The hunger that followed the recent lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states indicates many Nigerians are still poor despite the current administration’s promise to lift millions out of poverty, JO...
The hunger that followed the recent lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states indicates many Nigerians are still poor despite the current administration’s promise to lift millions out of poverty,Barely one month of a lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states, millions of Nigerians had become stricken with hunger. Many could not bear an extension of the movement restrictions.
Indeed, many state governors were either hesitant or completely opposed to the idea of a lockdown, clearly telling the Federal Government that their inhabitants were more likely to die of hunger than from COVID -19, if they were shut out of their daily earnings. Thus, when the lockdown was relaxed on May 4, the Federal Government adopted the recommendations of the governors, indirectly admitting as well that governments across the three tiers didn’t have the capacity to meet the daily needs of Nigerians, especially food, while locking them down permanently.
Nigeria attained the unenviable status of the ‘poverty capital of the world’ since 2017-2018. Close to 95 million people out of the country’s estimated 200 million population or 47.3 per cent, are said to be poor, thereby overtaking India’s 70 million poor; hence the nation’s new world record. Other specifics were “to create a social welfare programme of at least N5, 000 that will cater for the 25 million poorest and most vulnerable citizens upon the demonstration of children’s enrolment in school and evidence of immunisation to help promote family stability.
Yet, the NBS, in its December 19, 2018 report, recorded an increase in unemployment rate from 18.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 to 23.1 per cent in the same quarter of 2018. The Federal Government confirmed N1.7tn as total appropriation between January 2016 and October 2019 , while N619.1bn or 36.4 per cent of the total appropriation by the National Assembly was released.
“These releases covered operational activities and payments to 13,363,680 beneficiaries across all the four NSIPs, all of whom can be verified either through their BVN numbers or their unique numbers generated by the National Social Register, those identities having been generated for the poorest of the poor who do not own bank accounts for sundry reasons.
It noted that poverty was already high in the country, pre-COVID-19, and was made worse by the government’s lack of capacity to meet the needs of the people. The centre added, “These funds will be essential in financing the COVID-19 response initiatives recently announced by the government of Nigeria such as food distribution, cash transfers, loan repayment waivers and the expansion of the social register from 2.6 million households to 3.6 million households.”
Adamu added, “We must also acknowledge the fact that this government met its own peculiar challenges, primarily which is access to meagre resources.“Nigeria came out of a recession amid wobbly crude oil prices in 2016-2017. It can be partly explained that the failure to adequately fund the NSIP was a direct consequence of the unstable oil prices amid competing government responsibilities in the last five years.
“If they accept they are, the unending solicitation from family and friends will cease or reduce. The truth is that our government lies and our people are not any different.”
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