Which of the following is not a major problem of development

Analyze the question: We are asked to find the option that is NOT a major problem of development (economic development, especially in developing countries like Nigeria).

Concept: Major problems affecting economic development in developing countries commonly include:

• Shortage of skilled manpower (low human capital)
• Inadequate data and statistics for planning
• Political instability and policy inconsistency
• Inadequate capital and funds, corruption, poor infrastructure
• Poor project implementation, execution and monitoring

Going through the options:

• A. Shortage of skilled manpower: This is a major problem. Without trained engineers, technicians and managers, development projects cannot be carried out effectively.
• B. Inadequate data for planning: This is a major problem. Without reliable population, income and resource statistics, planners cannot set realistic targets.
• C. Political instability: This is a major problem. Coups, conflicts and frequent policy changes discourage investment and disrupt development plans.
• D. Poor identification of projects: Compared with the others, this is the weakest candidate for a "major" problem. Projects are usually identified from clear national needs, such as roads, power and water. The real difficulty in development is typically implementation (funding, corruption, discontinuity), not identification.

Note: The wording is a bit debatable, since poor project selection can occur in practice. However, among the four options, A, B and C are the standard textbook problems of development, so D is the one that is "not" a major problem.

Answer: D

Exam tip: For "which is NOT..." questions, first confirm the three standard textbook points (manpower, data, political stability, funds), then pick the odd one out. Remember that development problems are usually about resources, data, stability and implementation.