Nigeria’s Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable life for all. The United Nations member states have committed to work towards achieving the goals by the year 2030. Despite the commitment of Nigeria to the Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, there are troubling twists and turns in the country’s implementation of the goals. It is on record that the country failed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals which had similar development aspirations and a similar 15-year implementation period. The typical twists and turns are further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorist activities, extended periods of strike in the universities and instability in oil prices, for an economy that derives 86% of public revenue from oil and gas. This paper is therefore designed to present to the reading community the local obstacles in the implementation of all the Sustainable Development Goals and to highlight the strong and the weak points with a view to refocusing our efforts. The paper adopted a systematic review approach drawing from such studies as the National Voluntary Review reports and relevant literature. The paper concludes with relevant recommendations.