TheCable

Di 28th edition of di United Nations Climate Change Conference, aka COP28, begin for Dubai, di United Arab Emirates (UAE) on November 30.

Di annual conference na di only place wey different kontris dey decide climate change mata and almost evri kontri for di world be member.  

E dey provide opportunity to decide how dem fit address di climate crisis, like controlling global temperature so dat e no go pass 1.5°C, helping communities wey no get moni so dat dem fit adjust to di effects of climate change, net-zero emissions, and climate financing.

Di total nomba of pipu wey register to attend COP28 in pesin reach 81,027, including political and business leaders, climate scientists, journalists, and oda stakeholders.

Nigeria, wey folo dey among di member states, bin dey represented at di event wit President Bola Tinubu as di leader.

However, some pipu don vex for di nomba of pipu wey Nigeria carry go di conference.

For X, former Twitter, Peter Obi, presidential candidate of di Labour Party (LP) for di 2023 elections, criticise di nomba of Nigerian representives, im tok sey na “waste of scarce resources”.

In a twist of sad irony, let me congratulate the giant of Africa, Nigeria, for matching the great China, with the same number of contingents at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nigeria's contingent to COP28 totaled 1411, the same number as the Chinese

— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) December 3, 2023

Obi also made some oda claims for im tweets. TheCable check wetin di politician tok wit available informate and na wetin we find be dis.

CLAIM 1: NIGERIA GET DI SAME NOMBA OF REPRESENTATIVES WIT CHINA

Final tok: Correct

For im tweets, Obi “congratulate” Nigeria becos dem get di same nomba of representatives for COP28 wit China.

“Wit sad irony, make I congratulate di giant of Africa, Nigeria, as dem match di great China, wit di same nomba of representatives for di ongoing COP28  for Dubai, United Arab Emirates,”na so di LP presidential candidate tweet. 

“Di nomba of Nigerian representatives for COP28 reach 1,411, di same nomba wit di Chinese delegates.”

Di list of delegates wey di organisers of di event publish show sey 1,411 participants register from Nigeria.

Becos of dat, Nigeria bin get di third highest nomba of representatives for di conference — togeda wit China.

Di participants’ list also show sey Nigeria bin get di highest nomba of registered delegates from Africa.

Di host, UAE, na im get the nomba one spot with 4,409 delegates, followed by Brazil with 3,081.

CLAIM 2: CHINA BUDGET FOR 2024 NA ABOUT $4 TRILLION

Final tok: E no too correct

As im dey try make case for why im tok sey di nomba of delegates na waste of resources, Obi tok sey Nigeria’s 2024 budget na about $33 billion compared to China, which im claim sey budget $4 trillion.

“While China budget about $4 trillion for 2024, about $2,860 per head; Nigeria budget na about $33 billion, about $165 per head,” na so im tok. 

Dem dey usually announce China budget during di kontri annual parliamentary sessions. Dem announce di 2023 budget for March. As such, China neva get 2024 budget.

For dia 2023 budget, China predict sey dem go get revenue of RMB 23.6 trillion ($3.4 trillion) and dem put dia spending at RMB 27.5 trillion ($4 trillion), which mean sey dem get deficit of nearly RMB 3.9 trillion ($564.1 billion).

Howeva, Obi dey correct about im claim for Nigeria budget of about $33 trillion. President Bola Tinubu don present budget proposal of N27.5 trillion for di 2024 fiscal year on November 29. Dis mean sey na $36 billion at di budget benchmark exchange rate of N750/$ or $33.5 billion at di average exchange rate of N820/$.

CLAIM 3: CHINA HDI NA 79/191 WHILE NIGERIA NA 163/191

Final tok: Correct

“China get high Human Development Index, HDI, wit ranking of 79 out of 191 countries measured, and Nigeria get low HDI, wit ranking of 163 out of 191 countries measured,” na so Obi tok.

Di United Nations define human development as measure of di richness of human life, dat is, to make sure sey pesin dey live beta life instead of to assume sey becos economy dey grow, pesin go automatically enjoy. E dey focuse on pipu, dia opportunities, and dia choices.

One of di purposes of di index na to show sey factors wey dem dey use measure moni, like GDP per capita, no dey enough to measure development.

For di latest HDI ranking, China tanda for nomba 79 out of 191 countries, while Nigeria dey 163.

Switzerland bin dey ontop di ladder while South Sudan dey ground.

CLAIM 4: NIGERIA GET MORE PIPU WEY DEY LIVE FOR MULTI-DIMENSIONAL POVERTY PASS CHINA

Final tok: Correct

“Nigeria get more pipu wey dey live for ‘Multi-Dimensional’ poverty pass China, even though China pass our population seven times,” Obi add.

Multidimensional poverty cover di lacks wey poor people dey experience e.g. poor health, lack of education, poor living standards, and living inside environment wey dey harmful to pesin health, according to di Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.

Di latest UN report tok sey 3.9 percent of China population dey live for multi-dimensional poverty while for Nigeria, na 33.0 percent.

Di figures dey based on di organisation’s most recent informate for 2021.

Population data from di World Bank estimate sey China population tanda at 1.4 billion compared to 218 million for Nigeria.

According to di UN estimates, China get 54.6 million people wey dey live for multidimensional poverty compared to di 71.9 million wey dey Nigeria.

For November 2022, di National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) tok sey 133 million Nigerian citizens (about 63 percent) dey multi-dimensionally poor.

Both sources confam Obi statements wey sey more pipu for Nigeria dey live inside multidimensional poverty pass China, despite di big difference for population.