Nigeria

38,700,000!
We joined the world to ‘Stand Up and Speak Out’ against Poverty

With a booming voice that matched the seriousness of the occasion Dr. Otive Ibuzor, Country Director Actionaid International Nigeria led a Stand Up and Speak Out moment at a United Nations (UN)/Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) organized Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Dialogue on 17 October 2007 in Abuja. The participants joined millions around the world who observed the Stand Up and Speak Out moment against poverty, reading a pledge in unison, led by Ibuzor. The Dialogue was a forum for interaction between the media, civil society organizations, development partners and government on the status of Nigeria with regards to achieving the MDGs. Thought provoking as it were, the theme - Achieving the MDGs in Nigeria…How far now elicited the desired response from the speakers and participants alike.

UN Resident Coordinator, Alberic Kacou, (second from right) reciting the Stand Up and Speak Out pledge with UN Staff members

At the opening presentation, Alberic Kacou the UN Resident Coordinator speaking on the topic The UN support in achieving the MDGs in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities, gave a rundown of the UN’s approach to the MDGs. He said, “what the UN has done is to transform the eight goals into targets and indicators so as to monitor progress over time… in Nigeria, the MDGs have become an integral part of the UN Reforms, we use it as an advocacy tool in support of policy interventions aimed at sustainable development”. Kacou listed some of the challenges the UN is dealing with as; Good governance, weak and irregular statistical data, weak mechanism of monitoring MDG progress against target, state participation and poverty, among others, where the UN looks to see how the vicious cycle of poverty can be turned into a cycle of sustainable development. It is an appalling situation in Nigeria where amidst rich resources millions of people go hungry everyday. The opportunities on the other hand range from; fight against corruption, strong political leadership, adoption of policy driven development planning across the three tiers of government as well as the federal structure.

Amina Ibrahim, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs in her presentation tagged ‘Achieving the MDGs in Nigeria, the journey so far and next steps’, gave an insight into the exact position of the country as far as the MDGs are concerned. She said, “the goals, though largely not met are beginning to show good results through genuine partnerships…report of 2006 is results from 2005, we see the results as challenges in achieving MDGs which we believe we can achieve, because it is now a lot easier to plan and implement the goals”.

Staff at UN House observing the Stand Up and Speak Out Moment – 17 October 2007 ©UNDP Nigeria

In her presentation, Felicia Onibon the Moderator Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All (CSACEFA) speaking on behalf of the Civil Society stated that governance is at the core of achieving the MDGs stressing that good governance and transparency calls for collaboration and openness as well as responsiveness and respect for human rights, including women’s right in all sincerity. She reiterated the call for the passage of the Freedom of Information bill.

From the media came a direct call to Civil Society Organisations to feed the media with the ‘meat’ for development news reporting. Martins Oloja of the Guardian, while presenting his paper titled ‘The role of the media in advocating for the achievement of MDGs in Nigeria and holding leaders accountable’ stated that reports touching upon Nigeria’s burning development issues and the data behind these reports is largely inaccessible. He therefore urged CSOs to support the media with research and data to help with monitoring efficiency.

Earlier that day, the Stand Up and Speak Out moment had been observed in the UN House by 194 UN staff and partners. Nigeria’s contribution to the global number of 38.7million declared by the Guinness Book of World Records was 1,823, 452, in contrast to 2006 when 23million people stood up against poverty.

Staff at UN House observing the Stand Up and Speak Out Moment – 17 October 2007 ©UNDP Nigeria

“The Pledge”
We are standing now with millions of people around the world on this symbolic
Day, the international day of eradication of poverty, to show our
Commitment to the fight against extreme poverty and inequality.

We are standing because we refuse to accept more excuses in a
World where people 50,000 people die everyday as a result of extreme
Poverty and the gap between rich and poor is growing wider

We are standing because we want our leaders to honour their
Promises to meet the millennium Development Goals- and we ask
Them to exceed these goals

We join in solidarity with people from over 100 countries to say:
To the leaders of the wealthy countries-
We urge you to keep your promises on poverty-debt cancellation,
More and better aid, trade justice and gender equality

To the leaders of the poorer countries- make it your first responsibility
To save the lives of your poorest citizens, we ask you to tackle
Inequality, to be accountable to your people, to govern fairly and
Justly, to fight corruption and to fulfill human rights

Today and everyday, we will stand up and speak out against
Poverty, we will continue the fight against poverty and inequality
And to hold our leaders to their promises

We are asking not for charity but for justice. We are millions of
Voices standing in solidarity to say, no more excuse- end poverty now.