Economic Woe’s Put Nigeria’s Second-Highest Number Of Poor People Globally
By Oludare Joshua
Yemi Kale, the former statistician-general of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and current Chief Economist at Afreximbank, revealed at The Platform Nigeria’s Independence Day event, themed ‘Rebuilding Our Nation,’ that approximately 89 million Nigerians—about 40 percent of the nation’s population—live below the poverty line.
Kale emphasized that Nigeria holds the unfortunate distinction of having the second-highest number of impoverished individuals in the world, surpassed only by India. He illustrated the gravity of the situation by noting that fewer than 20 of the world’s 195 recognized countries have populations larger than the number of impoverished Nigerians.
”The alarming dynamics we face threaten the fundamental promise of independence, which should provide every Nigerian the opportunity to thrive at home,” Kale stated. He attributed the ongoing crisis to a combination of policy missteps and significant delays in implementing necessary reforms, which should have commenced over a decade ago when early warning signs were evident.
”Acting sooner could have mitigated the adverse effects on households and businesses, potentially sparing the economy from years of escalating fiscal and inflationary pressures,” he added, criticizing the lingering distortive monetary and exchange rate policies that have eroded investor confidence and stifled investment.
REFORMS CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY
Kale described the recently introduced reforms as challenging and painful but deemed them essential for Nigeria’s future. “There is truly no credible alternative to these reforms,” he noted, stressing the importance of consistently executing them with integrity to transform Nigeria’s potential into widespread prosperity that extends beyond statistics and rhetoric.
He acknowledged that the path to reform should be as humane and well-sequenced as possible, remarking that the historical mismanagement has led to avoidable hardships.
Kale concluded by clarifying the government’s role as not merely to avoid these reforms but to ensure their sustainability while urgently enhancing social protections, thereby making the transformation journey economically viable and socially equitable.
