AN EVALUATION OF NIGERIA’S PERFORMANCE IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate how Nigeria performed in the international development objective of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) using microeconomic indicators of health and education. Specifically, this study measures how effective was the Conditional Grants Scheme (CGS) on these indicators. Adopting an ex post facto research design and using Nonparametric test (Wilcoxon Signed-Ranked); the study indicates that investments channelled via CGS caused significant and positive changes in maternal and child mortality rates as well as primary school enrolment rates, which invariably affected Nigeria’s performance in achieving the international development objective of the MDGs. The study concludes by recommending that in spite of implementation challenges, CGS experiences should not be discarded as her lessons affect the operationalization and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) before the 2030 target date. Furthermore, such expansion should include investments in ‘soft social infrastructure’ alongside the existing hard infrastructure.