Experts Explain Nigeria’s Rising Poverty Crisis
Economic experts say inflation, weak policies and poor public services continue to deepen poverty despite recent government economic reforms.
Nigeria’s poverty crisis remains severe despite years of economic reforms, according to experts reacting to new findings from the World Bank.
The report shows that about 79 per cent of Nigerians are poor or vulnerable, leaving an estimated 139 to 140 million people struggling with rising food prices, a weak naira, unreliable public services and wages weakened by inflation. Although the government introduced subsidy removal, tax reforms and cash transfer programmes to improve the economy and attract investment, many households have yet to feel the expected benefits.
Dr Adetilewa Adebajo, Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory, said persistent inflation continues to reduce purchasing power, weaken consumer demand and slow economic growth. He said, “We’re expecting that maybe when inflation gets to single digit, the amount of Nigerians in poverty will reduce. But as inflation begins to inch up again, then you’re going to affect purchasing power. There is need for us to coordinate our industrial policy with our trade policy and our investment policy, so that you can begin to increase productivity and create employment. That is the key challenge in Nigeria right now.”
Andrew Mamedu, Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, questioned who has benefited from the reported economic recovery. He said, “The World Bank has just confirmed what many Nigerian families already know! nearly 8 out of every 10 Nigerians are poor, or one shock away from becoming poor.” He also pointed to growing food insecurity, limited access to electricity, poor learning outcomes for children and weak social protection for vulnerable citizens.
Construction adviser Olumide A. Aremu argued that meaningful development should improve daily life across all 36 states rather than remain concentrated in a few cities. Public policy analyst Engineer Adesanya Adebayo also blamed poor governance, saying many Nigerians see little evidence of progress in their everyday lives despite positive official economic indicators.
What practical measures do you think could help reduce Nigeria’s poverty crisis and improve living standards?
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