Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Nigeria: 17th most 'failed state'

Well, at least it beats Uganda. See here for the Fund for Peace's full table rankings. Merci les chemises d'afrique pour le linkage.

Posted by Jeremy at 2:29 pm

7 comments:

Anonymous,  3:04 pm  

Sudan worse than Iraq? This report has serious credibility issues

snazzy,  3:29 pm  

this is not because it ranks Nigeria so poorly, but I am not really impressed by the methodology. Everything is based on articles, i mean US News has a better methodology for ranking universities.

For example, China has pulled close to a quarter of a billion people out of poverty in the last twenty years and while it's not the greatest state in the world, you wouldn't exactly say that it is worse than say Ghana, or Cuba or Jordan or Saudi Arabia. Maybe Nigeria is the 17th worst state in the world, however it definitely would not be because these guys say it is.

Anonymous,  8:28 pm  

Very well written, Snazzy. I couldn't have expressed my sentiments better.

Akin,  1:00 am  

I think we should all go back and study the detail, understand the methodology and read the conclusions - the assertion that China has pulled 1 billion out of poverty is seriously contentious, I cannot find the premise on which that is made.

A prosperous Beijing does not a China make.

snazzy,  2:00 pm  

I don't want to get into an argument about methodology cos it's very subjective, however as far as China goes, if you want more information about China's poverty reduction progam you can google those words or check out this link

http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/poverty/95871.htm

Anonymous,  8:12 pm  

As a Ugandan who regularly reads your blog -I saw this this morning and thought - now all I need is to do is find a high bridge and jump off or maybe stick my head in an oven.

Then on reading the methodology used - its sad butUganda deserves number 15, we tick all the social, economic and political boxes

Akin,  5:33 am  

@snazzy,

Thanks for the information.

@Anonymous Ugandan,

You are the first I have read who has at least compared the figures with reality and accepted the situation rather than attack the methodology because the end-result does not align with preconceived notions.

The so-called subjective methodology uses at least 144 sampling points which each comprise of at least 3 elements of consideration.

If that does not bring you closer to an objective assessment, I wonder what does - definitely not skewed government reports, window dressing or optimistic outlooks as a mask for denial?

You will normally answer about 50 to 70 seriously subjective questions to map out a generally objective analysis of your personality.

The core information in this index is about conflict assessment not economic development which is just one factor in the whole mix.

I fear for the intellectual arrogance that allows for criticism but leaves us bereft of alternatives.

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