Taking poverty to the cleaners
The World Bank in 2008 raised the poverty bench mark to living below $1 25cents a day. For many years before that, the poverty line was $1 per day; but the 1 dollar a day used then, the bank said, would be 1 dollar 45 cents now, if inflation alone was accounted for. In Nigeria, […]
The World Bank in 2008 raised the poverty bench mark to living below $1 25cents a day. For many years before that, the poverty line was $1 per day; but the 1 dollar a day used then, the bank said, would be 1 dollar 45 cents now, if inflation alone was accounted for.
In Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics estimates that 54.4% of Nigeria’s 140 million people live below poverty line. Unemployment; limited access to education; inadequate housing, food, health care, safe and healthy environment as well as clean water; ignorance and; lack of access to information have been severally identified as promoting factors for poverty. An estimated 7.3 million Nigerian children of primary school age are not in school because of poverty. The cost of food, health, transport and other essential social services have in the past skyrocketed, getting out of the reach of the Nigerian poor who constitute well over 70 per cent of the population.
THE REALITY OF POVERTY IN NIGERIA: It is in the light of these realities that the National Orientation Agency (NOA), as an organisation responsible for generating public support and inputs for government programmes and policies, thought it wise to gather stakeholders in the war against poverty to enable them cross fertilize ideas on how to win the fight. In doing this, the Agency recently organized a two-day National Summit on Wealth Creation and Poverty Eradication in collaboration with the Enugu State Government. The summit which held at the Nike Lake Resort, Enugu brought together relevant government and private institutions in the poverty eradication fight as well as citizens from all works of life.
Addressing the summit, the Director-General of NOA, Alhaji Idi Faruk explained that the main objective of the summit was to provide a national platform for agencies responsible for wealth creation and poverty eradication to exchange ideas and communicate vital information on the various programmes, activities and opportunities created for Nigerians. Furthermore, he said it was to sensitize Nigerians on poverty reduction and wealth creation programmes and activities of both the Federal and Enugu State Governments as well as elicit participation in order for them to take advantage of opportunities created for their economic empowerment.
The Director-General maintained that because of the importance of communication, the focus of the Agency was to continue to inform Nigerians on what the programmes of wealth creation and poverty eradication are all about, the benefits to their social and economic wellbeing and their expected role in the success of the programmes. He noted that “The desire of the Agency is for all Nigerians to see every Government programme as their own and not that of the President, Governor or Chairman as the case may be…the administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua has kept faith with the Nigerian people through the assiduous implementation of this developmental policy as encapsulated in the 7-point Agenda. From the feedback we have received, Nigerians have commended the Federal
Government for the decision to train youths in different states in the areas of skill acquisition, employment generation and poverty reduction.”
He said the essence of the summit was to undertake a midterm review of the achievements recorded so far and provide stakeholders the opportunity to make inputs into the programme.
Expressing gratitude to the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Barrister Sullivan Chime, for graciously accepting to collaborate with the Agency in organizing the summit, Alhaji Faruk also commended the Governor for the giant strides of his administration in the areas of economic expansion and employment generation. He reiterated the need for improved governance at all levels in order to create a more favourable environment to address the challenges of poverty, explaining that the failure of governance to provide policies and programmes that are people-oriented can deprive the nation of achieving sustainable development.
VIEW POINTS FROM ACADEMICIANS: The inputs of the academia at such summit of national relevance are usually very significant because of their well researched and informed positions. This was evident in the erudite presentations of eminent scholars at the summit. The Vice Chancellor, Enugu State University of Technology, Professor Julius Onah, in a paper titled “Poverty Eradication and Social Security in Nigeria: A Programmatic Perspective”, posited that poor macro-economic and monetary policies have contributed to the high poverty rate I Nigeria. He observed that the naira that used to exchange for N1.20k to one British pound in 1986 now exchanges for N240. The outcome, he said, has made it almost impossible for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to thrive, which would have contributed to the reduction of poverty through job creation. He therefore called on government at all levels to provide welfare programmes and leverage for those who have a tough time getting by on their own; provide affordable healthcare/counseling to alleviate the people’s suffering thereby reducing the risk associated with patronage of uncertified chemists; proper funding of public schools to help raise the standard of education in the country among other measures to ameliorate the effects of poverty in Nigeria.
On the need for adequate social security in Nigeria, Prof. Onah had this to say: “Social security is a human right, as well as an economic and political necessity. It is an indispensable part of institutional tissue of an efficient market economy. It is well understood that without social security, poverty reduction and development are not possible. Systems of socio-economic security were introduced in Europe in the late 19 th century and were slowly implemented in most counties during the early 20 th century and consolidated after the Second World War.
“In Nigeria, piecemeal social security programmes have been in place since 1942 starting with the workmen’s compensation. Others are benefits for temporary and permanent disability, unemployment, maternity and sickness. All these have been going on without a unified policy with no clear funding… It is true that adequate social security policies can be an important endogenous factor in the process of socio-political development and economic growth of our dear country… we have to ensure that corruption is not glorified in this venture that is meant to help the poor.”
KEY SOLUTIONS TO POVERTY: Professor Riskuwa Shehu, Vice Chancellor, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, in his own paper, Wealth Creation: Policy Initiatives and Successes, identified the agricultural sector and solid minerals industry as keys to wealth creation for Nigeria. He said Nigeria is endowed with several solid minerals occurring in economic quantities that are yet to be explored and developed. He lauded the different efforts of government towards raising awareness and providing adequate policy framework for the development of the solid minerals industry but called for more concerted efforts in this regard.
He said wealth creation should be concerned not only with the creation but also the distribution. By implication, any effort of government aimed at increasing national growth and resources, providing enabling environment for the private sector and industries to thrive, empowering people and reducing the incidence of poverty may all be considered to be efforts made directly and indirectly towards creating wealth. He said the strides that have been made in this respect have not yet had full impact on the people and economy in any significant form to indicate appreciable changes in the macro-economic variables and the lives of the majority of the people. He noted however that it is too early to make a definitive statement about the success or otherwise of the 7-point Agenda and the policy initiatives relating to wealth creation urging for support to ensure that they produce enduring benefits.
WHAT HAS TAX GOT TO DO WITH POVERTY?: Professors N.I. Ikpeze and Ademola Ariyo of the Department of Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Ibadan respectively also presented insightful papers on “Perspectives on Wealth Creation as a Critical Factor in National Development” and “Wealth Creation and Poverty Alleviation: A 7-point Perspective.”
Taxation is another critical subject in the creation of wealth and eradication of national poverty. Taxes provide the needed funds for the running of government wealth generation machineries. Clarifying issues on this subject, the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Chairman, Joint Tax Board, Ifueko Omoigui Okauru said the objectives of taxation include generating revenue, stimulating economic growth and development, stabilizing the economy and redistributing income between the rich and poor. But he observed that taxes alone cannot guarantee poverty reduction in a nation.
In his words, “Yes, tax can provide the funding for development, but tax will not generate and distribute electricity; however, energy is crucial for overall development, wealth creation and drastic reduction in the level of poverty…It is important to note that where there is entrenched poverty and high level of inequality, there is bound to be high attendant impediment to growth, development and wealth creation…I like to reiterate that to turn the scales, we must continue to emphasize on the importance of increasing productivity in all sectors of the economy. We have sufficient tax incentives to aid growth of new businesses and in development of the agricultural sector. This scheme will aid development and job creation. It will empower individuals and empower the communities.”
Fidel Agu is the Chief Press Secretary, National Orientation Agency