Assessment of Nigeria’s Millennium Development Goals and Implications for Sustainable Development

ABSTRACT The study was motivated by the continuous rise in the poverty level in Nigeria amidst the country’s vast human and material resources that can guarantee sustainable economic growth and development and also the pervasive gender inequality that persists among households. It is on this premise that this study assessed Millennium Development Goal (MDG) with special focus on goal one and goal three, and implications for Sustainable Development .The study was guided by five research objectives and tested four hypotheses. Data was sourced from the MDGs database, World Development Indicators, UNESCO institute for statistics data series on enrolment and the United Nations statistics division; with the aid of segmented regression model of analysis. The results suggest that the Millennium Development Goals development policy had no significant effect on the poverty situation in Nigeria and on the proportion of employed population below $1.25 per day while there were significant improvements on the share of women in the wage level in the non-agricultural sector and on educational parity in Nigeria. The study therefore recommendsthat conscious efforts be made to end poverty in all its forms everywhere as indicated in the Sustainable Development Goal 1. Also, States and Federal Government agencies responsible for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be pragmatic in their responsibilities and also employs sound monitoring strategies. There should be emphasis on tracking progress on the indicators for the targets and goals by setting up viable and longevity programs that will enhance sustainable development by 2030.This can be justified by the fact that once poverty and all its forms can be ended, sustainable development is guaranteed.