PROMOTE HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT, FREE THE NATION FROM POVERTY. HON. SHEBA URGES GOVERNMENT.


Hon. Abayomi Sheba esq. the former acting chairman of the the federal character commission and also a former house of representative member representing irele/okitipupa federal constituency has said that Nigerians should continue to have a shared vision of protecting our hard-fought independence and, in the context of the present times, of fighting for freedom against poverty and vulnerability.

Hon. Sheba said “We won against oppression by colonial rule but our people continue to suffer from many other forms of oppression."

According to Sheba, "A true independent nation is a nation where people live in contentment without experiencing suffering, where everyone has access to fundamental socio-economic services, and where growth is inclusive and equitable,”.

He said that Nigeria as a nation, is yet to be free from the pressing issues of poverty and vulnerability to health and environmental crises. The freedom that nigerians need the most presently, is the freedom from poverty. What is the use of having freedom if the majority still suffers from the ills of society and all its forms?”

Nigeria had one of the world's highest economic growth rates, averaging 7.4% according to the Nigeria economic report that was released in July 2019 by the World Bank. Following the oil price collapse in 2014–2016, combined with negative production shocks, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate dropped to 2.7% in 2015. In 2016 during its first recession in 25 years, the economy contracted by 1.6%.

Nationally, 43 percent of Nigerians (89 million people) live below the poverty line, while another 25 percent (53 million) are vulnerable.

“The greater challenge for us now is to create more job opportunities, stable employment, equitable access to quality education, health services, and other social services, as a move towards eradicating poverty in the country.

“We cannot say that we are progressing as a country if we are unable to solve the problem of poverty as a whole. Alleviating poverty would require a whole-of-government approach and by starting with the most depressed and most vulnerable areas in the society,” Sheba added.



Hon. Sheba urged all government agencies to strengthen their efforts in providing social welfare services, as well as livelihood opportunities for nigerians to generate income.

“It is also important to create an enabling environment where all our farmers, fishermen communities, and workers, most especially those at the rural level, could succeed and eventually provide for their own through the establishing of livelihood training programs and providing technical and financial support. This is why I am also pushing for continued support for the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises to create more employment opportunities,”.




“Poverty is what keeps people from achieving their goals and realizing their dreams. We should not blame the poor for being poor. They may be victims of unfortunate circumstances but we should all work together to break the chains of intergenerational poverty. Let us stimulate equitable and inclusive growth in our communities and sustain it. Let us make sure that no one is deprived of their basic human rights. Let us provide opportunities for our people to prosper on their own because we cannot achieve real, lasting growth if there are still millions of nigerians living below poverty line,”.

Hmmmmm... Them go gree hear..

You mean like those Lagos agberos?