Oxfam report indicts Nigeria on commitment to reducing inequality

Oxfam International has indicted Nigerian government over its inability to follow through its commitment to reducing inequality in the country, saying that Nigeria is “failing” to make use of the tools available to it towards tackling “this global scourge.”

Oxfam said that while a number of governments such as including Sweden, Chile, Uruguay and Namibia have shown they can tackle the growing inequality by taking clear steps to reduce it, “unfortunately, many other governments, including Nigeria and India, are failing to make use of the tools available to them to tackle this global scourge. Unless they take concerted action now, they will fail to end poverty and fail to make sustainable economic progress that benefits everyone in society.”

The indictment came in a new report, Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index (CRI), by Development Finance International (FDI) and Oxfam, where Nigeria ranked the lowest of all the 152 countries surveyed, taking the 152nd position on the chart, just as 112 of the 152 countries surveyed were found to have done “less than half of what they could to tackle inequality.”

According to the development organizations, “Nigerian government’s failure to tackle this growing crisis is undermining social and economic progress and, crucially, the fight against poverty.”

“Inequality is bad for us all. It has been linked with crime and insecurity, lower economic growth, and poor health and other outcomes. The consequences for the world’s poorest people are particularly severe.”

The report, which measured the Nigerian government’s action on social spending, tax and labour rights, the “three areas found to be critical to reducing the gap,” also found that although the country has recorded positive economic growth for many years, poverty has increased.

“Nigeria has the unenviable position of being at the bottom of the Index. Its social spending (on health, education and social protection) is shamefully low, reflected in very poor social outcomes for its citizens. More than 10 million children in Nigeria do not go to school and 1 in 10 children do not reach their fifth birthday.”

“The Africa Progress Panel has demonstrated that despite Nigeria’s positive economic growth for many years, poverty has increased, and the proceeds of growth have gone almost entirely to the top 10 per cent of the population.”

“The CRI Index shows that while Nigeria collects significant tax revenues from oil, there is huge potential for it to raise more tax, for example on personal incomes, and so it scores very badly on this aspect too. Finally, Nigeria’s treatment of workers and women in the workplace also puts it near the bottom of the rankings,” the report stated.

While asking the government to step up its commitment to reducing inequality in the country, the development organizations said: “We find that there is an urgent need for coordinated global investment to significantly improve the data on inequality and related policies to reduce it, together with much greater concerted action by governments across the world to reduce inequality.”

“The evidence is clear: there will be no end to extreme poverty unless governments tackle inequality and reverse recent trends. Unless they do so, the World Bank predicts that by 2030 almost half a billion people will still be living in extreme poverty. Unless they take concerted action now, they will fail to end poverty and fail to make sustainable economic progress that benefits everyone in society.”

Oxfam and FDI, therefore, called on the government to increase its social spending on public services such as education, health and social protection, which has been shown to have a strong impact on reducing inequality.

It also suggested that the federal government ensures that it adopts a progressive taxation policy, “where corporations and the richest individuals are taxed more in order to redistribute resources in society and ensure the funding of public services.” This, they said, “is a key tool for governments that are committed to reducing inequality.”

Finally, the organizations recommended that Nigerian government should raise labour wages, saying that “higher wages for ordinary workers and stronger labour rights, especially for women, are key to reducing inequality.”

This story was written as part of the 2017 BudgIT Media Fellowship.