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Due to the devastating impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government has revealed that 11 million Nigerians will fall into poverty by end of this year. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, made the disclosure recently at a two-day National COVID-19 Summit titled: “Pushing through the last Mile to end the Pandemic and Build back better,” held in Abuja. She was represented on the occasion by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze.
According to statistics presented at the summit, before the outbreak of the pandemic in the country early last year, only two million Nigerians were reported to have been added to the poverty index as the population growth outpaced economic growth. Nigeria’s population growth was estimated to have grown at four million annually last year, while economic growth was put at less than two per cent. According to official figures, the recession pushed an additional 6.6 million Nigerians into poverty in 2020, and brought the total number of Nigerians in the poverty hole to 8.6 million. This implies an increase in the number of the poor in the country from about 90 million in 2020 to about 109 million. Considering our poor statistical culture and increasing poverty in the country, the poverty level may be higher than the official figures.
Government’s figures on poverty level seem to have reflected the previous Living Standard Survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2018/2019, which showed poverty level in the country close to 50 per cent of the population. Whatever is the case, the poverty report is disturbing. Government should take it as a wake-up call and aggressively address the scourge.
The World Poverty Clock, which tracks poverty, had long advised Nigeria to begin to redress extreme poverty now rather than wait till 2030 when the unpleasant consequences will dawn on the country. We hasten to add that the consequences are already here with rising unemployment, inflation, cost of living and insecurity. With COVID-19 pandemic still on the prowl, countries with visionary leaders are initiating mitigating strategies rather than using the pandemic as excuse for growing poverty in their countries. The World Bank, in its recent report, revealed that people living in extreme poverty are unable to meet their optimal needs for survival.
The truth is that many Nigerians are living in extreme economic hardship and the government appears to have failed in its promise to lift 10 million Nigerians out of poverty every year, or 100 million in 10 years. For the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be met in 2030, 57 Nigerians on the average must escape extreme poverty net per minute. With 11 million Nigerians likely to be in the poverty net by end of next year, the country cannot meet the UN goal on poverty reduction.
The UN projects that Nigeria will have an estimated population of 398 million people by 2050, making Nigeria the third largest population in the world. Although a lower population is not an anti-dote to poverty, an educated, healthy and enterprising youthful population can guarantee growth and reduce poverty as shown in China, Norway and Canada. The nation must invest so much in human capital, create jobs and increase financial access and opportunities to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
This is exactly what the government should do instead of bemoaning the rising poverty level. Government should stop playing the ostrich or pretend to believe that things are not working. For instance, Nigeria’s mean household income per capita as at 2017 was less than $1000, compared to India’s $1, 759. Youth unemployment in Nigeria today is more than 35 million. Corruption is also endemic. These factors are generally believed to fuel poverty.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), Nigeria’s misery index, which is a combination of inflation and unemployment in a country, has reached over 50 per cent, the worst among its peers in the continent. Let the government redesign its poverty alleviation programmes, mechanise agriculture and exploit solid minerals. This will boost our export market drive and reduce poverty.
