The Founder and Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, has said that poverty remains the greatest enemy of humanity. He stated this in his keynote address at the 9th Lagos Public Relations Stakeholders’ Conference on leadership and poverty eradication, held recently.
“Apart from breeding hunger, poverty also opens up a flood gate of crimes and conflicts,”.
Elumelu who was represented by Niyi Onifade, MD/CEO, Heirs Life, said that everyone should be involved in the fight against poverty in the country.
“As corporate citizens, we have a moral obligation to lead the fight against this enemy. But it is not a one-man’s fight, or for the government alone. It is a fight that must be owned and fought by every single one of us,” he said.
According to him, the government alone cannot provide all the economic and social needs of a country.
He highlighted four critical areas that will significantly impact the push towards poverty alleviation in Nigeria; these included positioning SMEs to thrive, leadership, governance and structure, promoting financial literacy and inclusion and tackling unemployment.
On SMEs, he explained that “Government must create an environment and structure to enable capital flow freely across the country. The best way to do this is to incentivise the free movement of capital through the growth and development of small business enterprises.”
“SMEs are the lifeblood of any economy, and countries that prioritise the success of SMEs position themselves for wealth creation. For instance, the development of countries like China, Germany, France, and others can be attributed to the success of their SMEs.”
He said available data show that SMEs in Nigeria contribute up to 48% of national GDP. SMEs account for 96% of businesses, and provide 84% of employment. In a country of over 200 million people with 40% of the population classified as youths below the age of 35 years, SMEs can create meaningful employment opportunities that will stall the alarming talent drain across the country. SMEs have the capacity to create opportunities for people to feed themselves and care for their families.
He noted that the success of any country is a testament to its leadership and its governance structure.
On the need to for promotion of financial literacy and inclusion, he explained that, “Financial inclusion and social welfare programmes have been identified globally as panacea for poverty eradication.
“When people have access to financial services such as credits, loans, savings, life insurance, and others, they can fend for themselves and run sustainable businesses that would create a ripple effect in the country’s GDP.
He noted that access to these financial tools remains limited in Nigeria. “We are still one of the top three unbanked countries in the world with 40% of our population living without access to financial services.