October 1 marked the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence from England, and the journey from an exploited colony to a democratic nation has been anything but smooth. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, during her 2009 visit, that the World Bank reported that Nigeria lost over $300 billion, almost 1/3 of a trillion dollars, over the past 30 years as a result of corrupt practices. For a country with a population of 155 million and a per-capita income of just $1,160,  losing this kind of money to exploitation and corruption is especially damaging because of the inequality it creates.

Graduate student Adegbola Ojo at the University of Sheffield is trying to make this inequality graphically visible on his website:

The main findings from the atlas include:

• More than 70 percent of children within Toiling Country Dwellings and Middle-class Country Dwellings are unlikely to be enrolled in school

• Out of every 100 households in most areas, there are less than 10 where females own either land or a home.

• The pattern of inequality among women who receive assistance from doctors during childbirth suggests that almost half of the country´s potential mothers will have to relocate from their current residences to other areas for a state of national equilibrium to be attained.

Take a look at the various maps that are available. Go to the help file to understand how the indices are calculated.

One longs to have the kinds of maps that one can peruse on Dr. Ojo’s website available for the U.S. as well. Do they perhaps exist already?