The Nation Newspaper

Tag: poverty

  • How reforms are bringing down poverty, by Presidency

    How reforms are bringing down poverty, by Presidency

    • World Bank: let policies reflect on living standard
    • ‘139m could live in poverty by 2025’

    The Presidency yesterday reaffirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to inclusive growth and implementing tangible measures to ease economic hardship across the country.

    It was responding to the World Bank Group report that poverty levels remain alarming, despite increased government revenues at all levels and higher capital spending by federal and state governments.

    The Bank said 139 million Nigerians are probably living in poverty.

    In a post on X, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, outlined key programmes and fiscal reforms driving the administration’s economic recovery and social protection agenda.

    According to him, the Tinubu Administration “remains firmly focused on improving household welfare through targeted, verifiable interventions” aimed at ensuring that economic growth translates into improved living standards.

    He listed the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) as one of the flagship programmes, expanded to reach up to 15 million households nationwide, with over N297 billion disbursed since 2023 to poor and vulnerable families. Beneficiaries, he said, are being enrolled through a verified digital process under the National Social Register.

    Dare also highlighted the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RH-WDEP) as “a major initiative targeting all 8,809 electoral wards” to deliver micro-infrastructure, livelihood support, and social services at the grassroots.

    He said the administration is consolidating the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) — including N-Power, GEEP micro-loans, and the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme — to protect jobs, support small businesses, and keep children in school.

    On food security, Dare said government efforts are focused on curbing inflationary pressures through the distribution of subsidised grains and fertilisers, mechanisation partnerships, and revival of strategic food reserves.

    He cited the establishment of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund (RHIF) to finance energy, road, and housing projects expected to reduce living costs and create jobs.

    Similarly, the National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) is expanding access to affordable credit for small businesses, women, and youth through risk-sharing partnerships with banks.

    The presidential aide acknowledged that reforms such as fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification have been tough but “necessary choices to tackle the root causes of poverty rather than its symptoms.”

    “Even the World Bank has acknowledged that these reforms are restoring macroeconomic stability and renewed growth momentum,” Dare noted.

    He said the administration’s priority remains ensuring that “economic growth must be inclusive,” translating macroeconomic stability into affordable food, quality jobs, and reliable infrastructure.

    According to him, investments are being scaled up in agriculture, MSMEs, and power.

    He said the agricultural value chain expansion, gas-to-power initiatives, and skills development hubs are all designed to create jobs and lower living costs.

    “As these programmes mature, Nigerians should begin to feel visible improvements in food prices, income, and purchasing power,” he assured.

    He explained that the government is strengthening its social investment architecture through a unified, data-driven framework to enhance transparency and accountability.

    This includes scaling up existing NSIP schemes, expanding the National Social Register, and rolling out the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme to ensure that “no vulnerable community is left behind.”

    “The reforms are necessary, the direction is right, and the foundation for a fairer and more prosperous Nigeria is being firmly laid,” Dare said.

    Tinubu to investors: best time to invest now

    President Tinubu reiterated his call on local and international investors to take advantage of emerging opportunities in Nigeria, saying reforms have stabilised the economy.

    Speaking at the maiden Bauchi Investment Summit yesterday, with the theme “Revealing a Resilient Economy: Optimising Investment Partnerships”, the President — represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima — said, “Nigeria has exited a space of economic instability. There is no better time to choose Nigeria than now.”

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and business mogul Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi attended the summit.

    President Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to creating a business-friendly environment through transparency, strong partnerships, and consistent policies.

    He praised Governor Bala Mohammed for organising the summit, describing it as “a march into the future.”

    He identified Bauchi’s potential in agriculture, solid minerals, tourism, and renewable energy as aligning with the Federal Government’s diversification and job creation agenda.

    The President listed major achievements, including reducing the debt-service-to-revenue ratio from 100 to less than 50 per cent, a 400 per cent rise in non-oil revenue, GDP growth of 4.23 per cent as of last month, external reserves of $43 billion, and a higher tax-to-GDP ratio of 13.5 per cent, up from seven per cent a few years ago.

    “These gains were made possible by bold reforms that promote productivity over consumption,” President Tinubu said.

    Read Also: FG, state govts urged to redouble efforts to tackle poverty

    He lauded Indimi for pledging a $250 million investment in Bauchi and urged others to partner with the federal and state governments on viable projects. “This is not the time for mere talk. Let us move from paper to performance,” he added.

    Obasanjo, who inaugurated the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Conference Centre, described it as a world-class facility that could make Bauchi a hub for tourism and investment.

    He commended Governor Mohammed for his vision and pledged to support the state’s investment drive.

    Mohammed assured investors of safety, saying: “We will make you and your investments safer than us.”

    He said the state would expand solar projects and improve water management to support industrial growth.

    World Bank: reforms boost revenue

    The World Bank Group reported that Nigeria’s economic reforms have significantly increased government revenues at all levels, leading to higher capital spending by federal and state governments.

    This was contained in its Nigeria Development Update (NDU) titled “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home”, released in Abuja yesterday.

    World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said the reforms are delivering measurable fiscal outcomes, including improved revenue generation, higher public investment, and macroeconomic stability.

    Lead Economist Samer Matta said gross revenues shared as federation allocations have risen sharply over the past eight months.

    However, he cautioned that “a large portion of what is collected goes to deductions that don’t impact real development outcomes.”

    The report noted that sub-governments now allocate 60–65 per cent of total spending to capital projects.

    Capital spending by states rose from about one per cent of GDP in 2022 to a projected 2.7 per cent by 2025.

    Verghis observed that at the federal level, recurrent expenditure still dominates, with wages and salaries taking about 70 per cent of total spending.

    He said the economy is showing “encouraging signs of stabilisation” as revenue collection improves, debt indicators strengthen, and inflation begins to ease.

    However, he warned that poverty levels remain alarming, projecting 139 million Nigerians could live in poverty by 2025. “The challenge is how to translate stabilisation gains into better living standards,” he said.

    Verghis urged the government to reduce inflation, especially food inflation, use public funds efficiently, and expand social safety nets.

    The report projects GDP growth to rise to 4.4 per cent by 2027, driven by stronger services, agriculture rebound, and industrial recovery under a stable macroeconomic environment.

    Inflation is expected to fall to 15.8 per cent, and fiscal deficit to average 2.7 per cent of GDP between 2026 and 2027.

    Nigeria’s debt, the Bank said, would remain stable in the low 40 per cent of GDP range, though risks persist from oil price shocks, reform fatigue, and climate events.

    Overall, the World Bank said Nigeria’s reforms are yielding fiscal and macroeconomic gains, but the main challenge remains ensuring these translate into tangible improvements in living standards and poverty reduction.

  • FG, state govts urged to redouble efforts to tackle poverty

    FG, state govts urged to redouble efforts to tackle poverty

    As Nigerians marked the historic National Independence anniversary on Wednesday, a clarion appeal has gone to both the Federal and state governments to urgently redouble their efforts and actions to tackle and reduce poverty in Nigeria.

     This call was made by an elder statesman, Chief Adesunbo Onitiri in a statement issued in Lagos, Friday.

     Onitiri appreciated the efforts of the Tinubu administration in revamping the nation’s already battered economy, but pleaded that both the Federal Government and states must redouble their efforts to bring the situation of poverty and insecurity under control.

     He said with the plenty of revenues state governments are getting from the federation accounts presently, they have no excuse not to perform and give their people more developments and dividends of democracy.

    Read Also: Utomi leads maiden discourse on poverty reduction

     In the statement titled: ‘Reminiscence And Expectations of  Nigerians After 65th independent Anniversary”, the Elder statesman pointed out:

     “Most Nigerians claim there is nothing so far to celebrate except the Renewed Hope Agenda.

     According to Onitiri, Nigerians are so easy to govern. What they want are good potable water to drink; uninterrupted light supply; good roads, employment for young graduates and others; enabling the environment for businesses to thrive; and good care for the elderly.

     Onitiri commended the great efforts of President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in revamping the economic quagmire, “and taking us back on track.’

     He urged all Nigerians to be patient with him and cooperate with the present regime to take us to the Promised Land.

  • FG unveils revised national employment policy to lift Nigerians out of poverty 

    FG unveils revised national employment policy to lift Nigerians out of poverty 

    The federal government has launched the Revised National Employment Policy 2005 to lift Nigerians out of poverty.

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi who launched the policy, explained that the revised policy offers a bold, inclusive and future-fit solutions to the nation’s employment challenges.

    He noted that the policy would provide a labour market that delivers inclusive growth, equity, productivity, and sustainability for every Nigerian.

    The minister said that the review was necessitated by Nigeria’s employment landscape, which has been challenged by high youth unemployment, underemployment, informality, gender disparities, and regional inequalities.

    He recalled that the recent COVID-19 pandemic further exposed Nigeria’s vulnerabilities, and the need for proactive, adaptive, and progressive employment policies. 

    Beyond the pandemic, he noted that the global world of work is being reshaped by automation, climate change, digitisation, demographic shifts, and geopolitical uncertainties, making it imperative to respond, not with business as-usual frameworks, but with bold, inclusive, and future-fit solutions, which the Revised NEP represents.

    Dingyadi said, “The NEP 2025 is not a stand-alone policy. It is a strategic compass aligned with Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021-2025), ECOWAS Labour and Employment Protocols, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the International Labour Organisation’s Future of Work Initiative.

    “The NEP 2025 is fully aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. At the heart of the Renewed Hope Agenda is a national commitment to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty through job creation, youth empowerment, enterprise development, digital innovation, and inclusive growth. This policy offers a coherent roadmap to actualise those goals by promoting decent work, formalising the informal economy, boosting employability, and unlocking emerging sectors for job creation.”

    Read Also: NLC raises concerns over new industrial relations policy

    The minister said that in line with President Tinubu’s vision, the NEP identifies employment not only as an economic objective, but also as a tool for social justice, national security, and sustainable development.

    He explained that the policy provides the strategic direction for all employment-related initiatives under the administration, ensuring synergy across government organisations and alignment with national priorities, while also ensuring inclusivity for the youth, women, and persons with disabilities.

    He stated that the revised NEP provides practical guidelines and targeted strategies to address employment challenges, and also introduces measurable indicators and timelines to enable evidence-based implementation and monitoring.

    Dingyadi noted that the NEP 2025 significantly recognises the evolving shape of the Nigerian economy, integrating emerging sectors such as Digital Economy, Blue Economy, Green Economy, and Orange Economy. 

    He said that the policy also recognises Remote Work (Telework) as “an increasingly viable and flexible mode of employment, especially for persons with disabilities, women with care responsibilities, and others facing mobility constraints.”

    He called for collective efforts to bring the policy to life, including clear political will, sustained financing, institutional accountability, and most of all, partnerships.

    While calling on state governments to domesticate the NEP, and align their job creation strategies with this national framework, he urged the private sector to collaborate with government in designing labour market-responsive skills programmes, investing in employment-rich sectors, and supporting workplace innovation and formalisation.

    He solicited the continued support of development partners, which will be critical in strengthening national capacities, building employment data systems, and ensuring inclusivity in the labour market.

    The minister called on the youth and workers’ organisations to own the policy and engage with it, monitor its implementation, and hold the government accountable.

    Director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Vanessa Phala underscored the importance of promoting policy coherence across employment, education, social protection, labour migration, and skills. 

    She said, “This is essential to ensure that lifelong learning and employment-intensive investments are systematically incorporated to advance sustainable development.”

    Represented by Austin Erameh, Phala congratulated the federal government for leading the revision and the launch of the national employment policy.

    She said the revised NEP would address Nigeria’s labour market challenges and decent work deficits such as unemployment, underemployment, and job quality by fostering sustainable economic growth, increasing workforce participation, and elevating job standards across multiple sectors.

  • Panacea to multidimensional poverty in the country, by don

    Panacea to multidimensional poverty in the country, by don

    • By: John Adeyemi

    Prof. Comfort Moradeke Amire, a professor of Economics at the Crawford University, has underscored the need to deploy a multifaceted approach to reduce poverty in the country. She urged policymakers to re-evaluate health expenditure allocations to prioritise preventive care for impoverished communities and to enhance access to private sector credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

    She noted that to leverage the positive impact of private sector credit on poverty reduction, initiatives to improve access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be prioritised, stressing the need to provide incentives for financial institutions to extend credit to underserved populations.

    Prof. Amire delivered the 10th Inaugural Lecture of Crawford University, Igbesa, Ogun State. It was entitled: “Poverty and Sustainable Development: Can Capacity Building Bridge the Gap?”

    The professor of Economics stressed  that increased access to private sector credit correlates with reduced poverty levels, highlighting the potential of financial sector interventions to foster economic activities and employment opportunities.

    She added that  enhancing private sector credit could be a viable strategy for poverty reduction, complementing government efforts in health and education.

    “The widespread poverty in Nigeria is exacerbated by rapid population growth, inflation, and governance challenges that hinder equitable resource distribution.

    “It is the lack of basic necessities due to limited access to productive resources. It is marked by unemployment, low-income rates, and inadequate access to healthcare and education,” she said.

    The don emphasised the importance of capacity building as a catalyst for economic development.

    Read Also: Menstrual Hygiene Day: First Lady calls for end to period poverty

    She said: “Capacity building serves as a catalyst for socio-economic transformation. When targeted and effectively implemented, capacity building inputs lay the groundwork for sustainable development by enhancing individual capacities, strengthening institutions, and promoting inclusive economic growth. Strategic investment in these areas is vital for achieving long-term socio-economic goals.

    The inability to tackle poverty in developing countries amid the growing population calls for the need to develop the human capital components. The essence of rapid population growth will be defeated if not backed up with adequate capability to become productive pillars in the economy. What, then, is the essence of being called a giant of Africa without adequate potential commensurate with the demands of self-actualisation and sustenance?”

    “In any economy, capacity building, human capital development and poverty reduction have many dynamic benefits crucial for economic transformation.

    “Capacity building involves enhancing individual skills, institutional capabilities, and systemic frameworks.

    Since Government Expenditure on Health, Education expenditure, Gross Female Enrolment Rate, Gross Male Enrolment Rate, Human Development Index, and Life Expectancy have a significant influence on the poverty rate in Nigeria, special attention must be given to these variables by the government to break the vicious circle of poverty in Nigeria.”

     She also sought practical strategies such as vocational training programmes, entrepreneurship development, and digital literacy initiatives to equip Nigerians, particularly youth and women, with the skills needed for economic empowerment.

  • Understanding retirement poverty

    Understanding retirement poverty

    • By Timi Olubiyi

    Across the African continent, a silent crisis is unfolding: the rise of retirement poverty; only a few have retirement security. From Lagos to Lusaka, retirement is becoming not a time of rest but a significant economic concern for the elderly, marked by overdependence on children and increasing poverty.

    Despite decades of service, countless Africans reach old age without savings, without a reliable pension, and without the means to meet basic needs; and this is a worrying concern. In Nigeria, for instance, like many other places in Africa, rising living costs have worsened the retirement outlook since 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic.

    This retirement poverty trend has become more visible than ever in Nigeria, where the experience mirrors that of many African nations. In countries like Kenya, Ghana, and Uganda, pension coverage remains low, and the quality of life for the elderly is declining, particularly after their meritorious service and business management years. While many factors contribute to this retirement poverty crisis, one issue stands out. It is the growing concern of a lack of cash flow.

    The lack and absence of steady, predictable income during retirement directly translates into poverty in old age. Retirement poverty refers to the situation where individuals lack sufficient financial resources to maintain a decent standard of living after they retire. The opposite of it is to have retirement security. But the fact is that growing older means living with less income expectations, yet savings can never be enough.

    In recent times, many individuals in small businesses find themselves working well into old age, trading, hawking goods, performing manual labour, or turning to street begging. For those with health challenges, the consequences are even more dire and difficult, all to no access to cash flow.

    Read Also: East-West road for completion in December, Eleme axis opens in 10 days, FG assures

    The informal sector contributes over 60% of Nigeria’s GDP and employs more than 80% of its workforce. Yet, the pension schemes available in the country barely cater to this segment, that is, informal micro and small businesses. The majority of workers, especially those in this informal sector, such as agriculture, petty trading, and transportation, lack social protection or a structured retirement savings plan.

    The informal sector, which is the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, is technically and largely excluded from pension scheme coverage. For them, old age arrives with no guaranteed income, and financial security relies on extended family, faith-based charity, or sheer luck. While I agree that Nigeria’s National Pension Commission (PenCom) launched the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) in 2019 to extend coverage to informal workers, uptake remains low due to a lack of awareness, poor financial literacy, general distrust of financial institutions, and, once again, wide spread irregular cash flows.

    I realise that before now most elderly and retirees usually save up for retirement, or make property investments, especially those who are middle-income earners in Africa, but in recent times the capacity to save for retirement is crippled by irregular or insufficient income and, in particular, the continued inflationary pressure.

     At the heart of retirement poverty is a fundamental issue: cash flow and savings. Daily earners and small business owners in Nigeria often face volatile cash inflows, which make consistent savings difficult, if not impossible. Inflation, currently hovering in double digits in Nigeria, erodes whatever little savings many manage to accumulate. For most people, survival takes precedence over long- term planning. Retirees who worked in the informal sector largely depend on adult children or extended family networks for support.

    However, the erosion of traditional family structures, rural-urban migration, and economic hardships among younger generations have weakened this safety net. Considering the cost of living, rent, and transportation in a place like Lagos, Nigeria, there is no way a retiree can live comfortably without external support in the form of a constant cash flow.

    When food prices, fuel costs, and rent increase unpredictably, any available cash is quickly consumed by urgent needs. The problem of retirement poverty in Nigeria, and indeed Africa, is fundamentally a cash flow problem at the individual, institutional, and national levels. Moreover, cash flow problems are not confined to individuals. Governments across the continent are grappling with delayed salary payments, arrears, and underfunded pension systems. In South Africa, although the elderly grant system provides a little relief, it is facing increasing pressure as the number of beneficiaries rises.

    In Africa’s most populous country, citizens’ daily survival takes precedence over long-term financial planning or retirement. Workers, especially those in informal sectors like retail, farming, trading, transport, and artisanry, earn irregular income, often paid in daily cash, with no access to structured savings or pension schemes. You will agree with me that when income is uncertain and living expenses are rising, saving for retirement becomes a luxury that only a few can afford. More so, chronic cash flow challenges have turned retirement into a period of anxiety for millions. Yet this trend is growing without any succour in sight. Without urgent intervention, the golden years risk becoming a generation’s greatest fear.

    Retirement security in Nigeria is not just about pension policies. When cash does not flow reliably into the hands of citizens, it cannot flow out to support them in old age. When individuals do not have consistent income, they cannot make consistent contributions. And when contributions are irregular, future retirement income becomes uncertain or non-existent. Therefore, addressing retirement poverty and improving retirement security in Nigeria, or Africa, requires direct intervention in a meaningful way, such as by expanding pension schemes and financial access for informal workers, and providing social interventions. More so, it is important to strengthen the awareness of pension schemes and their benefits, improve financial literacy at every level—individual, employer, and government, in particular on cash flow.

    Because the truth is simple: without cash flow, there is no retirement security. Only prolonged poverty will exist. Statistics and surveys have shown that poverty among older adults could worsen in a few years if the governments in Africa do not address pension coverage issues.

    •Olubiyi – drtimiolubiyi@gmail.com

  • $18b cash needed to tackle poverty, others

    $18b cash needed to tackle poverty, others

    A total of $16billion cash would be needed to combat the scourge of malaria that lubricates the engine of poverty, under-productivity, under-investment and impedes overall development in Nigeria and 10 other parts of Africa

    Africa still bears the brunt of the global malaria burden—with 94per cent of cases occurring on the continent. According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 2024 World Malaria Report, approximately two thirds of global malaria cases and deaths are concentrated in 11 African countries including Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. While the world must mobilise around Africa to put an end to malaria, the disease remains a deeply local public health issue and a challenge for the new generation of African scientists.

    Eliminating malaria demands African leadership, innovation, and investment.

    Research Associate for Outreach at Target Malaria and Global Fund Advocates Network speaker, Krystal Birungi said $18 billion would be required to save 23 million lives between 2027 and 2029, and reduce the combined mortality rate by another 64per cent, relative to 2023 levels, and to prevent around 400 million infections.

    The WHO Report indicates that there were 11 million more cases of the disease in 2023 than there were in 2022. Another 600,000 people died in 2023 with no significant improvement compared to 2022. While some progress has been made in combating malaria, it is not enough, or fast enough. Existing prevention methods like drugs, bed nets, and vaccines have saved millions of lives, however, they will unlikely be able to take us to eliminating the disease completely.

    Read Also: New refinery licences

     Birungi said: “The reality is malaria kills mostly children under five in Africa, and hits the poorest hardest—fueling a cycle of poverty, underproductivity, underinvestment, impeding overall development.

     “Imagine what our continent could achieve if the resources spent on malaria were freed up for education, infrastructure, and economic growth. But we will only get there if we match bold innovation with bold investment.”

     Now, the global fight against malaria must intensify in light of global aid decreases. Target Malaria remains at the forefront of scientific innovation in its commitment to eliminating the deadly disease. The research consortium’s gene drive technology is a potential tool for vector control and would be complementary to other control methods offering a sustainable approach to control malaria.

     “Our technology aims to provide protection from malaria mosquitoes for everyone in the community, regardless of their education, wealth or ability to access healthcare services.”

     “But, our work does not happen in isolation and sustained global funding for malaria research remains essential. For this World Malaria Day (April 25th, 2025), now is the time to double down because eliminating malaria isn’t just possible—it’s inevitable, if we choose to fund it and fight for it together,” Birungi said.

  • ‘Govt, private sector should tackle poverty’

    ‘Govt, private sector should tackle poverty’

    A United States of America (USA)-based philanthropist, Mrs Temitope Sonuga has canvassed  government and private sector partnership to address hunger and poverty in the country.

    Sharing her experience during her foundation’s food distribution to residents of Ajegunle, Makoko and Sabo (Yaba) during Christmas, she said the hunger and poverty had affected the dignity of Nigerians.  No fewer than 1000 palliatives were handed over to indigent residents at the event.

     She said: “With what I saw on ground, the Federal Government, philanthropists  as well as the organised private sector will need to come together to tame this monster which has become a ticking bomb to the country. We saw poverty on the streets first hand and we are of the opinion that this is an emergency on our hands which we must all collectively come together to tame.”

    Read Also: Arewa group hails Tinubu’s leadership efforts in restoring peace, prosperity in North

     Mrs Sonuga said the foundation is  dedicated to ending hunger and providing consistent access to nutritious meals for those who need them most.

    “We believe no one should go hungry.

    Through food distribution, partnerships, and community programs, we work to make sure everyone has enough to eat. Our efforts go beyond just providing meals—we aim to create long-term solutions to fight food insecurity and build stronger communities,” she added.

  • Exacerbating poverty in northwest

    Exacerbating poverty in northwest

    Every effort should be made to pulverize the so called Lukarawa terrorists, mutating in the northwest in its infancy considering what the nation went through in the hands of the Boko Haram. The news that a new terror group has metamorphosed in the country broke last week, after the group killed 15 persons in Mera, Augie Local Government Area, of Kebbi State. The Defence Headquarters announced that the group moved into Sokoto and Kebbi states, from Niger and the Sahel region.

    Expectedly, the governor of Kebbi State, Nasir Idris, has called on the military to save the people from the danger posed by the terrorist group. Unlike in the past, nobody is playing politics with whether the invaders are mere bandits or have metamorphosed to terrorists. Even without waiting for the federal government to take steps to formally declare the group as a terrorist organization, the Kebbi State government and the socio-political organization, the Arewa Consultative Assembly (ACF), are united in calling the emergent group a terrorist organization.

    In the past, politics would have overshadowed the looming danger posed by the armed terror group. According to Prof Tukur Mohammed Baba: “The Arewa Consultative Forum is deeply concerned about the emergence of a new armed terror group, Lakurawa, in northwest states of Kebbi and Sokoto, as confirmed by local authorities as well as the DHQ.” He went on: “Lukarawas, at this incipient stage of its emergence, must not be tolerated or allowed to entrench itself to be embedded in our communities through benign neglect and/or kid-glove treatment, as was the case with Boko Haram insurgency, farmer-herder clashes and banditry in the Northeast, North-central and Northwest areas, respectively.”

    It is interesting that the farmer-herder clashes in the North-central is now lined up together with other terrorist acts, in other parts of the north, instead of the prevailing attempt to label it as mere economic dispute between pastoralists and farmers. And yet, the people we call herders, wantonly kill hundreds, in communities across the Northcentral, in many instances seeking to wipe out entire residents of villages and communities. The ACF which is quick to call for action when herders are attacked, usually keep mum and ask for understanding when mayhem is visited on the farming communities.

    Read Also: TETFund rakes N1.5trn as education tax in 2024

    This saddening attitude was displayed by former president, Muhammadu Buhari, who called on communities at the risk of genocide by rampaging herders, to show compassion for their fellow citizens seeking a means of livelihood. Instead of dealing with the terrorists masquerading as herders, the government sought some form of appeasement, which was called RUGA. With the government and influential leaders showing lack of neutrality in the incessant crisis, government policies to ameliorate the crisis always meet with a brick wall.

     Sadly, the insincerity of purpose has made it difficult for government to deal with that crisis which has contributed greatly to the food insecurity facing the country. The Boko Haram crisis followed a different trajectory, but almost consumed the entire Northeast. The insurgency which started in 2009, as a rebellion against the secular government in Borno State, eventuated into a terror machine ravaging parts of Northern Cameroun, Southern Niger and Western Chad. Even with a combination of forces across the affected countries, defeating the group has become an uphill task.

    The result is that about 38,683 lives have been lost, 244,000 turned into refugees and 952,029 children made to drop out of school. Of course there is massive destruction of communities and devastating effects on the social, economic and general lives of the people. According to the World Bank, the conflict has significantly destroyed physical infrastructure, disrupted social services and dislocated social cohesion among the people.  These challenges according to the UNDP, further affected the precarious lives of people, with a poverty rate of 69 percent and a literacy rate of 28 percent.

    Sadly, the Northwest, the emerging epicentre of the new terror group, despite its political advantages since independence, is the second most underdeveloped region of the country. It ranks very poor in human development index and has the highest population amongst the regions, in Nigeria – a combination that makes recruitment of followers for the new terror group easier. The region has 75.8 percent of its population entangled in multi-dimensional poverty; slightly lower that 76.5 percent for the Northeast. And on state basis, Sokoto has the highest, at 86.10, Jigawa – 83.30, Zamfara – 82.70, Kebbi – 79.10, Katsina – 77.50, and Kano – 68.80. 

    The three regions in the north make up more than 70 percent of the Nigeria’s total multidimensional poor. According to the UNDP, “the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) represents the number of people who are multi-dimensionally poor and the deprivations such people face at the household level. It is the share of the population that is multi-dimensionally poor adjusted by the intensity of deprivation.” It went on “Poverty is not merely the impoverished state in which a person actually lives in, but a lack of real opportunities due to social and other constraints and circumstances that inhibit living a valuable and dignified life.”

    With the destructive tendencies of terror groups, if the nascent terror organization in the northwest is allowed to fester and expand, the already bad situation would only get worse. The responsibility to ensure that Lukarawas do not gain foothold in the region is that of the community and traditional leaders, local government authorities, state governments and the federal government. Sadly, the maladministration of the past and perhaps the present, exacerbated the level of poverty in the region, and thus a potential nest for the terrorist group.

    If the level of literacy and other social indices in the region were better, the group would never have contemplated making the region a potential base. But apparently, after looking at all the indices, they may have come to the conclusion, that their terror group would do well, in such a nest of poverty and underdevelopment. As this writer has argued recently, the northern region must wake up to the numerous challenges facing it, and by extension, the entire country. The age-long attempt to curtail the spread of western education is at the root of the poverty in the region.

    Unfortunately, some of the leaders instead of making a differentiation between education and religion, lumps the two together, and in resisting the spread of other religions, also build a bulwark against education. Yet, Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirate have leaders who trained in western countries. Even local leaders in Nigeria, attended schools in western countries, yet, the ordinary people are encouraged to treat western education, as haram.

    The northern leaders already campaigning to take over power in 2027 may be behaving like the proverbial man chasing rats while the roof of his house is on fire.

  • How systemic gender inequality fuels poverty among women, by Zainab Marwa

    How systemic gender inequality fuels poverty among women, by Zainab Marwa

    The founder of a non-governmental organization (NGO), Aspire Women Forum, Dr. Zainab Marwa, has said systemic gender inequality is one of the major causes of poverty among women in Nigeria, especially in the Northcentral.

    Dr. Marwa aid this in a paper, titled: The Intersectionality of Poverty and Gender in North Central Nigeria, she presented as the guest lecturer at the ninth distinguished public lecture of the Federal University in Lokoja, Kogi State.

    The activist noted that despite several intervention programmes, poverty still persisted among women.

    “Imagine a land where resources are plentiful, yet the hands that toil hardest remain the most deprived. In the heart of Northcentral Nigeria, this paradox is the daily reality for millions of women. While the region is celebrated for its rich cultural heritage and abundant resources, its women are caught in the relentless grip of poverty working tirelessly but rarely reaping the rewards of their labour.

    Read Also: PiCNG delivers 10 CNG buses to Kogi

    “These women don’t just face economic hardship; they endure a web of systemic inequalities that restrict their progress, dim their potential, and amplify their struggles,” she said.

    “According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2020), 70 per cent of Nigerians below the poverty line are women. Northcentral Nigeria has a 57.3 per cent poverty rate among women, versus 45.5 per cent among men. Women face education barriers with 59.3 per cent literacy rate, compared to 74.4 per cent for men (UNDP, 2020). Only 21 per cent of women engage in paid employment (ILO, 2020). These statistics represent restricted opportunities and lost potential,” she said.

    Dr. Marwa contextualised the challenges that make it difficult for women to break the cycle of poverty.

    She said: “In predominantly Muslim areas, cultural norms may prioritise early marriage for girls, which can limit their educational opportunities. A woman from a rural community may face significant barriers to owning land due to traditional inheritance laws that favour male relatives.

    “In urban settings, women from low-income backgrounds may struggle to access quality healthcare. Intersectionality encourages us to consider how gender, along with factors, like ethnicity, marital status, and location, affects a woman’s experience of poverty.

    “For example, a widowed woman in a rural area faces different challenges than a married woman in a city, impacting their access to resources and risk of violence.”

  • Poverty, inequality and the fierce urgency of now

    Poverty, inequality and the fierce urgency of now

    When in 2022 the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released figures indicating that at least 63% of people living in the country, about 133 million persons, were multidimensionally poor, fresh posers were raised about how that fate of mass immiseration could be the reality of a country as abundantly endowed in human, natural and mineral resources as Nigeria. The abysmally pathetic living conditions of the vast majority of Nigerians is a protracted challenge that has faced the country for the best part of her post-independence existence and one that inexplicably worsens rather than being ameliorated as time unfolds.

    It becomes more and more evident with the passage of time that Nigeria is essentially, beneath its mosaic of multiple ethnicities and rival spiritualisms, a class society bifurcated into a few enormously monied and propertied elite and the vast majority of the citizenry striving at the fringes to eke out some sort of meaningful existence. The erosion of a comfortable and not insubstantial middle-class stratum that began with the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) by the General Ibrahim Babangida regime in 1986 has continued apace with the effluxion of time such that the obscenely affluent and desperately poor stand in relatively sharp contradistinction to one another in today’s Nigeria.

    But how did the Tinubu administration perform the feat of removing the fuel subsidy in one fell swoop by a final ominous presidential pronouncement that ‘fuel subsidy is gone’ without eliciting instant mass uprising? There was clearly a consensus across party lines during the campaigns towards the 2023 polls that the humongous corruption associated with the fuel subsidy was no longer sustainable. Hence the presidential candidates of the major parties had promised to remove the subsidy immediately upon assuming power. The key International Financial Institutions (IFIs), the IMF, and the World Bank were also strong advocates of instantaneous removal of the subsidy. With the benefit of hindsight, however, it would appear that the fuel subsidy played a greater role than most assumed in preventing the escalation of food, transport, and costs of many other items beyond the reach of the common man.

    Read Also: Nigeria sets world record for highest number of lactating mothers breastfeeding

    But the Tinubu administration went beyond fuel subsidy removal to also announce the bold initiative of merging the then-existing parallel foreign exchange markets thereby eliminating the opportunity its existence created for those well connected at the Central Bank to buy cheap at the official rate and sell exorbitantly at the parallel market to reap huge dollar dividends without an iota of labour. These twin reform platforms had severe implications for the value of the Naira and heralded stiff inflationary spirals that worsened poverty levels.

    It was, of course, only natural that political opponents of the administration would strive to blame all the current hardships on its economic policies and refuse to admit that these were measures that ought to have been taken years ago by preceding administrations that lacked the courage to seize the bull of economic reforms by the horns. Given the bitterness that characterized the 2023 election campaigns, the refusal of many to come to terms with the reality of the loss of their candidates at the polls, and the desperate attempts to denude the Tinubu administration of any veneer of electoral legitimacy, it is surprising that the government was given the respite of over one year in office before the current attempts to instigate national protests against the economic hardships attributed by propagandists to ‘bad governance’.

    It is obvious that the disguised faces behind the planned ’10 days of rage’ against economic hardship between August 1 and 10 were motivated by events in Kenya where attempts by the William Ruto government to introduce new taxes spurred widespread protests and riots that left large-scale destruction of private and public assets in its wake. But Nigeria’s experience with the #EndSars destructive protests over four years ago, a rage of violence from which many parts of the country particularly Lagos are only gradually emerging, no doubt made many people unwilling to lend their support to a repeat of such havoc anywhere in the country.

    But the fact that a not insignificant number of people in some states heeded the call of the ‘unknown’ organizers of the protests to hit the streets in anger is an indication of the immense hardships caused by the unceasing escalation of fuel, transportation, food, electricity and costs of drugs over the last one year. The less than enthusiastic response to the instigation to engage in ’10 days of rage’ in many parts of the country, however, is due to the significant dose of goodwill the Tinubu administration still enjoys despite the excruciatingly stringent economic realities experienced by the majority of Nigerians.

    For one, the administration has made humongous tranches of funds available to the sub-national units of government for the provision of palliatives to the most vulnerable sections of the populace. Again, some of its measures such as the students’ loan scheme, financial succor for micro, small and medium enterprises, waiver of import duties on some essential food imports, removal of import duties on essential pharmaceutical commodities and drugs, distribution of truckloads of grains to states from the national reserves, institution of an over N1 trillion commodity credit scheme to enhance the purchasing power of citizens and support for compressed natural gas vehicles among others are evidence of the administration’s determination to provide a cushion of support for millions of Nigerians in hard times. What is of critical importance now is the efficient implementation of many of these measures to achieve the desired outcome.

    Commendable as these initiatives are, it is of utmost importance that the government realizes the degree of hardship being endured by the vast majority of citizens and accelerates its tempo of policies and actions toward decisively easing the pain. The government must recognize what Martin Luther King referred to as ‘the fierce urgency of now’ in tackling current economic hardships being experienced by millions of citizens.

    What are some of the urgent, ameliorative steps that the government can take in this regard? First, is in the area of security. The committee set up to map out a plan for the actualization of state police is moving at too leisurely a pace given the urgency of the situation. If that effort is being bogged down by inevitable complications and complexities, the federal government should fast track the establishment of the ‘forest rangers’ promised in President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. This will be a well-trained, armed, and motivated force that will secure forests and farmlands thus ensuring that thousands of farmers are able to return to their farms, boost food productivity, and thus make essential food items affordable for millions of citizens. It will be far more effective and efficient to bring down food costs through enhanced agricultural productivity than distribution of free food palliatives to targets that may never receive them.

    Again, the administration should intensify its efforts to retrieve back into the public purse billions of illegally and criminally accumulated funds by former and current public office holders. It has been argued that getting back these stolen funds will mitigate the need for increasing the country’s foreign debt stock while also providing funds for the actualization of the administration’s many critical capital projects. The administration need not engage in any dramatics or histrionics in this regard. All it needs to do is give the anti-graft agencies the freedom to function in accordance with the statutory laws that guide their operations. The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, for instance, has demonstrated a commendable enthusiasm to deliver on his statutory mandate. He should be encouraged.

    Recently, when the management team of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) paid him a courtesy call, the EFCC Chairman lamented, “When I look at some case files and see the humongous amount of money stolen, I wonder how we are still surviving. If you see some case files, you will weep. The way they move unspent budget allocations to private accounts in commercial banks before midnight at the end of a budget cycle you will wonder what kind of spirit drives us as Nigerians.” He was of the view that if public corruption is effectively eliminated in Nigeria, “the country would fare better than many countries of the world”.

    While the Tinubu administration had taken steps to ensure a thorough forensic audit of the CBN on the assumption of office and top officials of the apex bank are facing the law for corrupt practices and forfeiting funds and property to the government, no such measures have been taken with regard to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). Yet, many experts have contended that notwithstanding the passage into law of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the NNPCL, its other subsidiaries and the country’s oil sector as a whole remain as opaque and thus susceptible to corrupt and underhand practices as ever.

    From an initial deadline of the presumably refurbished Port Harcourt refinery to commence production in December 2023, the timeline was shifted to April 2024. We are in August now and yet there is no clear indication of when the facility will go into operation. No meaningful solution seems to have been found to the industrial scale theft of the country’s crude oil on a daily basis and even the Dangote refinery which ought to have since commenced production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is bogged down in accusations and counter accusations with the NNPCL. Right now, long fuel queues have resurfaced in Lagos, Abuja and a number of urban centres across the country. Something is seriously wrong somewhere. There is surely an urgent need for a forensic audit of all aspects of the country’s oil industry particularly the NNPCL if the great work that Mr. Wale Edun, Minister for Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy as well as the CBN governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, are doing are to yield concrete results.

    According to OXFAM International a few years ago, “Nigeria is not a poor country yet millions are living in hunger. The government must work with the international community to get food and aid to hungry people now. But it can’t stop there. It must free millions of Nigerians from poverty by building a new political and economic system that works for everyone, not just a fortunate few”. These words ring even truer today. The Tinubu administration must be as concerned with dealing with the challenge of mitigating absolute poverty as with that of reducing extreme inequality. As one report put it, “While more than 112 million people are living in poverty in Nigeria, yet the country’s richest man would have to spend $1 million a day for 42 years to exhaust his fortune”. These obscene levels of poverty and inequality demand that urgent, remedial measures be taken with the fierce urgency of now.

    A critical source of the ever-growing inequality that is a key feature of Nigeria’s economic crisis is the glaring disparity between elected and appointed public officeholders and the rest of the populace. Nigerian national legislators, for instance, are cited as being among the most amply rewarded in the world while there is little concord between their remunerations and allowances and their actual productive output. But then, this is a problem that goes beyond the legislature and applies equally to members of the executive too at all levels of government. The problem is compounded by the fact that a substantial number of the citizenry actually expect public office holders ‘representing’ them in government to criminally ‘privatize’ public funds in their care so that the constituents can also enjoy their share of the ‘national cake’. Once again, we must stress the critical importance of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to help re-orientate national values as a necessary condition for socioeconomic recovery and rapid positive transformation.