Focussing rural poverty in Nigeria . Earlier this month, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published a dismal and terrifying study on t...
Focussing rural poverty in Nigeria.
Earlier this month, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published a dismal and terrifying study on the rising poverty in the nation. According to the organization, 133 million Nigerians live in poverty (one dollar per day). The study was released after the agency conducted a nationwide poll on the multi-dimensional poverty index, which paints a bleak image of poverty in several states. Sokoto state in the North-West, which was ranked #1 for having a high rate of poverty, was followed by Bayelsa in the South-South.
"The Minister of State for Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Clem Agba, expressed his concern over this regrettable and terrible report by blaming state governors for the country's rising poverty rates. The minister claimed that rather than allocating money to rural areas, state governors preferred to focus on developing projects in their state capitals. The majority of state governors gave building flyovers and airports a higher priority than developing rural roads and bridges. He said, "Farmers lost their food items due to a lack of storage facilities and a bad road network."
The minister might have a point. The federal government has indeed paid its dues when one considers the enormous sums of money it set aside and distributed through its social investment programs like N-power, trade-moni, and school food programs, the CBN intervention policies like anchor borrowers, and its success story. The alarming incidence of poverty would not have surfaced, much less become a topic of national conversation, if the state governors had supported the federal government's attempts to combat it through good laws and programs.
Prior to the alarming NBS data, the World Poverty Clock, an independent organization that tracks poverty, estimated that 87 million Nigerians were living in poverty in 2021. It continued by saying that Nigeria had surpassed India as the world's center of poverty. The reports, however, did not sit well with our policymakers. It received criticism and denials. Our political leaders swiftly refuted the claim and labeled it as untrue. The World Poverty Clock's reports have now been confirmed by NBS, which has further eclipsed its previous record. Can we continue to exist in denial?
Zainab Ahmed Shamsuna, the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, made another startling disclosure when she said that state governors have received a staggering 5.4 trillion naira in statutory allocation and additional payments from the federation account since 2015. If these facts are not sufficient to demonstrate that state governments do not need funding, then the delivery of almost N625 billion to nine oil-producing states as arrears of derivation and Sure-P monies is sufficient proof.
Municipal governments, which are closer to the populace and are tasked with carrying out local tasks like establishing schools, hospitals, and feeder roads, are only recognized by name. With joint accounts, state governments have financially disadvantaged them. At the recent NIPSS graduation ceremony in Kuru, Jos, President Muhammad Buhari accused governors of meddling with local governments' funding. He gave the governor's example of allocating N100 million to one local government, giving the chairman N50 million, and having him sign that he had collected N100 million.
The governor owned the remaining N50 million, and he was free to do with it as he pleased. The facts, as stated by President Muhammadu Buhari, are plain. In Nigeria, state governments have relegated local governments to a supporting role. The money left over after paying staff wages at the end of the month is insufficient to complete capital projects.
There is no denying the fact that corruption and a lack of focus on the part of state administrations contribute to rural poverty. With the restoration of democracy in 1999, trillions of naira that state governors received have disappeared into thin air. In the fight against poverty in the nation, several state governments are at odds with the federal government. Offering quality education, electricity, and a reliable road system to rural people is the magic solution to the poverty problem. Together with preventing the migration from rural to urban areas, it will promote economic expansion. Reforming local government would help it become financially self-sufficient.
Joint accounts should be eliminated since they act as a conduit. If state and local governments respond to the aspirations and expectations of the rural community, the alarming rate of rural poverty will be fully and effectively addressed.
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