美国有线新闻 CNN 尼日利亚大选将至 国家面临重重问题

 

Crossing the Atlantic, we're taking you to Nigeria, a west African country that is gearing up for a major presidential election this Saturday. We say major because the country has both great importance to Africa and great struggles to overcome. Nigeria is official a federal presidential republic. It's the largest democracy and economy on the African continent. But according to the Brookings Institution, the U.S. based research group, Nigeria also has the world's highest number of people living in extreme poverty.

It passed India in that ranking just last year. Nigeria's also struggled with violence, terrorism and corruption¹ and there are concerns about potential violence damaging this election, though its votes have smoothed out since 2007. The world will be watching when Nigerians go to the polls on the 16th.

STEPHANIE BUSARI: Nigeria is often described as the "giant of Africa". It’s the largest economy, the largest oil producer and the most populous² country in the continent. All this should mean that life is good for Nigerians, right? Well, not quite. The constant complaint from citizens is that the country's wealth just does not trickle³ down to the average men and women, who are struggling to make ends meet. To make matters worse, Nigeria is now the country with the most extremely poor people in the world.

According to the World Poverty Clock, there are now 87 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty, which means they are surviving on less than $2 a day. How did it all go wrong? The simple answer is that Nigeria's oil wealth has been squandered⁴, stolen and grossly mismanaged through corruption and sheer incompetence⁵. There's also been an overdependence of oil revenues, which once traded at $100 a barrel and crashed to $40 at its lowest price. Nigeria failed to make hay while the sun was shining. And as oil prices fell, revenues dwindled⁶.

Successive government has promised to diversify⁷ the economy into other areas. But those indices have not really materialized And revenue is still largely dependent on oil. Nigeria may be the biggest economy on the continent, but it's in crisis, with high levels of debt and massive overspending that analysts⁸ say is not just sustainable. With an estimated 190 million inhabitants, Nigeria is also facing a population explosion and has been projected to overtake the U.S. to become the world's third most populous country by 2050.

This population boom brings with it a ticking time bomb of unemployment and poverty, especially among those who are under 25. They make up more than 60 percent of society, one of the largest youth populations in the world. The lack of infrastructure⁹, poor living conditions, inequality and lack of jobs has led to many frustrations¹⁰ among this demographic. And they are clambering for real change. When President Buhari, a former military ruler, was elected in 2015, it was the first peaceful transition of power in the country. He promised to be a new broom, offering a clean sweep of the old routine. But many have been left disillusioned¹¹ and angry at the rising levels of inequality, lack of opportunities and extreme poverty.

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

3 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

4 squandered   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
• She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气，好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘（部分）

5 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

6 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

11 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。