The United Nations Organisation (UNO) Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale has said in the next five years, UN will gradually reduce the humanitarian support it is rendering to Nigeria.
Giving a keynote address at a workshop organised by Africa Centre for Development Journalism (ACDJ) on the topic, “Sustainable Development Goal” held in Ikeja, Lagos, to mark the World Development Information Day, Schmale said the change UNO expected to have taken place in Nigeria despite the huge money it spent on humanitarian service has not taken place, because the framework expected to have been put place by Nigeria government has not been put in place.
“UN is not active in the Northern part of the country, because UN is gradually withdrawing its humanitarian support. Underdevelopment led to Boko Haram, and UN continued support for the North will not change underdevelopment,” he said.
Schmale stated that the change agents like government, public office holders, and public advocacy needed to play a major role in the change desired to take place.
He, therefore, urged the Nigerian government to invest much on humanitarian service in the next five years, since UN will be reducing its humanitarian support to the country.
The UN representative noted that the solution to most of the challenges facing the country is education but, it is appalling that despite the global recommendation that 15 percent of the country’s budget should be earmarked for education, the federal government of Nigeria voted just five percent of its budget for education in 2022.
In his lecture on Demographic Health Survey, the Editor-in-Chief of ACDJ, Mr. Rotimi Sankore, said lack of adequate data and planning by government are the bane of underdevelopment in Nigeria.