• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Why FG cannot lift 34 million out of poverty by 2025

Poverty Nigeria

Despite efforts of the federal government to reduce poverty in the country, experts have said that it may not be able to meet its target of lifting 34 million people out of poverty by 2025.

Speaking during the debate on poverty reduction at the ongoing Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Efosa Ojomo, lead partner of the Global Prosperity Research Group stressed that lifting 34 million people out of poverty in four years is a burden that the government cannot lift all by itself.

According to him, the government has continued to allocate resources on so many projects instead of creating a sustainable solution to the problems.

“N5000 cash transfer will help some people in the main time but it will not lift 100 million out of poverty.

“So what we can do is to create a market for the poor people to thrive, spur investment in entrepreneurship, create a market that helps them solve their problems. Or else the impact of the government will be next to nothing, we have to change the paradigm to attain sustainable development,” he said.

According to him, the Nigerian currency is of less value today than it was 10 years ago as well as that the average Nigerian is suffering more today than 10 years ago, and the hardship may continue in years to come.

Read also: To secure Nigeria’s future: End subsidy, spend more on education, health – experts

He noted that countries like China were able to create the needed market, and it indeed lifted its people out of poverty.

“We need to think of how to make lives sustainable, we do not have that money to distribute, hence the need for more sustainable programs.

“We cannot give what we do not have, if we continue going to the World Bank to seek aid, we will not make the progress that we want,” he said.

The minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Musa Bello in his remark said that there was no right way to reduce poverty in the nations of the world, as each country develops according to its comparative strength.

According to him, the social investment programmes are not sustainable, “but a more sustainable solution is for us to patronise our Nigerian made products.

“If you incentivise the private sector and make them produce, as long we do not patronise them, they cannot make so much.

“We spend huge resources in exporting foreign goods. So we have to go back to made in Nigeria goods, incentivise the manufacturing sector, stop importing foreign products and buy made in Nigeria.

“The government has a tole to play, the private sector has a role to play and every citizen has a role to play.”

However, the Special Assistant to the president on social investments, Maryam Uwais, insisted that promoting social investment programmes were a preferred solution to curbing poverty in the country, as many Nigerians were still living below the poverty line.

According to her, there has to be a way of prioritizing the need of the people instead of infrastructure, adding that many children will rather be at the farms instead of being in school.

She noted that the definition of poverty varies among communities, “there is a lot that goes on in some communities, the issues of poverty are not same in all communities, the social register looks at poverty based on community.

“I agree that government do not have the money to distribute, but it has a responsibility. I have seen N5000 making a difference in lives. Let’s not trivialise what we are doing.

“I wish that we could make money from them but many Nigerians are not able to make money for themselves as they live below the poverty line.”

She however noted that the programs over the years have been challenged with issues such as unavailability of relevant data and people trying to politicise the program.

“I see it as what we can do, lifting 34 million out of poverty in the next 4 years

“We want to get to a point where people are able to make money for themselves,” she said.