The president spoke Friday at the virtual inaugural SDGs Moment, convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, during the high-level week of the 75th UN General Assembly.

In his video message to the meeting, President Buhari provided an update on SDG progress in the country, setting out Nigeria’s vision for the next decade in fighting poverty, combating illicit financial flows and ensuring economic recovery amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

”Our National Assembly has established Committees on Sustainable Development Goals.

”The National Youth Service Corps Scheme is also ensuring that Nigerian graduates actively participate in SDGs implementation processes by serving as SDGs champions at the grassroots.

”Going forward, we will invigorate the Goal achievement process at the grassroots by engaging the services of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals Ambassadors we appointed to support our efforts at the national level.

”We will also encourage more sub-national authorities to appoint and train SDGs Champions,” he said.

Re-affirming Nigeria’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other Internationally Agreed Development Goals, President Buhari told the meeting that anti-corruption institutions had been strengthened to enable the administration effectively combat illicit financial flows and recover proceeds.

Acknowledging that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic had threatened to derail the progress in achieving SDGs, the president said Nigeria was addressing the threat by re-dedicating efforts towards economic diversification, focusing on agriculture and the mining sectors.

According to him: ”Nigeria has made good strides in SDGs domestication processes, as we have commenced the re-alignment of the National Statistical System with the requirements and indicators of the SDGs.

”We have developed a novel home-grown ‘Integrated Sustainable Development Goals Model, as an analytical framework for assessing how policy making can better address the indivisible nature of the Sustainable Development Goals.

”Nigeria has also set up a Model Private Sector Advisory Group and an SDGs Donors’ Forum with a view to engaging critical stakeholders towards the attainment of the SDGs.”

The president recalled that Nigeria presented its second Voluntary National Review on SDGs to the UN High-Level Political Forum in July 2020.

According to the president, ”the second Voluntary National Review highlighted our efforts to meet SDGs targets on the critical issues of poverty and an inclusive economy; health and well-being; education and gender equality; enabling environment of peace and security; and partnerships.”

He noted that these targets were based on current development priorities, as captured in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020), as well as the Medium Term National Development Plan (2020-2025).

President Buahri also used the occasion of his address to pledge Nigeria’s commitment to mainstreaming the SDGs into subsequent development plans.

Setting out Nigeria’s vision for the Decade of Action, the president pledged that the country would implement unique initiatives such as the re-aligned National Statistical System to effectively track and monitor the implementation of the SDGs on annual basis.

”The Nigeria Integrated SDG simulation Model to support the domestication of the Planning Model across the 36 states; the Integrated National Financing Frameworks for SDGs; the scaled-up National Social Investment Programme to reach more poor and vulnerable Nigerians in line with our commitment to lift 100 Million people out of Poverty within a 10-year period; and the engaging of all segments of the society for the achievement of the SDGs,” the Nigerian leader said.

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This is done through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.

The world’s largest lesson initiative implemented in Nigeria by DEAN Initiative and other partners is designed to, through 2500 Youth Volunteers, teach well over 500,000 students in four days with specially designed #SDGs classes.

The formal activation of the World’s Largest Lessons across the country by the Federal Government of Nigeria is an initiative to teach over 500,000 children,

The activation is part of a global campaign to educate children and young people about the SDGs.

The initiative will give children both in and out of school the opportunity to take part in a special Nigeria edition of the World’s Largest Lesson, which will stand out as Nigeria’s largest awareness raising initiative for the Sustainable Development Goals and 500,000 children will imagine a new Nigeria and be invited to make it happen.

These lessons, taught by a team of 2500 youth volunteers, will unlock in children a vision for the Nigeria that they wish to live in by 2030, and a Nigeria that has achieved the Sustainable Development Goals.

Children will then be asked to consider what they can do to help make Nigeria a reality.

From October 14th to 17th the SDGs activation will take place in the 36 states plus FCT and in 556 local government areas spanning 1,056 communities and in 1,246 schools.

This initiative is one of the boldest and largest countries’ SDGs campaign globally and its aims to invite children to imagine the Nigeria they want and be part of building it.

The event will peak on Friday 18th October in Abuja with a group of representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisation and led by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs taking part in an event which children and young people will showcase what they can do for the SDGs and make a simple request to the Federal Ministry of Education to make it possible for all children in Nigeria to understand how they can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and build a sustainable Nigeria for everyone.

Organised into school clubs and known as Club 17 Africa, the project has been endorsed and supported by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs and the Federal Ministry of Education.

Children in schools or out of school community groups and Internally Displaced People camps will learn more about the goals and develop ideas for community projects.

The best of these will be awarded small cash grants to make their projects possible.

While the project has been stimulated and supported by the World’s Largest Lesson, it has been created in Nigeria by three young organisations – The DEAN Initiative, The Center for Development Support Initiatives and Teens Can Code.

All of these have a passion to bring education and skills of the 21st Century to children in Nigeria.

They are using special materials and resources for teachers including a poster created by Nigerian illustrator Henry Ezeokeke, a club curriculum created by Dr Mina Ogbanga, and a teacher training course developed as a Facebook Community group by Ayodele Odeogbola.

They have been supported in their efforts by Avanti Communications, UNICEF and UNESCO – all of whom work to support the Allisson Bellwood led World’s Largest Lesson reach children all across the world.

In response to the project’s launch, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs Nigeria described the initiative as part of the strategic efforts to drive the SDGs to all nooks and cranny of the country.

She expressed optimism that the commencement of the lesson activation would not only bring the SDGs into the classrooms, but into the communities and homes, to assist the young minds to identify problems and proffer local solutions.

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