A Brief Perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals

WRITTEN BY: Asanya Boluwatife Ndidi The unanimous agreement of the 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly to the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development in 2015 produced one of the most ambitious and inclusive global aspirations in history. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. Targeted at committing members states to ensure greater inclusivity, end poverty and push the world to a more sustainable path. The SDGs are broad and interdependent thus begetting the question as to how well these broad global aspirations are likely to result in implementable developments especially in developing countries. The inclusion of so many goals without a hierarchy of priority and without reference to inherent contradictions that are likely to result in conflict between the goals may have unintended negative consequences which may inhibit the timely/e

SOCIAL PROBLEMS THAT AFFECT AFRICAN NATIONS


SOCIAL PROBLEMS THAT AFFECT AFRICAN NATIONS.

Social problems as its name suggests are defects or difficulties that affect a community or society.

A social problem is any condition or behavior that has negative consequences for a large number of people and is generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed (Open.lib.umn.edu).

Social problems are also known as social ill, it would be used interchangeably.

Africa and indeed Africans have suffered many social problems that have affected all sectors, contributing to social degradation and economic breakdown. 

Unemployment, the large number of displaced persons, and, religion are some of the numerous ills faced by African nations and are further discussed below.

Religion — Over 195.9 million (Worldbank, the year 2018) people in Nigeria, and over 90% of that number are ardent followers or believers of the major religious belief - Christianity and Islam. Little wonder why leaders of these sects are idolized and worshipped, the position and influence they possess on their followers have made religion slip from the good intended into a social ill, most of the supposed Men of God know little or nothing about leadership and variety of other topics yet they give their views, which in turn informs the decision made by their members causing chaos and social instability from misleading information.


Number of Refugees and displaced persons: Today, the number of refugees in Africa is above 7million refugees, or approximately one-third of the total world refugee population (UNHCR). This is mostly a result of attacks by terrorist groups, intolerance of other African migrants (xenophobic), poor government performance, etc. 

Unemployment: Unemployment is the process whereby one who is willing and able to work, willingly looking for a job yet cannot find it. Currently, Sub Sahara African alongside Nigeria has witnessed a constant increase in the unemployment rate from 2013 to 2020, with Sub Sahara Africa having all high of 7.281% unemployment rate from 2000 to 2020.

This is a major social problem because those willing minds who become idle over a long period become the devil's workshop ( just as the cliché alludes). It is a major social problem because of the number of human resources put to waste and the level of unrest caused by these unemployed people turned political thugs and bandits.

Recommendations.
Education is not a means to earn a degree but a means for the general overview of the world and perspectives, education causes one to challenge their thoughts, to learn, unlearn, and, relearn.

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, habits, and personal development (Wikipedia). Education is a powerful tool for instilling cultural values and rebranding ill beliefs, which is a great instrument for social change and environmental face-lifting, education is a strong tool, as such should be used by the government to properly correct a lot of social problems.

Alongside education, the security of life and property is paramount to ensuring a sustainable society and environment. With the number of displaced persons in Africa skyrocketing, a major reason this persists is linked to insecurity, therefore government authorities in Africa should fight against insecurity - by guarding their borders with joint (country) efforts.

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