Nigeria’s conditional cash grants aims to lift the poor

There is no gainsaying the fact that one of the aim and objective of a rational government is the creation of jobs and eradication of poverty, which economists agree is the cornerstone of economic growth and development. Lifting people out of penury while contemporaneously raising the necessary funds to finance such programmes have always been a conundrum for government across Africa.

However, the Nigerian government has decided to hold the bull by the horn by adopting a policy that will help combat extreme poverty. That proactive policy is the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme (CCTS). According the World Bank and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) are social protection programmes that transfer cash based on premise that households – typically those with children and young family members – will use health, education or other services that policymakers consider of public interest.

The CCT is one of the strategies adopted by many developing countries for the eradication of poverty. This initiative was conceptualized in Latin America, and had been in use in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Nicaragua, among others before the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by nations of the world in 2000 In order to improve the lives of millions of Nigerians who currently live below the poverty line, government will give a stipend of N5000 monthly conditional cash transfer to one million extremely poor people in 2016.This translate to N5 billion.

The money will be disbursed through a mobile payment and no third party will be involved. This is to pave the way for transparency, accountability and probity. The World Bank and the Bill Gates Foundation are collaborating with the presidency to develop an efficient payment system.

According to the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, the scheme would meet the conditions of the children of some of the beneficiary participating in immunization and school enrolment but also boost the economy as the money would boost consumer spending in the economy. Apart from the stimulating broad base economic growth, prioritizing a social safety will help more than 120 million vulnerable Nigerians who currently live below the poverty line.