From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has painted a grim picture of Nigeria, saying it is riddled with unfit, corrupt and self-serving leaders.
This, it said, has brought the country to its current state where insecurity, unemployment and unfulfilled promises have bred popular scepticism.
In a report entitled: ‘Imagine Nigeria’, UNDP explained that not only all public sectors and government parastatals have suffered from the decay in governance, the civil service at the national and state levels were the sites of the most visible evidence of decay. To this effect, a section of the country are agitating for restructuring and self-determination.
The report submitted that the critical challenge is how to forge grand national narratives as a basis for social compact to rally the nation around a new set of national ideals and values.
Nigeria, the report, said, ranks the world’s top 10 for proven reserves of oil and gas and remains main oil exporter in sub-saharan Africa.
“The country is also blessed with other resources. The continued fall in oil prices, a global trend towards a zero-carbon world economy by 2050, climate change and a pledge to reduce green house gas emissions between 20 per cent and 45 per cent in 2030 under the Paris Climate Agreement, have introduced a new dynamic that Nigeria must respond to. As such, there have been initiatives developed by the government of Nigeria to drive the green growth which if properly implemented would position Nigeria as a major powerhouse in creating green jobs of the future and further strengthen the private sector in sustaining the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) as Africa’s largest economy,” the report noted.