Five years to the terminal date of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Rivers State, like many others, is lacking significant indicators of the existence of the 30-year United Nations programme, ANN GODWIN reports.
January this year signals the commencement of the five-year countdown to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose mission statement is: “A shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.”
Adopted by United Nations member states in 2015, the SDGs constitute a 30-year programme aimed at eradicating poverty, addressing environmental sustainability, economic growth, and other forms of deprivation plaguing humanity.
Designed to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs apply universally to all countries, irrespective of their development status, and seek to promote peace, prosperity, and the planet’s health. But just like several other special-purpose vehicles built to facilitate development, the implementation of 17 global objectives established by the United Nations has been largely uneven across regions, countries, and territories.
In Nigeria, for instance, many state governments only pay lip service to the implementation thereby giving the impression that it is an initiative that must only be driven by the Federal Government. This ugly development has left the goals far from realisation with only five years left on the clock.
Ideally, every state is supposed to have an SDG Office that is mandated to implement the 17 global objectives with a view to ensuring sustainable development, improving healthcare, and education, and facilitating a reduction in the rate of unemployment, infrastructural deficit among others by 2030.
Under former Governor Chibuike Amaechi, Rivers State took the bull by the horns as the SDG Office was quite active with a major focus on health and education. Checks by The Guardian show that most primary healthcare centres built by the administration were equipped by the SDG Office.
During the tenure of former Governor Nyesom Wike, the SDG awareness campaign was flagged off on November 17, 2015, with an assurance that structures would be established to ensure improvements in areas including immunisation, children and maternal healthcare, as well as, water and sanitation, but from 2017 to 2023 when the governor exited the office, nothing concrete was done towards realising the SDG’s mandate.
Recent checks also reveal that Governor Siminalayi Fubara-led administration has not also given serious attention to the attainment of these goals. As indicated by the lack of adequate budgetary provision for, and compliance with counterpart funding on SDG-related programmes. This, of course, has nothing to do with paucity of resources.
According to the 2024 edition of BudgIT report, Rivers State tops the rank of states with comparatively limited dependence on federally distributed revenue for its operations.
The BudgIT’s Fiscal Performance table saw a reshuffling of the top positions with Cross River State joining the top five, while Rivers State maintained its number one spot.
The report indicated that Rivers and Lagos states were the only two states that generated more than enough Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to cover their operating expenses, with IGR to operating expense ratios of 121. 26 per cent, and 118.39 per cent respectively.
Rivers State has witnessed a steady increase in its IGR over the past few years. From N191.87b in 2022, the IGR rose to N203.56b in 2023, representing a year-on-year growth of 6.09 per cent. This took the state to the second-highest IGR earner in 2023.
The state’s FAAC allocations increased from N293.79b in 2022, to N339.53b in 2023, a year-on-year growth of 15.57 per cent. Rivers State also received N15.62b in aid and grants in 2023, bringing the total revenue to N561.73b.
The total expenditure of Rivers State increased from N499.71b in 2022 to N730.86b in 2023, a year-on-year growth of 46 per cent. This increase is primarily attributed to higher capital expenditure, which rose by 65.3 per cent from N340.65b in 2022 to N563.00b in 2023. In 2023, capital expenditure accounted for 77.03 per cent of the total expenditure.
The state, which is ranked behind Lagos, which has a GDP of $102 billion (nominal) and $267 billion (PPP), received over N1 trillion in the last four years but is performing woefully as far as SDG implementation is concerned. Indicators on the ground lend credence to this.
However, in terms of bridging the gender gap, Rivers State has not fared badly, especially at the grassroots. Thanks to an unofficial state policy that ensures that local council vice-chairmen must be female. Checks show that Wike complied with that policy and Fubara is doing the same as reflected in the fact that all local council vice chairpersons in the state are women.
At the just-concluded local council elections, two women emerged as Chairpersons. They are Anengi Claude-Wilcox, in Bonny Local Council, and Mrs Tonye Briggs Oniyide, who took the reins in Akuku-Toru Local Council.
At the state House of Assembly, there were five women representatives, who allegedly lost their seats after decamping to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). They are Queen Uwuma Tony Williams (Ahoada East 1 State Constituency); Emeji, Justina (Emohua State Constituency); Emilia Lucky Amadi, (Obio-Akpor II State Constituency); Nkemjika Ijeoma Ezekwe, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni II State Constituency), and Linda Koroma Somiari-Stewart, the deputy majority leader, who represents Okrika State Constituency.
In the House of Representatives, the state has two female representatives. They are: Blessing Amadi, a member representing Port Harcourt Federal Constituency II, and Boma Goodhead, a member representing Asari-Toru and Akuku-Toru Federal Constituency, while the immediate past deputy governor of the state, Dr. Ipalibo Banigo Harry, represents Rivers West Senatorial District.
In the area of education, the state is also buckling up as the Amaechi-led government achieved reasonable milestones in that sector, where model primary and secondary schools were built. Sadly, the initiative was not sustained by his predecessor, Wike, who prioritised education at the tertiary level. Under Fubara, education, health, and women’s development are receiving mild attention.
Findings by The Guardian showed that the state has not done well about water, sanitation, and basic sanitary conditions, as well as healthcare
A visit by The Guardian to some waterside communities, especially in Port Harcourt City Local Council, including Enugu Waterside, Ibadan, Ogu, Aggrey Road, and Baptist Waterside showed that these areas lack basic toilet facilities, potable water, healthcare centres, and good drainage systems.
It was, however, gathered that the slum communities, with the assistance of the then MDG’s Office built toilets in a location far from their residences, where they also had to pay between N50 to N100 to use these facilities.
According to Mrs Agnes Ibani, a trader at Aggrey Road Waterside, residents who do not have money to access these toilet facilities use buckets, or polythene bags in their houses to defecate, and thereafter empty the waste products into the clogged drainage.
Consequently, whenever it rains, houses and local markets in the communities are flooded with human waste packaged in polythene bags.
The health implications of these unhygienic practices are better imagined than said.
Mrs Lovinda Dabba, who lives in a one-room apartment, and shares a toilet and bathroom with 15 other households, told The Guardian that she regularly battles health challenges.
Dabba, who sells fish at the Ogu Waterside, lamented that with current economic challenges in the country, she can no longer afford the drugs required to treat new infections, just as she expressed fears about her deteriorating health.
Also, a visit to Bundu Waterside close to Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre in the old Port Harcourt area showed that the community lacks good health facilities and drainage systems.
The only medical facility servicing the entire slum is the Churchill Health Centre, which is too small to serve the large number of people in the area. This development is at variance with the mandate that every community is supposed to have a functional health facility.
The story is the same in many communities across the state with the worst hit being riverine communities.
“There is nothing like government presence in this community. The few developmental projects here were achieved either through community efforts, or donations from philanthropic or non-governmental agencies,” said Marshall Oriso, the chairman of Ama Community.
Speaking on the issue, a policy and data analyst, Sunny Dada, said: “As far as SDGs are concerned, Rivers State did not do well, especially under the former Governor Wike’s administration, and even under this administration, I have not seen any sign of implementing the SDG’ goals.”
According to him, each of the 17 pillars of the SDGs has counterpart funding that enables any state that makes its threshold available to access grants to carry out projects under the 17 pillars of the SDGs.
Dada said that, sadly after the Amaechi-led administration, the state has not been intentional in achieving the SDG’s thresholds.
Asked if states can still achieve the goals with the remaining time, Dada, an SDG strategist said: “We can’t achieve them because there are target ratios for every year that states should achieve, and we have not reached those milestones, and we are already lagging in most of the pillars under the SDGs. So, the remaining five years are supposed to be used to evaluate how far we have gone in our achievements under each of the 17 pillars.
“We can’t achieve the SDGs because we are behind and that’s the worry. That’s why SDG activists are also worried. This is even a global issue, not just a Nigerian thing. Many African countries are behind, but it would surprise you to know that most countries in East Africa are even doing better than countries in West Africa. Meanwhile, countries] in West Africa are richer than countries in East Africa,”
Dada further noted that state governments, including Rivers State, now have more money to spend, and should, therefore intensify efforts to see what can be done before the clock strikes.
He said: “Rivers State now has more money as a result of subsidy removal and an increase in IGR. So, the government should prioritise the various pillars under the SDGs because if you look at the compositions of those SDGs, you will know that they speak directly to the heart of communities. Communities are the actual targets of the SDGs. Pillars that are not implemented mean that communities are being deprived of a certain level of development.”
Similarly, a Professor of Sociology of Development, at the University of Port Harcourt, Steve Wordu, who served as a consultant to the Rivers State International Donor Agency on the performance of SDGs (during the Amaechi-led administration) scored that administration high as it created the Rivers International Donor Agency (RSIDA); Rivers State Ministry for Environment; Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), with counterpart funding from Shell to facilitate the actualisation of the SDGs in the state.
“Adequate budget allocation and compliance on counterpart funding on SDG-related programmes; model primary and secondary schools; skills acquisition centres; model primary health centres, and hospitals; modern agriculture and food security projects such as Songhai Farm were put in place under Amaechi.”
According to him, Rivers State was rated high on SDGs under Amaechi, but the Wike-led administration was hostile to SDGs, and he (Wike) dismantled all SDG support institutions, including RIVSIDA, RSSDA, and RIVSACA.
Prof. Wordu emphasised that Wike also cancelled overseas scholarships under RSSDA, abandoned the syringe manufacturing factory, the FADAMA project, and Songhai Farm projects in Ogoni land, and left the state in a very pathetic condition.
Wordu, therefore, charged Fubara to study the Amaechi-led administration’s blue points on SDG and explore ways of getting the state to cover lost grounds.
Collaborating Wordu’s position, a woman advocate, and Executive Director of Centre for Media, Environment and Development Communication, (CMEDC) Constance Meju, regretted that the FCT Minister, Wike only focused on building bridges and neglected human capital development, which is key in SDGs.
She also noted that Fubara’s administration needs to focus on ensuring that the health care delivery system especially in the rural areas receives good attention.
She pointed out that health workers due to insecurity abstain from working in rural areas, adding that the lack of facilities, and modern tools is affecting the healthcare system.
Meju said: “Poverty is a major problem for women, and we are not happy over low budgets on sectors that could enhance women’s well-being…”
Meju also urged Fubara’s government to prioritise education, by providing the necessary tools and facilities that would enhance learning.
