeds, pulses, cotton, tea, rubber and coffee. The country is also blessed with some minerals which are used in the local industries as well as exported.
Nigeria is among the leading producers of oil in Africa. The people of Nigeria consider themselves as Africa’s superpower given their massive oil reserves and their population of 162 million people making them the biggest population in the continent (Public Data, 2012).
Although the country is blessed with massive oil reserves at the Niger delta, this is not reflected in the wealth distribution amongst the people. More than sixty per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. The infrastructure is very poor and rates of unemployment, especially among the youth, are very high (Encyclopaedia of the Nations, 2010).
Recent History
Nigeria was in a euphoric mood in 1999 after ending years of political instability characterised by coups and dictatorial leadership. The euphoria was however short-lived because the country was faced with serious oil shortages in 2000 as well as a lack of electricity which adversely affected the economy leading to a further increase in poverty levels. Since then, elections have not been perceived as free and fair by Nigerian citizens and the international community.
There has also been ethnic violence in the oil-rich Niger delta as well as religious-based violence. The violence witnessed in the oil-rich Niger Delta has seen the profits from oil drop by 20%, further affecting the national economy. There has also been an increase in official corruption, which has emerged as a threat to national unity and development. Despite all these challenges, the federal government of Nigeria seems to be doing a lot to bring the situation under control.
There has been a spirited fight against official corruption by the federal government of Nigeria. The death of the democratically elected president Umaru Yar’dua saw Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan sworn in as President in 2010. Jonathan’s election was viewed by many as a litmus test for the political maturity of Nigerians, which confirmed that the country is ready to move forward as a united entity free from ethnic or political violence (Somali press, 2010).
Social Life and Religion
Socially, few Nigerians live a civilized life similar to that of Europeans. These are those who belong to the political and the economic class and can pay for good education and health services. On the other hand, about 80% of the population is illiterate, with poor road networks and health services (Encyclopaedia of the Nations, 2010).
The people of Nigeria are accommodating and usually open up to discuss and do business with anybody. But there is a need to be careful when doing business with them because there is a possibility of being conned. The official business language is English and Pidgin English (Falola &Genova, 2005).
The people of Nigeria negotiate a lot when doing business. They usually quote a higher price than the actual one for a particular good or service. Giving people money with your left hand may be looked down upon because it shows a lack of good home training. The elderly are regarded as a source of wisdom and are given due respect in all aspects. Nigerians attach high value to hard work and commitment to their lines of duty. However, some may take shortcuts, especially when it comes to ascending to higher positions of employment or in politics, where some would rather bribe their way to highly coveted positions. Bribery and kickbacks are therefore very normal in Nigeria (Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2010).
Despite different religious orientations, Christians and Muslims still do business with each other. However, conflicts have always erupted between Christians and Muslims mostly over leadership and resource distribution. There is some degree of discrimination in employment based on one’s faith (Oxford Business Group, 2010).
In terms of health status, Nigeria has been classified both by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as one of the countries which have made very little progress as far as the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health is concerned. In the northern states, for instance, complete fertility is well above seven children per adult woman while maternal mortality is one of the highest in the world at 633 deaths for every 100,000 births. USAID estimates show that a million children die yearly before reaching their fifth birthday. In the northern states, childbearing starts very early with a very close spacing of the children (USAID, 2012).
The table below shows some of the health indicators for the country.
The profiling of Nigeria described above paints the picture of a country with huge economic potential and an ability to initiate and effectively implement sound health policies to help the country achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) numbers 4, 5 and 6 by 2015. However, the huge disparity between income and wealth has made the country lag behind in attaining these goals.
Bad politics and rampant official corruption have partly contributed to the poor health status of the country. Patronage politics are responsible for the skewed distribution of national resources. Corruption is responsible for the dwindling of public funds aimed at providing health services to the citizens.
The international organizations working in Nigeria in the health sector such as the USAID and the WHO face the enormous challenge of collaborating with the country’s government to implement the MDGs especially due to vested interests especially among the government elite. Many government officials are on record as having colluded with some local USAID officials and other development partners in misappropriating funds aimed at health programs especially for the massive poor. This has made the country fair badly in the attainment of MDGs as explained below.
According to the World Bank, as far as MDG number 4 is concerned, the country has not managed to reduce child mortality rates, which stands at 124 deaths for every 1000 births for children under the age of five years. This rate is high, especially when compared to that of Ghana which stands at 78 per every 1000 births, Togo’s 110 and Côte d’Ivoire’s 110 (World Bank Group, 2012). However, it has made progress since 2008, with a slight reduction in averages each year. According to the World Bank Group, the figures for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 are 139, 134, 129 and 124 respectively.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency Factbook, Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate stood at 633 for every 100,000 live births in 2010. This rate is relatively high and it can be attributed to the low number of births attended to by skilled health personnel, which stood at 39 % in 2010, meaning that over 60% of births are attended by unskilled birth attendants popularly known as midwives. This is as opposed to Ghana’s rate which stood at 350 deaths for every 100, 000 live births and Côte d’Ivoire’s rate which stood at 410 for every 100, 000 live births in 2010 (CIA, 2011).
In terms of the achievement of universal access to contraceptives, Nigeria’s access rate stood at 15% of women aged 15-49 years compared to Côte d’Ivoire’s rate at 80% and Ghana’s 24% in 2008 ( Ehiri, 2009). The low access to contraceptives is the main contributor to high birth rates among Nigerian women aged between 15-24 years.
As far as the fight against the spread of HIV/ AIDS (MDG number 6) is concerned, Nigeria has not done a lot since the prevalence of AIDS among females aged between 15-24 years stood at 2.9 compared to Ghana at 0.9 and Côte d’Ivoire’s 1.4 in 2011. For males in the same age bracket, the rates were 1.1 for Nigeria, 0.4 for Ghana and 0.6 for Côte d’Ivoire. The indicators show that HIV/AIDS is more prevalent in females than in males (Ozumba, 2011). The high rate can be attributed to the low rate of access to contraceptives (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2011).
In terms of adolescent fertility, World Bank statistics for Nigeria were 117, 116, 114 and 113 births for a population of 1000 for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. This translates to around 5-8 children for every female adolescent mother. The birth rate is relatively high and can be attributed to low rates of access to reproductive health services such as contraceptives and other family planning services (Ogundiya & Olutayo, 2012).
According to the WHO, malaria is a leading cause of death in Nigeria despite aggressive campaigns such as mosquito eradication, distribution of quinine and ant-malarial drugs to curb the disease. Tuberculosis is also a major threat to the citizens of Nigeria especially due to poor sanitation and adherence to physician prescription by the victims of Tuberculosis (Kickbusch, 2013).
Conclusion
Nigeria is the most populous country in West Africa. It’s well endowed with natural resources such as oil and rubber, which makes it one of the wealthiest countries in Africa. Despite the wealth, a large percentage of Nigerians are still living in poverty because of the skewed distribution of the wealth. The country is composed of an elite social class, who control virtually everything in the country from politics to the economy as well as the social life through the creation of social classes. Almost 80% of the total population suffers the effects of poverty such as poor health and unemployment.
The country has made very little progress in terms of attaining the MDGs number 4, 5 and 6; especially when compared to other countries in the region such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Maternal mortality remains one of the highest in the African continent as well as the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Some of the development partners who work in Nigeria including USAID and WHO usually cite poor national policy as the major challenge in the implementation of the 3 MDGs related to health as described above.
The policies which exist in Nigeria are only made in response to emergencies, or to deal with situations as they occur. The country lacks a blueprint health plan for the next decade and that is why it has been difficult to implement the MDGs within the stipulated timelines. However, all is not lost because development partners are doing their best to help the country stay on course in attaining the MDGs.
Reference List
Central Intelligence Agency 2011, The CIA World Factbook, Skyhorse Pub, New York.
Ehiri, J 2009, Maternal and child health: global challenges, programs, and policies, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Encyclopaedia of the Nations 2010, Nigeria political background. Web.
Falola, T. & Genova, A 2005, The politics of the global oil industry: an introduction, Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, p.200.
Johnson, J.D & Stoskopf, C.H 2011, Comparative health systems: global perspectives, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, Mass.
Kickbusch, I 2013, Global health diplomacy: concepts, issues, actors, instruments, forums and cases, Springer, New York.
Ogundiya, I & Olutayo, A.O 2012, Assessment of democratic trends in Nigeria, Gyan Pub. House, New Delhi.
Oxford Business Group 2010, The Report: Nigeria 2010, Sacramento, CA: Oxford Business Group.p.292.
Ozumba, B. C 2011, Improving maternal health in developing countries: the Nigerian experience: an inaugural lecture of the University of Nigeria, Senate Ceremonials Committee, Nigeria, University of Nigeria.
Public Data 2012, Deaths per million inhabitants. Web.
Royal Institute of International Affairs 2010, The Political and Economic Background, London, Oxford University Press. p.87.
Somali press 2010, Recent history of Nigeria. Web.
USAID Nigeria 2012, Health, Population and Nutrition. Web.
WHO 2013, WHO African Region: Nigeria. Web.
World Bank Group 2012, Improving primary health care delivery in Nigeria: evidence from four states, World Bank Group, Washington, D.C.
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