Nigeria

Background of Nigeria

Nigeria is a country in West Africa that borders Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Niger. It is the most populous country in Africa with 151 million people and it has vast natural resources to match its human resources. It is, however, a country with a very chequered past as from 1966 to 1999 it experienced a series of different military dictatorships. This troubled time even saw civil war from 1967 to 1970, in which the north and west of the country fought against the south and east. The war led to the deaths of over one million people and set the tone for ethnic conflict that has been present in Nigeria ever since.

The military dictatorships were rife with corruption, a problem that was aggravated by the oil boom of the 1970s. The discovery of Nigeria's sizeable oil supplies caused the government to receive billions of dollars worth of income and corruption became more prevalent as the money generated was misused and dissipated. Nigeria also found itself in a financially very difficult position at this time as it amassed large debts in order to set up oil mining facilities. It then had to renege on these debts when oil prices tumbled in the 1980s.

In 1999 Nigeria changed over from dictatorial to democratic rule and in recent times it has started to fight the widespread corruption that existed in the country before 1999. Economically it has taken major strides with its large and varied supply of natural and human resources and it now has some of the most developed financial, legal, communications and transport sectors in Africa. The economic growth it experienced has led it to become the first African country to pay off all of its major debts.

The reduction of poverty is still a major issue in Nigeria despite the economic strengthening that has occurred as over two-thirds of people still live below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day. Nigeria's torrid past has also had effects elsewhere and there are a number of societal difficulties that remain in the country. There are ethnic tensions and violence that still exist following the civil war of 1967-70. These ethnic tensions have really come to the fore with the oil industry generating so much money and in the major oil producing region, the Niger Delta, different forces are trying to gain control of the oil business.

There are also serious human rights issues in Nigeria such as: violent policing, an unjust and corrupt penal system, prisoner abuse, human trafficking, child abuse, female genital mutilation and restrictions on freedom and privacy. Nigeria's health and education systems have also not developed as quickly as some other sectors of the economy. Vaccination is not widespread and many children die each year because of easily preventable diseases, in fact only two thirds of Nigerians have access to health care. Education is provided but it is not well structured and it is not compulsory, it is estimated that under 30% of children go to secondary school.

Children in Nigeria

One in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday and nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease. Nigeria also spends less per head on healthcare than almost any other African Country (Save the Children) and clinics are often in a bad state of disrepair, with a lack of basic equipment or enough qualified staff. In some districts fewer than 1% of children are immunised against diseases like malaria, the biggest killer in Nigeria, causing around 30% childhood deaths per year (DfID).

There are other dangers for children in Nigeria such as child trafficking, child labour and prostitution. There is also growing concern for children branded ‘witches and wizards’ who are ostracised from their communities and often tortured to extract a confession, or cure them of their ‘possession’. In November 2008 a documentary by Channel 4 and a charity called Stepping Stone Nigeria highlighted the plight of these children and brought them to international attention.