Between ERGP, Bill Gates and Nigeria’s latest ranking as world’s poverty capital
The latest report by Brookings Institution has shown Nigeria that has taken over India as the nation with the highest number of extremely poor people.
Before now, India used to hold the position with a population of 1.324 billion people as against Nigeria’s 200 million.
The report, which the federal government is yet to comment on, said the number of Nigerians in extreme poverty increases by six people every minute.
It was not clear if the observations made by former world richest, Mr. Bill Gates at a recent expanded National Economic Council meeting in Abuja was a messenger to the report as during his remarks on the setting up of Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) by the government, he said it lacked the human development angle which will drive the scheme.
Only yesterday, legal luminary and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana also joined Gates to fault the ERGP and even the recently signed 2018 budget for lacking in provisions to drive poverty alleviation vide education and empowerment.
Global development experts say national development plans that failed to factor in human development will end up breeding poverty and weak creation of wealth.
Even before the Gates comments which the government failed to provide valid answers, in March, the International Monetary Fund had said Nigerians are getting poorer saying there is a need for coherent and comprehensive economic reforms.
Brookings Institution averred that “According to our projections, Nigeria has already overtaken India as the country with the largest number of extreme poor in early 2018, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo could soon take over the number 2 spot,” .
“At the end of May 2018, our trajectories suggest that Nigeria had about 87 million people in extreme poverty, compared with India’s 73 million. What is more, extreme poverty in Nigeria is growing by six people every minute, while poverty in India continues to fall.
“In fact, by the end of 2018 in Africa as a whole, there will probably be about 3.2 million more people living in extreme poverty than there is today.
“Africans account for about two-thirds of the world’s extreme poor and that if current trends persist, Africa will account for nine-tenths by 2030.
“Fourteen out of 18 countries in the world—where the number of extreme poor is rising—are in Africa.”
