Nigeria’s poor population

IT is one of those proverbial cases in which you do not know whether to laugh or cry. It is benumbing. Nigeria used to be the country with the largest population of poor people in the world but the statistics, as recently revealed in a viral statement by Yemi Kale, former head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), shifted slightly recently. It so happened that India, the world’s most populated country with some 1.46 billion people, recently beat Nigeria to the sad top spot. With no fewer than 89 million Nigerians currently living in poverty, representing about 40 percent of the population, Nigeria has emerged as the country with the second-largest population of poor people in the world. According to Kale, who spoke during a presentation at The Platform Nigeria’s Independence Day event in Lagos, only India surpasses Nigeria in the number of citizens trapped below the poverty line. But then, Nigeria’s dismal figure is still larger than the entire population of most countries globally.

Kale, who is currently Group Chief Economist at Afreximbank, linked the worsening poverty levels to years of delayed reforms and policy missteps which pushed millions into hardship while leaving households vulnerable to inflation and fiscal shocks. In his view, the corrective measures currently being implemented should have begun over a decade ago when early warning signs of decline were already evident. The failure to act, he said, eroded investor confidence, constrained growth, and weakened the economy’s capacity to generate jobs. Hear him: “To grasp the magnitude of this number, we can consider that fewer than 20 of the world’s 195 recognised countries even have a population bigger than Nigeria’s number of poor people. And these dynamics are compounding. Together, these trends threaten the very promise of independence that every Nigerian should have the opportunity to thrive at home. So, what went wrong? Well, there are many reasons, but a large part of it lies in policy missteps and costly delays in implementing needed reforms. Key adjustments, some finally underway, should have begun over a decade ago, when warning signs were already evident. Acting sooner would have significantly softened the impact on households and businesses, sparing the economy years of compounding fiscal and inflationary pressures. Instead, distortive monetary and exchange rate policies lingered, eroding investor confidence and choking off investment.”

To say the very least, this is an extremely sad story. Nigeria is vastly resourced naturally, and is blessed with a dynamic, talented and hardworking population. Around the world, Nigerians continue to be one of the most successful migrant groups, proving the essential point that it is the Nigerian environment that, chiefly on account of poor leadership and structural imbalances, basically limits potential. It is no coincidence that very often, Nigerians are cited as one of the most successful and educated migrant groups in the United States, excelling in fields like medicine, engineering, law, and business, with their success story attributed to a strong emphasis on education, resilience, and hard work, which allows them to achieve high levels of academic and professional success. Nigerian-Americans are reported to have more post-graduate degrees than any other racial or ethnic groups in the United States, and it has been pointed out that although they account for less than 1 percent of the country’s black population, they constitute nearly 25 percent of all Black students at the Harvard Business School. Would these Nigerians be so successful if they were based in Nigeria?

You would think that a country with such a frightening level of poverty as Nigeria’s would jealously gaurd its borders and resources, but that is categorically not the case. As we pointed out in previous editorials, in 2024, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Solid Minerals disclosed that illegal mining activities in Nigeria was costing the country about $9bn annually, and most of it is perpetrated by foreigners. The implication is that even as the vast majority of Nigerians literally scrounge and starve, foreign criminals are making a killing at their expense. As we have said time and again, governments at all levels must address poverty decisively. According to the World Bank, some 139 million Nigerians are trapped in poverty, and we have seen no reason to change our view that the situation requires a deliberate tweaking of policies to bring immediate relief to the populace. This is actually an irreducible minimum.

There is no way to defend the idea that good leaders are creating a poverty-stricken society. The greed and selfishness of the political class must be addressed squarely. There is no reason governance should continue to be a superstructure erect ed on the people’s pain. We urge governments at all levels to address poverty squarely and give Nigerians a better deal. Governance is problem solving.