• World leaders pledge to end poverty, hunger, inequality
• How Nigeria can make a difference with new goals, by UN aide

ALL eyes are now on world leaders, as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that has now replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) officially takes off.

The UN’s 193 member states, at an historic summit in September 2015, adopted the new 2030 agenda for sustainable development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to address the needs of people in both developed and developing countries, with greater emphasis on why no one should be left behind.
The 17 SDGs, also known as the global goals, aim to end poverty, hunger and inequality, take action on climate change and the environment, improve access to health and education, build strong institutions and partnerships, and more.

In a statement announcing the take off of the SDGs, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “The seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are our shared vision of humanity and a social contract between the world’s leaders and the people. They are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success.”
The sustainable development agenda entitled ‘Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ contains 17 goals and 169 target targets.

With SDGs starting on January 2016, World leaders expect to achieve the goals set out by December 31, 2030. However, some targets that build on pre set international agreements are expected to be achieved even earlier than the end of 2030

Acting Regional Coordinator, Africa for the United Nations Millennium Campaign, Hilary Ogbonna highlights measures that Nigeria needs to take to make measurable impacts in the lives of its people using the SDGs as a guide.

In an interview with The Guardian, he listed such to include the deployment of traditional, new and innovative sources of financing; continuation of the utilisation of the Debt Relief Gains with the identification of additional funding channels to ensure sustainable financing; early determination of costs at federal and state levels; integrating the SDGs programmes into annual budgets with possible targets and ceilings and reforms in the procurement process to ensure efficient service delivery and accountability.

On Nigeria’s achievement of the MDGs, Ogbonna said: “Rather than say Nigeria has not achieved the MDGs, let’s say that inequalities are on the increase in Nigeria.
“If you look at all that the country has done: the channelling of the debt relief gains to the MDGs, it was a wakeup call in 2005. This brings me to the reason we are not top notch as far as the implementation of the MDGs is concerned.
“We lost 5 years. Do you know what 5 years is in a development agenda? That is almost the period when some countries use to achieve their own! So, Nigeria lost 5 good years. As at the time the Millennium Declaration was signed, we were just having a new government after many years of military rule. Going forward with the MDGs, we need to learn our lessons why the MDGs are not 100% for us.”

On the SGDs, he harped on the need for early planning and implementation.
“The first lesson we need to learn starting early. We need to start early. We need to ensure that by 2016 budget, Nigeria is already implementing the SDGs. We need to ensure that whatever development plans the present government finally comes up with are founded on the SDGs. We also need to ensure that the SDGs are not a Federal Government initiative, that the states wholesomely devote their time, energy, and resources to their SDGs,” he emphasised.

He added: “We need to note that other determinants of good governance, and by that also, other drivers of development like probity and accountability, effective service delivery, effective local governance. All these are crucial to also achieving any developmental targets.
“So, if you are a corrupt society, don’t expect that you are going to achieve the SDGs. So, you need to tackle corruption. You need to tackle leakages in the budget process, in the procurement process. If a million dollars would build a secondary school in Ghana, why wouldn’t a million dollars build a secondary school in Nigeria?”
He also warned that corruption could stand in the way of Nigeria if not tackled head-on.