Dear Subscriber,
One of the key objectives of Buhari’s final term in office is an aggressive reduction in the level of extreme poverty in Nigeria. It is believed that 44.2% of Nigerians are living in abject poverty.
The country has earned the unenviable reputation of being the poverty capital of the world. Buhari has vowed that he will take 100 million people out of poverty in a 10 year-period. The promise is long on intentions but short on how to accomplish the goal.
Nigeria is 16th in the world’s country of origin of refugees, next to Ukraine. It is also the 8th highest country of those seeking political asylum, next to Eritrea. These are all indications of a desperate populace.
The people friendly programmes of Trader moni and school feeding schemes are meant to be poverty palliatives and are noteworthy but have had minimal impact so far. The 2 million petty traders that benefitted from Trader Moni in 2018 account for 2.21% of the workforce and 1.01% of the population.
The Gini coefficient of Nigeria which measures income inequality is 43.3 which is relatively high when compared to Sweden 29.2 and Indonesia 38.1. But it is favorable when stacked against South Africa (63). A high Gini coefficient is usually accompanied by an abnormal level of violent crimes, including kidnap and ransom.
In this edition of the FDC Bi-Monthly publication, the FDC Think-Tank analyzes the implications of the new anti-poverty schemes and the likely impact on businesses and households.
Enjoy your read.
