THE report that Nigeria is the worst country to be born in 2013 is hardly surprising in view of its unenviable record as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Out of 80 countries assessed, Nigeria came 80th in Where-to-be-born index recently released by the Economist Intelligence Unit – a sister company of The Economist magazine. Some Nigerians may dismiss this report as hogwash; but an examination of the indicators for the scores gives Nigeria away as a country that has not only retrogressed over the years, but has also presented a wafer-thin hope of an immediate redemption.
In arriving at its verdict, the EIU took into account such factors as crimes, life expectancy at birth, healthy family life, job security, personal physical security and trust in public institutions. In the estimation of the assessors, the best country to be born in is Switzerland. It is closely followed by Australia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore. The United States of America and Germany are joint 16th while the first country in Africa, South Africa, is 53rd.
Other credible reports have, for years, been screaming about the pitiable fate of the Nigerian child. To start with, infant mortality in the country is the second worst in the world. The United Nations Children's Fund says about one million Nigerian children die each year before their fifth birthday; this is a shocking 10 per cent of the global total. At an estimated 177,000 yearly under-five deaths, Nigeria is reported to be second only to India in pneumonia prevalence in the world. Besides, the World Malaria Report 2011 noted that Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mozambique accounted for 60 per cent of the deaths from malaria worldwide. Cholera and diarrhoea also kill our children in their thousands.
Earlier in the year, a report by the United Kingdom-based charity, Save the Children, listed Nigeria among the countries where half of the world's malnourished children reside. Out of the world's 178 million malnourished children, 11 million are said to be chronically malnourished in Nigeria. As a result of harmful traditional belief, a United Kingdom-based group, Stepping Stone Nigeria, says high numbers of Nigerian children are stigmatised as witches and subsequently tortured, abused, abandoned or even killed in a number of places, including Akwa Ibom State.
No doubt, no child would want to be born in a country where children are vulnerable to attacks by sundry criminals ranging from armed robbers to kidnappers and terrorists. In July this year, scores of children were killed in an attack allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen in villages in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas of Plateau State. Also in July, some unknown hoodlums fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Nurul Islam School in Jos, the Plateau State capital, killing a 10-year-old boy. According to UNICEF, about 6,000 children are in prison and detention centres across the country. Girls make up less than 10 per cent and they mainly come into contact with the law as a result of criminal acts committed against them such as rape, sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Some of these children do not even have shelter over their heads. They sleep under the flyovers in Nigeria's big cities and later grow to become street boys and hardened criminals. Some of them end up as hawkers, prostitutes, domestic servants and beggars. Even with the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989, children's rights are still violated with impunity in Nigeria.
The situation is worse in the Northern part of the country. Millions of Almajiri children roam the streets without knowing where the next meal will come from. Polio, which has been eradicated in many countries, is still a problem in that part of the country. And over 10 million of our children, the majority of them being in the North, are out of school. Some girl-children are given out in marriage to men old enough to be their grandfathers. That is why Vesico Vaginal Fistula is a problem in the North.
In the North-Western state of Zamfara, hundreds of children are dying of lead poisoning. Earlier in the year, the Human Rights Watch and Medecins sans Frontiers reported that artisanal gold mining in the past two years had resulted in the death of over 400 children from lead poisoning. The report further indicated that over 4,000 more risked death if there was no medical intervention for them.
Decades of corrupt and profligate leadership have robbed the Nigerian child of any meaningful future. In its 2012 report on global corruption just released, Transparency International scored Nigeria 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to clinch the 139th position out of the 176 countries surveyed. It shared that position with Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan. Countries such as Togo, Mali, Niger and Benin fared better than Nigeria. Many credible accounts put money stolen from public till since independence in 1960 at more than $500 billion (N80 trillion).
Though awful, the situation is redeemable. Transparency drives prosperity and exposes corruption. Citizen action is needed to make public officials responsive. Nigerians should change from a deferential culture towards the government and develop a sense of entitlement that government services can and should work. While Government must sincerely tackle corruption which, directly and indirectly, is responsible for the myriads of problems afflicting the country, the 2003 Child Rights Act should be enforced.
