Scandalous: Poor Nigerians multiply as Nigeria spends trillions fighting poverty
•Buhari outspends Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, and Jonathan with an estimated N3.5 trillion vote
•Muda Yusuf, and others blame corruption, other factors
No fewer than four federal administrations in Nigeria have had more than 18 poverty alleviation programmes since 1999 whereas poverty has steadily grown, Sunday Vanguard findings reveal.
The schemes, which heralded hope at inception, have left Nigerians poorer as they fail to combat poverty.
With huge budgetary allocations, the social intervention programmes have, over the years, purportedly targeted the poor and set benchmarks for the realization of objectives.
No difference
But findings show that since the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo to date, none has made a difference in the lives of those they were initiated for.
What obtains across the country is a situation where the number of the poor has increased exponentially.
According to the World Bank, about 70 per cent of the population lived below the poverty line as of 1999 while the Human Development Index, HDI, was 0.416.
But 25 years later, the figure has grown multi-dimensionally with 133 million of the over 200 million population poor, according to National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
In 2023, the World Bank, in its development update, titled: ‘Turning the Corner from Reforms to Renewed Hope, to Results’, said the poverty rate in the country had increased by 46 per cent, representing 104 million Nigerians.
Similarly, the World Poverty Clock, a global tool used in tracking poverty progress, said 71 million Nigerians were poor as of 2023.
Extreme poverty
Earlier, Nigeria, in 2018, emerged as the global poverty headquarters, according to data by the World Poverty Clock.
At the time, the nation had the largest number of people living in extreme poverty.
Extreme poverty was reported to be growing by six people every minute, the highest number in the world.
These observations from reputable international bodies strengthen the findings by Sunday Vanguard that several measures initiated to tackle poverty have been counter-productive.
Trillions
And this is despite trillions spent in executing the various strategies by successive administrations.
Several reports by reputable platforms had put the funds spent so far on social interventions at trillions.
The Muhammadu Buhari administration, for instance, spent N500 billion annually on poverty eradication in seven years, then-Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq, had said, meaning that, for the seven years, the administration spent N3.5 trillion and thus outspent all the previous administrations.
Further findings by Sunday Vanguard identified the following social intervention schemes initiated from 1999 to date.
Schemes
They include National Poverty Eradication Programme, NAPEP, Youth Empowerment Scheme, YES, Rural Infrastructure Development Scheme, RIDE, Social Welfare Services Scheme, SOWESS, National Resources Development and Conservation Scheme, NRDCS, and Family Economic Advancement Programme.
Others are National Poverty Reduction Growth Strategy, NPRGS, National Economic Empowerment and Development Schemes, NEEDS, Root and Tuber Extension Programme, Subsidy Reinvestment Programme, SURE-P, N-Power, TraderMoni, Conditional Cash Transfer, Home Grown School Feeding Programmes, Government Enterprises and Empowerment Programme, GEEP, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni.
Sadly, many indicators and human development indices have shown that poverty is still prevalent in Nigeria.
A breakdown of the record of each administration raises fears as Nigeria may be far from realizing the United Nations Sustainable Goals, SDGs, target of ending extreme poverty by 2030.
Obasanjo
At the time President Olusegun Obasanjo assumed power in 1999 after decades of military rule, 70 per cent of Nigerians lived below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
This prompted Obasanjo to establish the National Poverty Alleviation Programme, NAPEP, headed by Magnus Kpakor.
Accordingly, it had the mandate to eradicate absolute poverty, rationalise existing poverty alleviation institutions and coordinate implementation and monitoring of relevant schemes and programmes at all levels of government.
Like others before it, the scheme elicited excitement among Nigerians given the many promises it held at the time.
Those targeted, according to Stanley Aibieyi and E.O Dirisu, in ‘Poverty Eradication Programmes in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects’, include “youths who should benefit from 50 percent of jobs to be created”.
Aibieyi and Dirisu further said women shall benefit 25 per cent and men 25 per cent from the programme.
“Each state of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, shall engage 5, 000 persons to carry out various poverty alleviation activities in the respective states. The programme has three levels of implementation”, they added at that time.
At inception, N10 billion was allocated to NAPEP, but, a few years later, government said the programme was a failure.
The administration also initiated the Special Programme on Food Security across all states of the federation in 2002.
It was followed by the Root and Tuber Expansion Programme.
Statistics by the World Data Atlas stated that when Obasanjo’s tenure ended in 2007, the nation’s poverty rate stood at 54 per cent.
Yar’Adua
The late President Umar Yar’Adua administration came into office, seeking to address socio-economic problems with its Seven-Point Agenda.
It was a broad policy road map, which generally targeted the betterment of the lives of Nigerians.
In 2008, the late President reaffirmed his commitment to that, saying he was focused on “eradicating any form of poverty and other related effects in Nigeria.”
He was known to have always reiterated his desire of making Nigeria one of the biggest economies in Africa by 2020.
The major planks of the Seven-Point Agenda include power, food security, human capital development, transportation, national security and achieving peace in the Niger Delta region.
Analysts believe the cornerstone of the administration was more of rhetoric than a programme that sought to improve the overall well-being of Nigerians.
Jonathan
Former President Goodluck Jonathan continued with social investment programmes like his predecessors.
He introduced Transformation Agenda which had poverty eradication strategies that include job creation and others aimed at making life easier for the masses.
It was also seen as policy framework created to implement policies that would accelerate economic growth and development in critical spheres of the nation’s life.
In 2012, upon the removal of subsidy from petroleum products, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan launched yet another social investment scheme, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P.
SURE-P was also established with a view to cushioning the impact of the increase in the prices of petroleum products on Nigerians.
The programme was expected to channel the Federal Government’s share of the re-investible funds accruing from the petroleum subsidy removal into a combination of programmes to stimulate the economy and alleviate poverty through the provision of critical infrastructure and safety net projects.
But in 2015, before the end of the Jonathan administration, calls for its scrapping and zero allocation to the scheme had assumed a loud proportion.
For instance, in January of that year, some senators said the programme was no longer necessary irrespective of N208.3 billion budgetary allocation at the time.
Unfortunately, the programme ended up like others before it as poverty continued to grow in Nigeria despite the huge funds allocated to its various components.
Lawmakers, who made submissions during the second reading of the 2015 Budget, reasoned that rather than being scaled down, the SURE-P, particularly, should be scrapped since the cost of refined products had crashed as a result of falling prices of crude in the international market.
Sunday Vanguard recalls that then-Director-General, Federal Budget Office, Dr Bright Okogu, in 2014, said SURE-P received N441 billion for its programmes from 2012 to that year.
He said that although the programme had an annual allocation of N180 billion from the Federation Account, it received N126 billion in 2012, N180 billion in 2013 and N135 billion in 2014.
Jonathan left office in 2015.
Unfortunately, the programme ended up like others before it as poverty continued to grow.
For instance, former Chairman of SURE-P, Christopher Kolade, resigned in 2013, saying SURE-P operations had become tainted with corruption and politics, thereby losing its credibility.
As far back as 2012, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had sentenced a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Clement Illoh, to four years’ imprisonment over N65 million SURE-P project fraud.
The court also ordered him to permanently forfeit to the Federal Government the sums of N664,475,246.6 and $137,680.11 found in his bank accounts.
Several other serving and former public office holders, including former governors, were either investigated or arrested for allegedly looting SURE-P funds.
About 70 per cent of the population were said to be living below the poverty line as of 2013.
Buhari
Former President Muhammadu Buhari, under whose administration Nigerians became undeniably poorer, was known to have created many social investment schemes.
Funds were massively allocated to the programmes with a view to addressing multi-dimensional poverty, but the nation became world’s poverty headquarters during this period.
According to a World Bank report, poverty reduction in the nation stopped when Buhari assumed office in 2015.
In a report titled: ‘A Better Future for All Nigerians: 2022 Poverty Assessment,’ the institution projected that the number of poor Nigerians would increase to 95.1 million in 2022.
It said: “Poverty reduction had stagnated since 2015,” adding that “poverty reduction in Nigeria appears to have stalled in the last decade, according to both back-casting and survey-to-survey imputation techniques.”
The Buhari administration was known to have created the National Social Investment Programme, NSIP, in 2015, to distribute resources equitably to vulnerable Nigerians.
Under the NSIP, was N-Power, which was created to address unemployment by creating massive jobs for youths.
There was also the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy, NPRGS, which was one of the schemes he wanted to use in lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years.
Similarly, Conditional Cash Transfer, TraderMoni, MarketMoni and GEEP were established to fight poverty.
For seven years, the administration was said to have spent $1billion annually on the implementation of various components of NSIP since 2016.
“Since the inception of the Buhari administration in 2015, the Federal Government has paid more attention to promoting the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country despite the economic slump the administration inherited”, Nura Alkali, who represented then-Humanitarian Minister Farouq at an event, had said.
“This informed the decision to initiate the National Social Investment Programme, NSIP, as a strategy for enhancing social inclusion. “NSIP is one the largest social protection programmes in Africa with about $1 billion earmarked annually to cause positive change in the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable in the country”.
Despite all of these, the living conditions of Nigerians became worse under Buhari.
In his first term, many Nigerians became poorer, according to Economist of London.
Relying on information from the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and other sources, it said:”The Nigerian economy is stuck like a stranded truck. Average incomes have been falling for four years; the IMF thinks they will not rise for at least another six (years). The latest figures put unemployment at 23 per cent, after growing for 15 consecutive quarters.
“Some 94 million people live on less than $1.90 a day, more than in any other country, and the number is swelling.
“By 2030, a quarter of very poor people will be Nigerians, predicts the World Data Lab, which counts such things”.
At the time Buhari administration was leaving office in 2023, the World Bank estimated the poverty rate at 38.9 per cent, with 87 million Nigerians living below the poverty line — the world’s second-largest poor population after India.
Tinubu
Following the eventual removal of subsidy from petrol, the Bola Tinubu administration rolled out some palliatives to cushion its effects, which also included cash transfer to vulnerable people.
Government also secured $800 million from the World Bank as part of its post-subsidy palliative plans.
In the 2024 Budget, N150 billion was earmarked for poverty alleviation programmes during the fiscal year.
The amount is to be spent on macroeconomic stability, industrialisation, structural policies/institutional reforms and redistributive policies/programmes of government under the National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy.
Institutional corruption to blame —Experts
Experts, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, meanwhile, blamed policy discontinuity and institutional corruption for the failure of poverty eradication schemes in the country.
Speaking on the issue, a former Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Muda Yusuf, said social investment may be good, but doesn’t address real issues.
Yusuf said:”Poverty is a very big issue and there are so many factors responsible. It is not just allocating money to poverty alleviation programmes.
“There are fundamental issues around investment in education for instance.
“If people are not properly educated, it has a way of affecting the level of poverty.
“If there is a problem of insecurity which doesn’t allow people to undertake their economic activities, it will lead to poverty.
“If the level of unemployment is high, it contributes to poverty.
“If the environment for businesses to thrive isn’t right, it will affect the productivity of both small and big businesses and the prosperity of people.
“If the macroeconomic environment is not properly managed and there is inflation, it will contribute to poverty.
“There are several factors that contribute to poverty and that is the reason why the last statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, talked about multidimensional poverty.
“It is not just about poverty alleviation programmes.
“Though they are important, they don’t address everything. It is not just a Federal Government issue. The state and local governments have something to contribute too.”
On his part, a political economist, Professor Ayo Dunmoye, said: “The fact that government recognises that there is poverty in the land is an achievement.
“Now, tackling it is another problem.
“Usually, they come up with very good policies, but, unfortunately, the implementation has left much to be desired.
“That is the problem we have. Implementation has been unsuccessful.
“It is either through corruption or ineptitude that those policies were unsuccessful. To reduce poverty, a multifarious tactic is needed.
“First, the poor people have to be identified. You also have to identify why they are poor.
“For instance, unemployment, more jobs should be created for the unemployed and the private sector should be encouraged to expand so they can employ.
“When the poor are identified, then you locate the root cause and tackle it. In the rural area, most people there are poor.
“If that is because of low agricultural productivity, then government should look for a way to increase productivity either through the provision of inputs or loaning of tractors.
“There should also be experts who will tutor them about how to do their work.
“In Nigeria, however, they just identify the poor and throw money at them.
“It won’t work like that. Also, I don’t think government has accurate data on the poor. It is being estimated.
“It is a very difficult task. You can’t just be throwing money at people and say you are solving poverty.
“No, you have to identify the people, the root cause and tackle it.”
Allocations
Speaking on the matter in his personal capacity, spokesperson for Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said: “Despite significant allocations towards poverty alleviation programmes by the Nigerian government, the question remains as to whether these efforts have been successful in addressing the root causes of poverty and improving the living standards of the population.
“If I remember correctly, the Nigerian government has implemented a number of poverty eradication programmes aimed at reducing poverty levels and improving the quality of life for the population since the return of democracy in 1999.
“These programmes have included the National Poverty Eradication Programme, NAPEP, the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, NEEDS, the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, and more recently, the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.
“These programmes have been supported by significant allocations of funds from both domestic and international sources.
“For example, the MDGs received funding from the World Bank, the United Nations, and various donor countries, while the SDGs are being funded through a combination of domestic resources and international aid.
“While these programmes have had some success in reducing poverty levels in Nigeria, there have been significant challenges that have impeded progress.
“One of the key challenges has been corruption and mismanagement of funds, which has led to a lack of accountability and transparency in the implementation of poverty eradication programmes.
Scandals
“The recent allegations involving two successive Ministers of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Sadiya Umar Faruk and Beta Edu, running into billions of poverty intervention funds, have highlighted the pervasive issue of corruption and mismanagement of funds in Nigeria.
“Despite the efforts of the government to reduce poverty levels through various intervention programmes, such as the National Social Investment Programme, corruption remains a major obstacle in achieving the desired impact. “The misappropriation of funds meant for the most vulnerable, and disadvantaged individuals in society, is not only morally reprehensible but also undermines the very purpose of these initiatives.
“There has also been a lack of coordination and coherence among the various poverty eradication programmes, leading to duplication of efforts and inefficiencies in resource allocation.
“This has resulted in limited impact on poverty levels and a failure to address the root causes of poverty in Nigeria.
“The focus of these programmes has often been on short-term measures such as cash transfers and social welfare programmes, rather than addressing the structural issues that perpetuate poverty in Nigeria, such as lack of access to education, healthcare, and job opportunities.
“Moving forward, it is important for the Nigerian government to address the root causes of poverty by investing in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and job creation.
“Additionally, there needs to be greater transparency and accountability in the implementation of poverty eradication programmes to ensure that funds are used effectively and reach those in need.”
