CSOs worry over Nigeria’s bottom position in CRI ranking

SOME CIVIL SOCIETY groups and other stakeholders in the country have expressed worries that Nigeria had the unenviable distinction of being at the bottom of the “Commitment to Reducing Inequality index” (CRI) for the second year running.

The 2018 report of the global anti-poverty agency was released last Tuesday at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Nigeria placed 157th out of 157 governments across the world.

The CRI is a global ranking of governments based on what they are doing to tackle the gap between rich and poor.

Oxfam, British aid agency and Development Finance International (DFI) believe that the inequality crisis is not inevitable, but governments are not powerless against it.

They noted that Nigeria’s social spending (on health, education and social protection) between last year and this year, is shamefully low, which is reflected in very poor social outcomes for its citizens. One in 10 children in Nigeria does not reach their fifth birthday, more than 10 million children do not go to school. Sixty percent of these are girls.

Rotary Club of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on its part, noted that it was worried by the poor nutritional intake of several thousands of school children in the country.

Eka Etuk, president of Rotary Uyo led the club to a campaign for proper feeding of school pupils to the Qua Iboe Church group school at Nung Ukot Itam, a suburban neighbourhood outside Uyo the state capital.

The club collaborated with Akwa Ibom Egg Nutrition Awareness Initiative (AKENAI), emphasising the nutritional benefits of egg.

Etuk along with her members, joined by AKENAI coordinator, Moses Akpan, prepared some egg delicacies that help boost nutritional values in children.

Akpan, AKENAI boss, complained that there was alarming rate of malnutrition among children in Akwa Ibom.

He said the trend has widely created some disparities in the bodily and mental growth of children in the state.

The Rotary team alerted that egg consumption contributes immensely in eradicating malnutrition and nutrient deficiency, especially among children and rural dwellers. They asked the state government and parents to live to the educational needs of children, to improve their future.

All the pupils received egg-based meals, as well as some educational materials.

L-R: Mark Bohlund, Africa economist, Bloomberg Economics; Victor Etuokwu, executive director, Access Bank Plc; Oladele Afolabi, director, portfolio management, debt management office; Titi Odunfa Adeoye, chief executive officer, Sankore Investments; Oscar N. Onyema, chief executive officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Nnamdi J. Okonkwo, managing director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc; Jubril Enakele, chief executive officer, Zenith Capital Plc; Shola Akinlade, chief executive officer, Paystack; and Paul Wallace, Africa Emerging Markets reporter, Bloomberg News, during NSE-Bloomberg CEO Roundtable at the Exchange recently.