[size=18pt]Again, Nigeria Ranked 14th Failed Country[/size]

Saturday, June 30, 2012

4:44 PM Osahon Nicholas Osamede



NIGERIA now ranks among the top 10 failed states in Africa and 14th in the world, a global body, the Fund For Peace (FFP) declared in its 2012 annual Index Data released on Friday.

The war-torn Somalia tops the global list, which comprised 177 countries with Congo Democratic Republic and Sudan ranked second and third respectively.

Afghanistan, which had for several years, interchangeably dominated the number one spot, dropped to number six, after Chad and Zimbabwe which placed fourth and fifth in that order.

FFP is an independent, non-partisan non-profit research and educational organisation that works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security.

Going by the latest index data, Nigeria has gained two points having been ranked eight failed state in the continent, while she retained the 14th in the world.

The country trails behind Pakistan, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Iraq, Yemen and Haiti.

According to the FFP, a total of 12 criteria were applied in arriving at the ranking that showed a relative better rating for such other African countries like Madagascar, Comoros Island, Djibouti, Libya, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Togo, Mauritania, Malawi and Rwanda than Nigeria among the list of the failed states.

Some of the core criteria included security apparatus, factionalised elite, legitimacy of the state, external intervention, poverty and economic decline, uneven development, group grievance and demographic pressures, human flight and public services.

Some of these factors, which had become pronounced in the country in the last couple of years, have culminated in restiveness among the citizens and triggered calls for a national conference to enable the country chart a new course.

But the establishment has consistently toed the path of constitutional amendment, ostensibly because of the demand in many quarters for a conference with sovereign powers.

Besides, the nation has been contending with security challenges across the country, some of which include the menace of banditry and kidnapping in some states in the southern part of the country.

However, the greatest security challenge had been the activities of the Boko Haram sect, whose members have persistently engaged in serial bombings with the accompany deaths of hundreds of innocent cities and destruction of invaluable property.

The frightening dimension of the mindless killings had led to some senior citizens warning against what they described as the Somalialisation of the country in apparent reference to Somalia, which has been remained ungovernable owing to the endless activities of factional groups trying to control the North African country.

It neither has a central government nor any regional government that could claim to be in charge of its sovereignty.

Nigeria has remained in the top bracket of countries categorized as failed nations in the last three years.

Soyinka’s Warning Of Somalia, Boko Haram Menace, Economic Crises. According to the domentary, some countries fail spectacularly, with a total collapse of all state institutions, as in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal and the hanging of President Mohammad Najibullah from a lamppost, or during the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone, where the government ceased to exist altogether.

Most countries that fall apart, however, do so not with a bang but with a whimper. They fail not in an explosion of war and violence but by being utterly unable to take advantage of their society’s huge potential for growth, condemning their citizens to a lifetime of poverty. This type of slow, grinding failure leaves many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America with living standards far, far below those in the West.

What’s tragic is that this failure is by design. These states collapse because they are ruled by what is called “extractive” economic institutions, which destroy incentives, discourage innovation, and sap the talent of their citizens by creating a tilted playing field and robbing them of opportunities. These institutions are not in place by mistake but on purpose. They’re there for the benefit of elites who gain much from the extraction — whether in the form of valuable minerals, forced labour, or protected monopolies — at the expense of society. Of course, such elites benefit from rigged political institutions too, wielding their power to tilt the system for their benefit.

But states built on exploitation inevitably fail, taking an entire corrupt system down with them and often leading to immense suffering.

dedeike: FORBES I know. PROF. AYITTEH. I KNOW. WHICH ONE IS FFP? This desperation to demonise GEJ has its own merits, it's bringing about a band of Nigerian scholars who can sit down in the confines of their rooms to fabricate research reports. There has been so many of such reports this period but the beauty of it all is that they never survive the rigours of intellectual discourse. This one is already dead on arrival. It had a bad start with its kangaroo name: fund for peace.(FFP). Who is funding the peace? Perhaps, KOBOJUNKIE OR BETATHINGS. one, it must be stated that Nigeria is not in war and cannot be mentioned in the same breadth as war torn countries. What we have on our hands are acts of terrorism which both US and UK have suffered severally. Till tomorrow, bombs will be xploding in Isreal and some parts of middle East but it doesn't make those countries failed states. Two, We have a central government and regional govts that could claim to be in charge of our sovereignty. Their control is not under threat by any rebel. Three, the business of governance has never come to a halt one day. Every sector is running and operational. We have not gone bankruptcy. Our foreign reserves have rather rose to over 35 billion US dollars. Four, no part of this country has been taken over by insurgents. Five, we have not had cause to beg the UN for Assistance to stabilize the country. Six, there's free movement from one part of the country to another. Seven, our president still meets up with all his international agreements and still plays a vital old role in ECOWAS. Eight, there's no breakdown in infrastructure whatsoever. More roads are being built, airports reconstructed, seaports sanitized and reformed. Rail lines underway. Telecoms booming and Internet access widened. Nine, there's no human flight from Nigeria rather investors like General Elctric, Siemens, Electrobus are all coming to invest in our power sector. 10. The security apparatchik is still intact and loyal to the C-in-C

Mandelaguy: To add to your points,over 12,000 jobs has been created this year in the public service,taking into cognisance the number of people recruited into he Armed forces,customs,firs,SSS,immigration,civil defence,prisons,FRSC,NAPTIP and other parts of the civil service,with another 20,000 billed to be recruited within the year. How can a failed state also release funds to budding small and medium scale enterprises through the bank of industry and various intervention funds being disbursed through the infrastructural and agriculture scheme. In case you want to access any of this zero interest loans Bayooooo,email me,I will direct you,like I have done to over 50 of your kind,because I can see you have no job.

dayokanu: I am sure it was Buhari, EL Rufai, Tinubu and Bakare who wrote that report to paint Retardeens govt as bad

Some of the core criteria included security apparatus, factionalised elite, legitimacy of the state, external intervention, poverty and economic decline, uneven development, group grievance and demographic pressures, human flight and public services.

mai gaskiya: specal thnks 2d hausa fulani generals dat ruld ds con3 4 38ys wit ntng 2 show bt instead laid a solid foundatn 4 coruptn,terorism,cultism,nepotism,maroond constitutn 2 our so cald democracy.and instead of dm 2 bury dia ugly heads in shame dy gav us boko haram.and we masses where busy watchng d hausa fulani distrubng ds con3 nd we said ntng.we wer all desevd dat d ibos re d devils we shud nt trust dm,do busines wit dm,even mary our daughters 2 dm,just becos dy lost d war.in d 80s nd 90s d ibos re frequemtly atakd in d north in d name of riot we nija deltans,d yorubas nd midlebelt kept quite.no body protestd d kilng of a felow con3 man.bt thank god we re all seeng d efect 2dy.dats y i said ojukwu remaind d greatest nija man dat eva livd in dat generatn

2good:

How can you boast of 12,000 jobs in 6 months in a country of about 160 million people where unemployment and underemployment rate is very high? Also what is minimum wage in Nigeria? Is most government job not equivalent to underemployment itself except you get a political job? How do you feel when you are told that 1 senator's salary can pay the salary of over 1000 government worker? Also how can an economy work when there is no power, corruption is at its peak, the law enforcement agencies are not ethical in their approach to their jobs etc. A normal business man will prefer to go to China to produce their goods and import them to Nigeria because the Chinese have better comparative cost advantage over Nigeria even after factoring the cost of to and fro transportation, tax and excise duties you'll pay on your products.
Also, I noticed that many of us living a good life mistake our good state as a reflection of the entire country. Most of us are the tiny fraction of the population living in the middle class and above and so our status is not a true reflection of the general populace. The common man is suffering in Nigeria and they constitute more than 70% of the population. We practically have no working government in Nigeria.

dedeike: FORBES I know. PROF. AYITTEH. I KNOW. WHICH ONE IS FFP? This desperation to demonise GEJ has its own merits, it's bringing about a band of Nigerian scholars who can sit down in the confines of their rooms to fabricate research reports. There has been so many of such reports this period but the beauty of it all is that they never survive the rigours of intellectual discourse. This one is already dead on arrival. It had a bad start with its kangaroo name: fund for peace.(FFP). Who is funding the peace? Perhaps, KOBOJUNKIE OR BETATHINGS. one, it must be stated that Nigeria is not in war and cannot be mentioned in the same breadth as war torn countries. What we have on our hands are acts of terrorism which both US and UK have suffered severally. Till tomorrow, bombs will be xploding in Isreal and some parts of middle East but it doesn't make those countries failed states. Two, We have a central government and regional govts that could claim to be in charge of our sovereignty. Their control is not under threat by any rebel. Three, the business of governance has never come to a halt one day. Every sector is running and operational. We have not gone bankruptcy. Our foreign reserves have rather rose to over 35 billion US dollars. Four, no part of this country has been taken over by insurgents. Five, we have not had cause to beg the UN for Assistance to stabilize the country. Six, there's free movement from one part of the country to another. Seven, our president still meets up with all his international agreements and still plays a vital old role in ECOWAS. Eight, there's no breakdown in infrastructure whatsoever. More roads are being built, airports reconstructed, seaports sanitized and reformed. Rail lines underway. Telecoms booming and Internet access widened. Nine, there's no human flight from Nigeria rather investors like General Elctric, Siemens, Electrobus are all coming to invest in our power sector. 10. The security apparatchik is still intact and loyal to the C-in-C

Demdem: The retardeen is on top of the situation. Stay calm u all.

remmyton:

You are as dumb as ur leader, buhari, when did that start? With the regime of GEJ? Think with ur head and not ur mouth

mai gaskiya: specal thnks 2d hausa fulani generals dat ruld ds con3 4 38ys wit ntng 2 show bt instead laid a solid foundatn 4 coruptn,terorism,cultism,nepotism,maroond constitutn 2 our so cald democracy.and instead of dm 2 bury dia ugly heads in shame dy gav us boko haram.and we masses where busy watchng d hausa fulani distrubng ds con3 nd we said ntng.we wer all desevd dat d ibos re d devils we shud nt trust dm,do busines wit dm,even mary our daughters 2 dm,just becos dy lost d war.in d 80s nd 90s d ibos re frequemtly atakd in d north in d name of riot we nija deltans,d yorubas nd midlebelt kept quite.no body protestd d kilng of a felow con3 man.bt thank god we re all seeng d efect 2dy.dats y i said ojukwu remaind d greatest nija man dat eva livd in dat generatn

Onlytruth:

Each of the bolded items is HUGE enough in the Nigerian context to weigh heavily against Nigeria.
Looking carefully, the only item from which Nigeria may have escaped is the "external intervention" criteria, which if you even look carefully, Nigeria may not have escaped that either.

So, let's focus on facts and stop trying to deviate from clearly stated findings.
The group may be doing a hatch job against Nigeria, but hey they are using FACTS to do that.

2good:

I won't spend time arguing with you because you are free to your opinion. But learn to have some respect for people and stop displaying your intolerance for other people's opinion which have characterize Nigeria and contributed to the current state of violence in the country. People refuse to hear the truth so I will let them be. Also quote where I said the problem started with GEJ as you have alleged and present a counter proof to any of the points I raised in my earlier post if you have any reasonable thing to contribute.

mai gaskiya: specal thnks 2d hausa fulani generals dat ruld ds con3 4 38ys wit ntng 2 show bt instead laid a solid foundatn 4 coruptn,terorism,cultism,nepotism,maroond constitutn 2 our so cald democracy.and instead of dm 2 bury dia ugly heads in shame dy gav us boko haram.and we masses where busy watchng d hausa fulani distrubng ds con3 nd we said ntng.we wer all desevd dat d ibos re d devils we shud nt trust dm,do busines wit dm,even mary our daughters 2 dm,just becos dy lost d war.in d 80s nd 90s d ibos re frequemtly atakd in d north in d name of riot we nija deltans,d yorubas nd midlebelt kept quite.no body protestd d kilng of a felow con3 man.bt thank god we re all seeng d efect 2dy.dats y i said ojukwu remaind d greatest nija man dat eva livd in dat generatn