Again, Nigeria has performed poorly in the latest Quality of Living Index by Global Citizen Solutions. In the report, Nigeria was ranked 135th out of 199 countries in the world. Global Citizen Solutions is a multidisciplinary firm based in the United Kingdom (UK) that specialises in quality of life and investment potential, citizenship and residency. The quality of living index looks at the overall quality of life that a country offers. The goal is to assess how good life is in a country as a primary place of residence for people.
Six main weights of indicators are included in the index. These are Sustainable Development Goals(30%), Cost of living(20%), freedom in the world(20%), Happiness score(10%), environmental performance(10%), and migrant acceptance(10%). In the report, Nigeria was scored 54.1; a low score the survey says makes Nigeria unattractive for people to relocate from their home countries due to adverse effects of climate change, economic opportunities, persecution or large-scale human rights violations, among others.
The rating considered the availability and cost of daily amenities such as infrastructure, cost of living, personal and political freedom, environmental quality and attitudes towards foreigners. The report scored Nigeria low in both the standard of living and attainment of the United Nations (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With the 135th position, Nigeria lags behind other African countries such as Namibia (87), South Africa (88), Tunisia (90), Ghana (91), Morocco (103), Senegal (106), Botswana (107), Algeria (108), among others.
There is no doubt that the report is a true reflection of the quality of living in Nigeria. Let no government official come up with a counter narrative. As the African giant, it is sad that Nigeria is behind Namibia, Senegal, Ghana, Botswana and other African countries in the ranking. This shows that Nigeria is not even doing well in Africa. The biting economic hardship, general deprivation and misery have not really helped matters. At the same time, some of the economic policies of the present administration may have also worsened the quality of living conditions of Nigerians.
The rising inflation, poverty, hunger, unemployment and other challenges have stretched the citizens’ low purchasing power beyond what they can afford. The Quality of Living Index is a wake-up call on Nigerian leaders to come up with urgent measures to improve the standard of living of Nigerians. The report is also a pointer that some of the policies of the present administration should be fine-tuned to meet the needs and aspirations of Nigerians. The reason government exists is to ensure the security and welfare of the people. This constitutional provision must not be taken for granted. It is a primary duty the government must perform. Abdication of this function is not an option at all.
The new report has further underscored Nigeria’s unending poor performance in critical global ranking indices. In 2021, the World Bank ranked Nigeria the 7th worst country in its 2020 Human Capital Index. This is in spite of Nigeria being the 5th most populous nation in the world and the 7th largest labour force. In 2023, Nigeria ranked 66th out of 67 countries in Economic Performance, according to the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) 2024 World Competitiveness Index out of 67 countries evaluated. Nigeria also ranked 54th in government efficiency and 58th in business efficiency. The IMD Index, which was published in 2024, evaluated countries, based on four broad categories, namely, economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. In other specific indicators, Nigeria scored very low in key areas, scoring last in pricing, health, environment and education, trailing behind other African countries, including Ghana. In Good Governance Index (GGI), Nigeria scored 102nd out of 104 countries, only outperforming Zimbabwe and Venezuela. This makes Nigeria the 3rd worst nation in critical areas such as leadership, strong institutions, global influence and reputation as well as attractive marketplace for investors.
In other areas, Nigeria ranked 64th in International investment, institutional framework and finance. This indicates Nigeria’s continued struggle in maintaining a stable economic and regulatory environment. According to the National Productive Centre, social unrest, weak public institutions, poor service delivery, corruption and insecurity are some of the reasons for Nigeria’s low ranking in critical global indicators. However, Nigeria recorded few bright spots in global performance rankings.
The areas are in tax policy and public finance where Nigeria ranked 14th and 19th. All things considered, government at all levels should initiate and implement friendly policies that should improve the economy, address the problems that have kept the country in the low ranking for many years. Good governance, quality standard of living, employment opportunities, personal and political freedom and the implementation of cybersecurity policies, are key areas that should receive priority attention. The federal and state governments must begin to strive to achieve the 17 UN SDGs, which will improve our human development index and accelerate our socio-economic development.