Nigeria is likely not to meet poverty target 2015’

‘Nigeria not likely to meet 2015 poverty target’

terseer adamu (Review)

POVERTY in Nigeria remains significant despite high economic growth. Nigeria has one of the world’s highest economic growth rates (averaging 7.4 per cent over the last decade), a well-developed economy and plenty of natural resources such as oil. 

  However, it retains a high level of poverty, which according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2012 report, reported that 112.519 million Nigerians lived in relative poverty conditions.

  The concern over increasing poverty levels in Nigeria and the need for its eradication as a means of improving the standard of living of the people has led to the conceptualisation and implementation of various targeted or non-targeted poverty eradication and alleviation-programmes. 

  Both the Nigerian government and donor agencies have been active in efforts in analysing and finding solutions to the increase of poverty leveling the country.

  Concern about this problems as well as efforts made to eradicate or at least reduce it cannot be said to be new. While major reductions in poverty level have been made in developed countries, developing countries, Nigeria inclusive, have been battling with poverty, from one poverty alleviation programme to another eradication programme, but all to no avail.

  In an effort to curb the challenges of poverty in Nigeria, National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) was created in 2001 under the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration with the mandate to reduce absolute poverty by creating employment for youths in the automobile industry, provide training and other vocational trades as well as support internship to them.

  Unfortunately, the issues of poverty eradication have proved to be the most difficult challenge facing the country where majority of the people live in absolute poverty. 

  At the 2012 World Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which had as its theme “Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty”, the Coordinator, National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), Malam Mukhtar Tafawa-Balewa assured Nigerians that the organisation’s war against poverty would be successful 

  “We are optimistic that the good days will come sooner than expected; the president has shown enough political will and unwavering commitment to the welfare of all Nigerians.’’

  He said that there was considerable progress in the drive to put an end to extreme poverty by 2015

  Tafawa-Balewa said that the theme was an indication that the world was taking the issue of fighting poverty “as a governance issue that requires deliberate policy thrust.

  “As the Transformation Agenda of this administration gets underway and improvement in our GDP and expansion of our domestic productivity, we shall achieve significant success in our fight against the scourge of poverty.

  “We at NAPEP wish to assure the nation that we shall not spare any effort in seeing to the realisation of the president’s agenda of transformation.’’

  Meanwhile, against the backdrop of meeting the poverty target by 2015, the technical validation workshop group for MDGs targets in Abuja during the last weekend while ex-raying the extent of attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets which is less than three years, in their submission lamented that Nigeria was lagging behind in meeting the Goal I of MDGs which was the poverty target adding that it had done well in hunger.

  “On MDG 1 “ Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,” Nigeria is lagging behind the 2015 target. With poverty at 62.6 per cent and the enormity of the challenge, it is not likely that the 2015 target of 21.4 per cent will be met. But, there is a better outlook on hunger reduction.”

  Meanwhile, as the deadline to meet the targets is winding up, the federal government is committed to accelerating activities to take stock on the level of performance to ensure that the targets are met, of which poverty is inclusive.

  The Senior Special Assistant to the president on MDGs Dr. Precious Gbeneol in her remark at the validation workshop said, “as you are aware, the deadline set for the attainment of MGDs by the global community is 2015, hence as we count down to the deadline it behooves us as a nation to take stock of our collective performance as it affects the MGDs target in Nigeria using MDGs specific key performance.

  “On this note, I urge you to make a meaningful contributions that will deliver a final draft report which should not only guarantee the final outcome as one of the best but that which we all should be proud to own as a people and as a nation.”

Author : John Okeke,

The Guardian