With the very high expectations of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, one of the creditor-designed debt relief initiatives, The Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative, launched in 1996 by the IMF and World Bank, has failed to achieve the promised objective of a “robust exit from the burden of unsustainable debts” for developing countries. As a potential source of development finance, the debt relief through HIPC is not sufficient to guarantee poverty reduction in these countries let alone meet some of the goals of the MDGs. An analysis of key debt indicators shows that external debt and debt-servicing problems and poverty have become most severe and persistent in the heavily indebted poor countries, the so-called HIPCs, says Afrodad, a research, lobby and advocacy organisation, in a recent report.

With a population of over 120 million and many expatriate communities across the globe, the largest economy in West Africa, and great political importance in the region, the African continent, and the global stage, events which affect the stability and future of Nigeria affect the entire world. Elections, interrupted as they have been by periods of military dictatorship, have always contained potential for civil unrest, and so the good conduct of the forthcoming polls is a matter not only of international concern but also of symbolic importance for the citizens of Nigeria. This is according to a briefing on the upcoming 2003 Nigerian elections from the Centre for Democracy and Development, which provides a history of the politics in the country and examines other issues that include health, human rights and the environment.