Economy
By Julius Enehikhuere
THE National Bureau of Statistics says recently that Nigeria’s poverty rate stands at 40.09 per cent, representing 82.9 million persons.
It states further that more than 82 million Nigerians live on less-than-one-dollar a day.
However, financial analysts insist that although Nigeria may not be a rich country as expected, but certainly it is not a poor nation.
Some reports have indicated Nigeria as third world country in Africa known as the poverty capital, exceeding in India with the largest rate of people living in poverty.
But analysts note that the rating could be faulty as another survey places Nigeria’s economy as one of the world’s highest in growth with an average of seven per cent.
The reports also place India’s Gross Domestic Product per capita at 7,200 dollars as of 2017, while that of Nigeria was 5,900 dollars in the same year, meaning that Nigeria is a strong force to reckon with in the global economy ratings.
Whether or not the reports are accurate, World Bank Organisation analysts Jonathan Lain and Tara Vishwanath note that projections suggest that the “combined effects of the COVID-19 crisis and natural population growth could leave 100 million people living below the national poverty line by 2022, rationalising the government’s ambitious poverty reduction aspirations’’.
According to them, since Nigeria is home to the largest number of poor people in Sub-Saharan Africa –the world’s poorest region –lifting Nigerians out of poverty is, therefore, vital for reducing global poverty.
Dr Job Anunobi, a development expert, notes that government policies and programmes are being drawn up to tackle the economic challenges, particularly on poverty reduction.
He observes that one of the cardinal programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is to move 100 million Nigerians from poverty before 2030.
According to him, the administration has initiated job creation for 1,000 persons per local government in the 774 local government areas across the country.
He also agrees with other analysts the development will drastically reduce the poverty population and also tackle the causes of poverty in the country.
He notes that although Nigeria has numerous resources spread across the 36 states in the country, the number of people living in poverty has been on the increase, asking the states to complement the efforts of the federal government.
But Dr Rochas Obiora, a financial analyst observes that how will the states complement in that regard since the National Bureau of Statistics says no fewer than 20 states are considered poor states with low Internal Generated Revenue (IGR).
He says the highest poverty levels are in the north-western state of Sokoto, where 87.7 per cent of people live in the poverty line compared with 4.5 per cent in commercial hub Lagos State, which has the lowest rate, citing a report of the bureau.
However, observers note that for a country with massive wealth and a huge population to support economy, poverty level ought to be minimal.
Some observers blame poverty in Nigeria on political instability, corrupt practices in the country, income inequality and ethnic conflict, among others.
Irrespective of this, they call for diversification of economy to create jobs and build transportation and power infrastructure.
According to them, diversified economy is required because statistics shows that more people in rural areas live in poverty and the segment needs economic an economic base for survival.
But the World Bank says to make tangible progress on poverty reduction, any engagement will have to focus on promoting faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth, so that its citizens will have greater opportunities for a better life.
Analysts, therefore, advise that Nigeria, with more than 200 million people, accounting for more than half of West Africa’s total population, ought not to lack in providing for its citizens.
However, optimists believe that Nigeria has made some notable progress even within the challenging environment of increased poverty associated with growing insecurity and the economic downturn.
They note that government, for instance, recently embarked on a set of reforms starting with unification of its multiple exchange rates, introduction of a market-based pricing mechanism for gasoline, eliminating subsidies and adjusting electricity tariffs.
Similarly, some finance experts say that in the history of Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria has never been so involved in human capacity development than it has been in the present administration.
According to them, the CBN has been so visible in touching lives and tackling poverty at all levels through so many programmes, including the popular Anchor Borrowers’ programmes that gives loans to farmers across the country.
They also observe that the apex bank recently released 50,000 metric tonnes of maize to 12 companies to tackle the activities of middlemen.
All in all, analysts believe that the federal government is, no doubt, fully committed to finding solutions to the poor performance of the macro-economic policies.
They note that with coordinated policies and programmes and attentive participation of the states, the high poverty indices could be reversible.
They advise that government’s programme and medium-term strategy should promote human capital building, a more business enabling environment, greater social cohesion and inclusion and a plan to tackle the most persistent development challenges.(NAN
– July 5, 2021 @ 13:46 GMT |
Tags: Eradicating poverty: Examining federal government’s approach
