New humanitarian minister faces task of reducing widespread poverty

Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, the newly appointed minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, faces a major task of reducing the widespread poverty in Nigeria.

The ministry, which was established in August 2019 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, has yet to meet expectations, as many Nigerians fall deeper into poverty daily while it is mired in a number of controversies.

The ministry was designed to tackle social inequalities and reduce poverty by empowering the most vulnerable Nigerians through the development of policies and strategies aimed at improving the quality of life for those living in poverty.

However, the World Bank’s latest Nigeria Development Update report paints a grim picture of Nigeria, revealing that at least 129 million people in Africa’s most populous nation live below the national poverty line.

According to Statista, an estimated population of 88.4 million people in Nigeria lived in extreme poverty by 2022. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for the same year published by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that 63 percent of Nigeria’s population lived in multidimensionally poverty, which is equivalent to 133 million people.

This is despite the creation of this ministry, with the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP). The NSIP, which was initially under the presidency before the creation of the ministry, has gulped over N3 trillion since 2016, yet more Nigerians have been pushed into poverty.

The flagship programmes, including N-Power, TraderMoni, and the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme, were designed to empower Nigerians by providing skills training, financial assistance, and direct cash transfers.

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However, a growing number of voices argue that the impact has been disproportionately low, with many still struggling to break free from the chains of poverty.

All over the world, social safety nets are tools the government uses to help vulnerable people tackle hunger and poverty. According to the World Bank, social protection systems are at the heart of boosting human capital and empowering people.

But Nigeria’s ambitious social investment programmes have been short of expectation despite huge investment.

Clement Agba, a former minister of state for Budget and National Planning, revealed that over N3 trillion had been spent since inception to 2023.

Data from the ministry shows that N890.7 billion was spent on N-power, with N246 billion on CCT, N17.6 billion on GEEP, N2.7 million on Independent Monitors, while the school feeding programme gulped N200.9 billion.

Experts argue that these poverty alleviation programmes were poorly designed and executed, amidst allegations of mismanagement, corruption, and inefficiency. For instance, some argue that the ₦10,000 disbursement through TradeeMoni will not have an impact on small businesses and many traders saw the programme as a cash-out scheme.

There have also been concerns about the social safety register, with lots of eyebrows raised on how the government identified the vulnerable, especially due to the dearth of data in the country.

Just last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said although it supports the government’s decision to remove subsidies, those social safety measures were coming at a rather slow pace as citizens reel under cost-of-living crisis.

Oke Epia, executive director, Order Paper Advocacy Initiative, believes that the government needs to review and structure social investment and poverty alleviation programmes to ensure effective implementation.

“I believe that given the difficulties that people have been thrown into, the government must provide social safety nets to cushion the impact of economic policies. It is the implementation of the programmes that is the issue.

“What is the data governments use to determine the actual beneficiaries? Who are the people who need this palliative? Are they people contrived and put together by political parties and governors?

“If the palliatives are not getting to them, then we have a huge problem. It becomes what we generally conceive as a conduit pipe for corruption, wastage and mismanagement of public resources.”

The expert urged President Tinubu’s administration to ensure that the targeted beneficiaries are indeed the ones that get the help that they desperately need.

The responsibility now falls on Yilwatda to adopt effective strategies and implement programmes that can reach Nigeria’s vulnerable citizens.

Betta Edu was suspended from heading the ministry in January following an allegation of diversion of N585 million federal government’s grant meant for the vulnerable into private accounts.

Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Umar Farouk, is currently under investigation for mismanagement of public funds during her tenure.

All eyes are now on Yilwatda to bring about meaningful change and restore trust in the ministry, especially as millions of Nigerians who are grappling with poverty are yearning to feel the impact of government’s interventions.