Wanted: A President for Nigeria’s poor

EditorialMar 8, 2011

STUDIES confirm Nigeria as one of the world’s poorest countries. Nigeria has one-fifth of Africa’s population, more than 80 million Nigerians live on less than $1 per day, the standard international bar for poverty.
The intensity of poverty in Nigeria was reported in a 2005 study, which states, “80 to 90 million Nigerians live in poverty; only India and China have more poor people.” India and China each has a population of over 1 billion. Nigeria has about 150 million people.
Every Nigerian government in the past 25 years or so has promoted one anti-poverty programmes or the other. These programmes, in their originators’ efforts to be seen as different, result in outright cancellation of earlier programmes or are contradictory. Poverty is growing with devastating consequences for both rural and urban populations.
Politicians gloss over the issue. They are too wealthy to notice how others are struggling to live. How can politicians, who contribute to policies that neglect the people be concerned about poverty?
Poverty’s growth is deep, pervasive, with the combined factors of poor health care systems, corruption and uncaring governments sustaining it. More people are unemployed and unable to meet basic daily needs of food, medication, and even drinking water. Incidents of suicide are being reported more regularly in the urban centres as economic opportunities evaporate.
Governments’ commitment to spend funds from debt relief on poverty reduction has no visible effect on millions of Nigerians who never have a decent meal, and cannot plan for their children, who will not be educated and have already joined the poverty queue.
“Over the period 1980 – 1996, the proportion of poor peoples rose from 28.1 per cent in 1980 to 65.6 per cent in 1996. This translated to 17.7 million poor people in 1980 and 67.1 million people in 1996. With government’s on-going reform programmes and poverty reduction strategies, the proportion of poor people is still very high about 66 per cent of the population, which translates to about 90 million poor people.
By 2015, it is expected that the economic reform programmes will begin to bear fruits and the population of poor people will reduce to about 40 million people,” African Foundation for Population and Development, noted in a paper.
The expectations are too optimistic. Execution of projects that would ensure more electricity supply, water, roads and security, to enhance more investments in industrial and commercial activities, which will in turn create jobs and poverty reduction opportunities, are largely ignored.
There are no plans or funds for these projects. If the resources were available, some of them cannot be executed in the next four years. Governments’ preference is to tackle poverty eradication in boring speeches at workshops and seminars.
Statistics on impact of poverty are deceptive. They fail to note the devastating consequences of poverty, among them crimes, communal clashes, unstable political institutions, and Nigeria’s uncompetitiveness.
Nigeria cannot develop with its high levels of poverty. Anyone who envisions a secured future for Nigeria must deal with poverty, which enervates its development.

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