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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
A survey conducted by Oxfam, an international non-governmental organisation, has revealed that, while the global economy was on lockdown in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s 10 richest men doubled their fortunes from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion.
The outcome of the survey titled: “Inequality kills” made public in Abuja, yesterday, also indicated that, in Nigeria, few billionaires saw their wealth grew by 38 per cent while 7.4 million people fell into extreme poverty in 2020.
The survey listed the 10 richest people as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault & family, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Ballmer and Warren Buffet. It said as of November 30, 2021 their fortunes grew by $821 billion from March 2020.
The report also revealed that two richest billionaires in Nigeria made more wealth than the bottom 63 million Nigerians even as it suggested it was time to correct the extreme inequalities that exists in the society.
Country Director, Oxfam Nigeria, Dr. Vincent Ahonsi said: “Collectively, the total wealth of three billionaires in Nigeria equal to $24.9 billion, and throughout the pandemic, beginning in mid-March 2020, their wealth grew by $6.9 billion, while the majority of Nigerians became poorer. It’s a remarkable surge in wealth at the very top of the society, which has not impacted positively on the majority. We can end this inequality, and it’s a moral duty for the billionaires and corporations to play their part to end hunger, disease and poverty.”
Ahonsi described extreme inequality as a form of economic violence, where policies and political decisions that perpetuate the wealth and power of a privileged few, result in direct harm to the vast majority of ordinary people across the world and the planet itself.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated socioeconomic distress impact more on the families, women and girl are faced with unprecedented risk of physical, sexual and psychological abuse and violence,” Ahonsi said.
Oxfam in its recommendation tasked governments to urgently claw back the gains made by billionaires by taxing the huge new wealth made since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic through permanent wealth and capital taxes.
It also suggested that government invest the trillions that could be raised by the taxes towards progressive spending on universal healthcare and social protection, climate change adaptation, and gender-based violence prevention and programming.
It advised government to tackle sexist and racist laws that discriminate against women, radicalised people and create new gender-equal laws to uproot violence and discrimination.
Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Awwal Rafsanjani, commended Oxfam and its partners for the success of the survey, and advised government to adopt the recommendation of the survey in order to reduce the growing socioeconomic inequality that is partly responsible for the rising insecurity across Nigeria.
He maintained that they were not against the wealthy, but that there’s need for a significant reduction in the inequality gap in the society.
