Spread the love
By Prince Opaluwa Okoliko Gideon.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of targets relating to future international development. They replaced the Millennium Development Goals which expired in 2015. The SDGs were first formally discussed at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 (Rio+20).
On 19 July 2014, the UN General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (OWG) forwarded a proposal for the SDGs to the Assembly. The proposal contained 17 goals with 169 targets covering a broad range of sustainable development issues. On 4 December 2014, the UN General Assembly accepted the Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report which stated that the agenda for the post-2015 SDG process would be based on the OWG proposals.
The Bureau of statistics 2014 report on MDG’s reveals increased performance from the 2012 report; however, key issues such as poverty is on the increase. The United Nations Report on the performance of Countries and Continents of the World reveals that Nigeria performed less than 50% in all the MDG Goals. Hence the need to focus on five key areas in the Sustainable Development Goals in Kogi State.
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere: Kogi state government needs to support MSME, Entrepreneurs and Commercial farmers by providing the enabling environment and giving them low interest loans and grants which will in turn boost state economy; create employment for the teaming unemployed.
2. Food – End hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Kogi is a confluence State, hence Kogi State Government needs to tap into the opportunity of River Niger and Benue by using water resources to boost agriculture. Irrigation will make farming non seasonal thereby increasing production and sales. Good storage facilities should be put in place sustain stock.
3. Health – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. An establishment of three major Specialist hospitals in the three Senatorial zones will assist health care delivery. They will serve as reference points for patients coming form PHC, cottage and zonal hospitals. The welfare of Medical officers should be a priory of the state government as ‘a hungry man is an angry man’. Government should upgrade, re stock and refurbishing of existing hospital for better performance.
4. Education – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all: Sustainability of existing schools is key to growth of education. Lectures and teachers need to be paid as and when due. Free and compulsory education should be adopted in Primary schools.
5. Women – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Save guard the girl child, empower Kogi women who will in turn support their various homes. This can be sustained by Her Excellency, wife of Kogi state Governor and Ministry of women affairs. The wife of the state Governor of Kogi state has shown the will assist Kogi women attain this goal.
6. Water – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Kogi state State waste management board should be better mobilised to effectively manage waste. Waste recycling plants be constructed to avoid dumping of waste by the road side and in river Niger and Benue. Great Lokoja water works should extend to all parts of lokoja and its environs.
7. Energy – Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy for all.
8. Economy – Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. At the end of this staff Audit, Kogi State Government should employ genuine Kogites who are wallowing in abject poverty due to unemployment.
9. Infrastructure – Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. Recently, Kogi State delegation led by Hon Asiru Idris visited China for a robust investment programme. This and many more to come will definitely impact positively on our economy and reduce unemployment.
10. Inequality – Reduce inequality within and among countries. In the case of Kogi, reduction of inequality is among local Government in projects, appointments and attention. So far, the mix or spread in appointment of key political offices holders is commendable. This should be sustained.
11. Habitation – Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Mass housing projects should be constructed in the three senatorial zones of Kogi state. Commissioners quarters and other housing projects should be on owner occupier basis. This will increase the number of Shelters from one administration to the other. Government should ensure a reduction or elimination of thugry, Kidnappers, ritualists, assassination cultism and armed robbery.
12. Consumption – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. There should be State agencies to monitor consumptions and production in Kogi State. For example, Sachet / bottle water production has been localised in many homes and dirty environments.
13. Climate – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Environmental pollution should be checked. Recently, Benue State Government has established an agency to check pollution. Continuous pollution and burnings has an effect on ozone layer.
14. Marine-ecosystems – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Abandoned Sea ports and dredging of River Niger and benue be pushed at the federal level. Sea transport, cargo, trade will boost Kogi economy.
15. Ecosystems – Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Recently, Kogi State Government ordered a stop of forest business. This is commendable. We need to step further to ‘operation plant a tree’, control erosion, stop hunting and make stiff penalty for offenders.
16. Institutions – Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions in Kogi state.
17. Sustainability – Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. Internal, Kogi State Government needs to adopt, sustain and promote good policies, projects and programmes of previous administration. Policy summersault should be reduced to the minimum. Sustainability of programmes, projects and policies will energise the wheel of progress in Kogi state.
Spread the love