Nigeria’s status as the poverty capital of the world was officially admitted by the federal, when a research by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed that 133 million of its citizens are currently living in poverty.
This figure represents 63 per cent of its population living in poverty, according to a survey conducted by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
In 2016, World Bank in its survey rated Nigeria the poverty capital of the world, displacing India from the infamous apex. The bank stated that four in every 10 Nigerians live below the poverty line of $1.9 per day, while the number of poor people in India was pegged at 269.8 million, 21.9 per cent of the population.
Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) survey was launched in Abuja with President Muhammadu Buhari represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.
President Buhari said the index was adopted because it provides ways poverty could be identified and addressed with government policies.
According to the Statistician-General at NBS, Semiu Adeniran, it is the first time NBS will conduct a standard multidimensional poverty survey in Nigeria.
The report said: “Over half of the population of Nigeria are multidimensionally poor and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than cleaner energy. High deprivations are also apparent nationally in sanitation, time to healthcare, food insecurity and housing.
A breakdown of the results showed that of the 133 million poor Nigerians, 65 per cent (86 million people) live in the North, while 35 per cent, about 47 million, live in the South.
The result also showed that poverty levels across states vary significantly, with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from a low of 27 per cent in Ondo to a high of 91 per cent in Sokoto.
Acting National Coordinator of NASSCO, Kabir Abdullahi, who disclosed this, said the project entails conditional and basic cash transfer to poor and vulnerable households, stressing that beneficiaries of the basic cash transfer receive N5,000 every month, while those under the conditional cash transfer receive additional N5000, making it N10,000 every month.
President Buhari yesterday restated his administration’s resolve to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, insisting that no one will be left behind.
This is as about 25.3 million Nigerians across 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are projected to face acute food and nutrition insecurity between June and August 2023. States with the highest rate include Borno with 1.4 million people, Yobe with 1.3 million people and Adamawa with one million people.
The NBS report states that two oil producing states, Cross River and Rivers, are amongst the most affected in the Southern parts of Nigeria, while Sokoto remains the poorest, followed by Kano and Jigawa.