Does Nigeria work?
While researching Nigeria I came across the debate highlighted below on the BBC news web site. It seems that asking students to read and evaluate the arguments would be a good end-of-unit activity.There are also two dozen responses from Nigerians all over the world which make valuable and interesting comments on the debate.
Debate: Is Nigeria a failed state?
YES, says lawyer and poet, Ogaga Ifowodo
NO, says agribusiness consultant, Waziri Haruna Ahmadu
Ifowodo: "Most, if not all of the indices of failed states, declare Nigeria well on its way to joining that disreputable club.
"Nigeria boasts a government unable to deliver basic social services.
"It is plagued by corruption so endemic and monumental it is hard to separate it from state policy.
"It lacks the capability or discipline to prevent threats to public safety and national integrity and is assailed by active challenges to its legitimacy..."
Ahmadu: "It is obvious, all the signs of a state heading for failure - where a constitutional authority increasingly shows an inability to provide basic services like guaranteeing security to life and property, maintenance of economic and social services, infrastructure and food security - are not evident.
"On the contrary, for the first time in the country's history, Nigeria is attempting to address its economic and social infrastructure inadequacies.
"The economy has never been more open to new investors and the government recognises the imperative for private-sector investments in critical infrastructure such as power, transportation and energy..."
See also:
- Speaking of Failed States from June 2007
- Fragile Nigeria from November 2007
- The 2009 Failed States Index
Learn more about What You Need to Know
Labels: capacity, concepts, legitimacy, Nigeria
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:42 AM
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