Poverty is a defining challenge in Nigeria. More than half of the Nigerian population is poor. It is a reflection of persistent disadvantages for particular segments of our society. Different factors ranging from unemployment, insecurity, inflation, and poor economic policies are responsible for poverty in Nigeria.
The poor and the middle class in Nigeria matter the most for economic growth and development. Economic policies focusing on the poor and the middle class have the potential of increasing employment, production, income, and consumption, and can subsequently lead to inclusive growth.
The poor in the society live on less than $1.90 a day, according to the World Bank. The population of the poor in Nigeria is alarming. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 40.1 percent of Nigerians, which is about 83 million people, lived below the poverty line in 2019.
The World Bank reported that about seven million Nigerians would be plugged into poverty in 2021 following the prevalence of high commodities prices in the market. Today, the economic realities in Nigeria show that the majority of Nigerians are poor and malnourished.
Economic policies have not favoured the majority in Nigeria. The poor and the middle class in Nigeria are suffering deprivations and inequalities caused by the government’s poor economic policies. The sufferings of the majority have significant implications for growth and macroeconomic stability in the country.
The poor and the middle class in Nigeria are not getting the quality education required to contribute meaningfully to economic growth due to poor funding. The funding of the Nigerian education sector falls below the recommended international standard of 15-20 percent of the national budgeted expenditure by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Following poor budgetary allocation to the education sector in Nigeria, many primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions in both rural and urban areas do not have the required facilities and teachers. Government economic policies that focus on education have the full potential of increasing the skills, knowledge, and abilities of the poor and the middle class, thereby resulting in economic growth.
The provision of quality education for the poor and the middle class may help to reduce the inequality of outcomes and of opportunities in Nigeria. Some of the educated poor Nigerians may find opportunities in the industries and political offices to earn higher salaries to bridge the gap between the rich and poor in the country.
The high unemployment rate in Nigeria is a contributing factor to poverty. According to the NBS, the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4) was 33.3 percent, an increase from the 27.1 percent recorded in Q2 2020. The youth unemployment rate (15-34 years) was 42.5 percent in Q4 2020. This rate shows how deteriorated the labour situation is in Nigeria.
The health sector in Nigeria is worrisome. The rich and the political class do not use Nigerian hospitals because of their deteriorated state. Many poor Nigerians who cannot access and afford foreign hospital bills are dying in numbers.
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Nigeria’s government should focus on the health sector by making adequate funds available for the necessary facilities and employment of the right medical personnel. This will enable the poor and the middle class to access affordable health care services to boost their productive capacity towards higher economic growth.
In Nigeria, infrastructure deficiency has been a problem. Nigeria’s government should as well make adequate infrastructure development policies for the provision of the necessary infrastructure. Addressing the infrastructural gap challenge through private and public participation will help to mitigate the sufferings of Nigerians.
The poor in the Northeast and Middle Belt states in Nigeria cannot carry out adequate farming activities due to insecurity problems. They are still afraid of being raped or killed by terrorists. Nigeria’s government must win the battle against insecurity to enable the farmers to carry out farming activities.
The Nigerian government must strive to regulate prices, thereby reducing inflation to a low single-digit. Many Nigerians are suffering from the impact of high inflation. Nigerians pay almost three times for the same quantity of goods and services they bought in 2014.
Nigeria’s government should make economic policies that focus on the poor and the middle class to mitigate poverty, which is slowing down economic growth and development in Nigeria. Economic policies that focus on the reduction of poverty have the potential of increasing income, consumption, and production and subsequently lead to inclusive growth in Nigeria.
Felix Ashakah is economics lecturer at Western Delta University, Oghara
