According to the World Bank, sluggish growth, low human capital, labor market weaknesses, and vulnerability to shocks are impeding Nigeria’s poverty reduction efforts.
This was stated by the global financial institution in a report titled ‘A Better Future for All Nigerians: Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2022.’
“It is clear that much more needs to be done to help lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty,” said Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria.
“However, implementing pro-poor initiatives necessitates freeing up fiscal space; reforming costly subsidies – including fuel subsidies – will be required, as will countervailing measures to protect the poor as reforms are implemented.”
The report is the culmination of the bank’s two-year engagement in the country on poverty and inequality-related data and analytics.
It is primarily based on the 2018/19 Nigerian Living Standards Survey (NLSS), which provided the country with its first official poverty figures in nearly a decade, as well as the Nigeria COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS).
The World Bank stated that the surveys were carried out in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the report, which compiles the most recent evidence on the profile and drivers of poverty in Nigeria, up to four out of every ten Nigerians live below the national poverty line.
Many Nigerians, particularly in the country’s north, also lack education and access to basic infrastructure, such as electricity, safe drinking water, and improved sanitation, according to the report.
The report also stated that jobs do not translate Nigerians’ hard work into an exit from poverty, as the majority of workers were engaged in small-scale household farm and non-farm enterprises, while 17% of workers hold wage jobs best suited to lifting people out of poverty.
Climate and conflict shocks, it said, are multiplying, and their effects have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, while government assistance to households has been insufficient.
“Households have adopted risky coping strategies, such as reducing education and reducing food consumption, which may have long-term negative consequences for their human capital,” the bank said in a statement.
“These issues are more prevalent in some parts of Nigeria than others; the report captures this spatial disparity by providing statistics at the state level, which is critical given Nigeria’s federal structure.”
The report recommended at least three types of deep, long-term reforms to foster and sustain pro-poor growth and lift Nigerians out of poverty in the future.
Macroeconomic reforms, such as fiscal, trade, and exchange rate policies; policies to increase the productivity of farm and non-farm household enterprises; and policies to improve access to electricity, water, and sanitation while bolstering information and communication technologies are among them.
According to the World Bank, these reforms will help diversify the economy, energize structural transformation, create good, productive jobs, and support social protection programs as well as other redistributive government policies.
As the country’s population grows, it emphasizes the importance of capitalizing on the promise of its young people for economic prosperity.
