ESCAPING NIGERIA’S POVERTY TRAP?
Nigeria is in a poverty trap, with one out of four Nigerians (or 71.3 million people) living on less than $1.90 daily.
Nigeria is in a poverty trap, with one out of four Nigerians (or 71.3 million people) living on less than $1.90 daily.
According to the World Poverty Clock, 18 Nigerians must exit poverty every minute for Nigeria to achieve a zero-poverty rate by 2030. On the contrary, 2.5 Nigerians fall into poverty every minute.
Can Nigeria escape the poverty trap? Our history paints a bleak picture of the future. Despite concerted efforts (with strategies, policies, and programmes), successive Nigerian governments recorded marginal successes.
Even the economic growth Nigeria experienced in the early 2010s disproportionately benefitted non-poor Nigerians (World Bank, 2022).*
Why is Nigeria’s poverty so sticky? It is hardly a failure to acknowledge that, unchecked, poverty will become Nigeria’s Achilles heel.
Why is Nigeria’s poverty so sticky? It is hardly a failure to acknowledge that, unchecked, poverty will become Nigeria’s Achilles heel.
Neither is it a timidity to implement big ideas. So, what’s the problem? Could the challenge be a faulty understanding of the levers to solve poverty?
In his recent book, “The Time Travelling Economist,” Charles Robertson states that education, electricity, and fertility are the keys to escaping poverty. The book provides several nuggets that challenge conventional economic development and poverty eradication thinking.
Sincere regards,
Godswill Idachaba
Analyst, Nextier
info@thenextier.com • +234 913 130 3903
* World Bank, 2022. A Better Future for All Nigerians: Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2022. World Bank.
Godswill Idachaba
Analyst, Nextier
info@thenextier.com • +234 913 130 3903
* World Bank, 2022. A Better Future for All Nigerians: Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2022. World Bank.
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