When Nigeria failed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, various factors were cited and relevant stakeholders were equally referenced. The exponential growth of poverty rate, insecurity, social inequality, absence of inclusive growth and youth unemployment were largely considered as the factors. As stakeholders in the industry and academia continue engaging and finding relevant and relatable projects that would help the country achieve the new Goals -Sustainable Development Goals, it has occurred that the challenges and others would likely impact the attainment of the Goals.
In one of the previous analyses, our analyst reported that Nigerian professionals are discussing suitable ideas for the realisation of the new goals. However, analysis of the country’s SDGs Indicators Baseline Report indicates that 29.41% of the SDGs indicators could be tracked successfully, as intervention projects and programmes are being developed and executed by various stakeholders, using existing data sources. These sources are largely from the national agencies, Ministries and global organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation among others.
Exhibit 1: Classifications of Data Source Availability for SDGs Programme Intervention and Tracking
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The availability of the data sources was classified into highly available, moderately available and not highly available by our analyst. These classifications were in line with the OSSAP-SDGs and National Bureau of Statistics’ results, discovered based on the number of data sources identified for each Goal’s tracking indicators. Highly available represents availability of data sources for all indicators Nigeria needs to track for a Goal. Moderately available means that Nigeria has some data sources for the indicators that need to be tracked and measured to determine progress and the possibility of meeting the Goal. Not highly available indicates absolute lack of data sources for the same purposes.
Highly Available
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere; Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all; Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns; Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Moderately Available
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote; Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages; Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation; Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries; Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development; Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss; Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Not Highly Available
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning; Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation; Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Strategic Options
These insights have further confirmed our earlier position that businesses and scholars need to help Nigeria in its quest of attaining the SDGs. It is equally important that citizens assist businesses, scholars and governments in their efforts of collecting and managing necessary data for project intervention and monitoring of the indicators of each Goal. This is essential as the country has less than 10 years for realising all the Goals.
Macro stakeholders such as the businesses, scholars and governments cannot have the needed data without the support of the micro stakeholders such as individuals, community leaders, association leaders among others at the community and group levels. There must be a change to the way citizens react to data collection projects. When researches are being done for development purposes, the studies should not be always seen as mere exercises. Political leaders at all levels also need to refine their political will, especially funding data collection projects across the country. This is highly essential for the SDGs that have moderately and not highly available status.