A recent report that the staggering sum of N430 billion has been expended by the Federal Government in the last three years on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) must have shocked many Nigerians, especially rural dwellers who are the targets of the MDG projects.

The N430 billion is mainly from government's portion of the debt relief gains following the country's successful exiting of the Paris Club of Creditors in September 2005 after sustained negotiations by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration.

It was agreed at the time, that the annual savings of $1 billion accruing to Nigeria would go towards prosecuting pro-poor projects so as to achieve the eight MDGs, which include poverty and hunger eradication; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and women empowerment, and child mortality reduction and improved maternal health.

The other Goals which are expected to be achieved by 2015 are combating HIV/AIDS; malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental stability and developing a global partnership for development.

Since then, however, a lot has been heard of the MDGs in the country but clearly, little, if anything at all has been achieved to give anyone hope that any of the Goals would be achieved within the time allocated. Those who thought that funding must have been the cause of the inaction must thus be as stunned as we are to hear that N430 billion has been pumped into MDG-related projects in the last three years.

The figure popped up in a report said to have been submitted to the House of Representatives by the Senior Special Assistant to President Umaru Yar'Adua on MDGs, Mrs Amina Ibrahim.

The report shows that a substantial part of the N430bn went to state governments under the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) for them to supplement their 50 per cent counterpart funding of the MDGs projects.

The report among others, merely mentioned that 801 primary and maternal healthcare centres were built or rehabilitated in 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja in 2007 and that 6, 279 projects were slated for execution in all federal constituencies and senatorial districts in the country in 2008. It did not give the location of the projects or the names of the states that have benefited from the projects.

Although the House of Representatives has not yet discussed the report, the snippets that have been reported are enough to trigger suspicion that the gains of the debt relief programme are not being well applied, and the poor in the society, especially the rural dwellers, are the worse for it.

It is apparent that in spite of the alleged injection of the N430 billion, poverty and hunger are increasing in the country, particularly in the hinterlands and it is evident that little, if any progress is being made in the education sector generally and in primary education in particular.

It is also difficult to point to any major gains in the area of women empowerment or gender equality or in reduction in child mortality or improvement in maternal health. Malaria and other diseases are still decimating the populace, HIV/AIDS is still on rampage while the environment is still a major source of concern, especially with the deadly bomb of climatic change precariously waiting to explode.

Corruption, lack of transparency and bad governance that have come to be associated with the different tiers of government are, on their own, also working, however slightly, to frustrate the cultivation of many more global partnerships for development that are needed to get Nigerians, especially the less privileged, out of the seemingly hopeless situation that they find themselves.

The debt relief process involved a major sacrifice on the part of Nigerians and the $1 billion annual savings that was to go to pro-poor projects was to be a form of palliative, but if, three years after, there is little or nothing to show for it, then, those in authority must ask questions and ensure that they get answers.

Members of the National Assembly must demand details of the disbursement of the N430 billion and should go out of their way to verify the claims that the funds have been applied to projects. Indeed, there ought to be a public hearing on the matter to allow Nigerians to come forward and testify of how they have not yet felt the impact of the debt relief funds.

President Umaru Yar'Adua, from whose office Mrs. Ibrahim operates should also review the progress of the country towards attaining the MDGs with a view to restrategising to ensure the success of the programme. Such success would be evident, and everyone, would be the best for it.

If the state governors have been misusing the funds, a new strategy must be evolved to stop such and if the funds being allocated towards the attainment of the MDGs are not sufficient, budgetary provisions should be made to significantly augment the debt relief funds.

If it is confirmed that the MDGs' office in the presidency cannot cope with the execution of constituency projects, alternative arrangements must be made to ensure that these grassroots based projects are executed to bring relief to the people who need them most.

The debt relief funds, and every other income of the country, must be prudently and transparently applied for maximum effect and those in authority at all levels, especially the legislators, must ensure this.