By Uche Igwe, PhD
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
![image](/2021/06/Legal-Research-On-The-Go2.jpg")
That there are many poor Nigerians is a fact known to many.
Sadly, Africa’s biggest economy has been struggling to put her acts
together despite being one of the largest producers of crude oil in
the continent. It has become a metaphor of the paradox of plenty
that many attribute to the curse of the endowment of natural
resources. When former Venezuelan oil minister, Juan Pablo Perez
Alfonso, exclaimed that oil is the
devil’s excrement[1], back in the days, it
appears he had countries like Nigeria in mind.
![image](/2021/05/NBASBL2021.jpg")
Unsurprisingly, the country has become a host to the largest
number of poor people in the world. According to the Nigeria’s
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) about 40
percent of the population or almost 83 million people live below
the country’s poverty line[2]
of 137,430 naira ($381.75) per year. Unemployment rate increased to 33% percent[3]
in the last quarter of 2020. With a Gini-coefficient of 35.1.[4]
Nigeria is one of the eight countries with the highest inequality
in income distribution in the world. Simply put few people have so
much and majority of others have too little. The country also has a
scary public
debt profile of 32.915 trillion naira[5]
and the second
highest burden of stunted children in the world[6]. With 42.5 percent youth
population, the unemployment rate is now around 27
percent as at 2020[7]
and the number
of out of school children[8]
hovers around 6.95 million according to official sources.
The mounting urgency to protect the poor and the
vulnerable.
Expectedly, incidents of violent conflict, kidnapping for
ransom, student abduction, armed robbery and terrorism are
increasing across the country. The security agencies appear
overwhelmed. Cries of marginalisation and demands of secession rent
within the country from citizens and groups who feel a deep sense
of exclusion. There is growing interethnic intolerance, mutual
suspicion and tension within groups who hitherto co-existed in
harmony. Street gangs and cult groups continue to brazenly kill,
rob and rape innocent citizens in urban slums especially in but not
exclusively in Lagos and Port Harcourt. Criminal herdsmen, unknown
gun men and bandits appear to be on a national rampage.
Proliferation and stockpiles of small arms and light weapons
continue in many communities. ‘Ungoverned’ spaces thrive
where informal forms of authority supposedly provide conducive
breeding ground for these illicit activities. During the recent
#ENDSARS protests, young
people across the country expressed anger[9]
against police brutality which quickly snowballed into tragic
dimensions culminating in massive looting and arson. As a result,
many lives were lost and properties worth billions of naira were
destroyed. Observers insist that these disturbing incidents may be
unrelated to the rising population and growing poverty. The picture
appear to be that a tipping time bomb waiting to explode and
submerge the West African sub-region.
A glimpse into the social protection arena in
Nigeria
Social protection has been widely acknowledged as a
multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach to poverty reduction
through articulating priorities of government towards sustainable
development. It appears to be one of the paths through which
President Buhari’s administration wants to follow fulfil its
promise to lift a
100 million Nigerians out of poverty. [10] Interestingly
during his 2021
Democracy Day speech[11] the President affirmed
that 3.2.6 million poor persons identified through the Nigerian
social register across 708 local governments are already
benefitting from the National Social Investment Program (NSIP)
while 10.5 million individuals have already been lifted out of
poverty in the last two years. Many Nigerians insist that there is
little evidence to justify the President’s claims. Findings from
International Centre for Investigative Reporting suggest that about
105 million Nigerians lived in poverty from the third quarter of
2019 and according to World Poverty Clock these numbers have been
far exceeded due to the pandemic. Rising poverty level in Nigeria
has been attributed to what many describe as President Buhari’s
largely inconsistent and unimpressive economic policies.[12]
Will a New Social Protection Policy deliver
hope?
Although social protection has been discussed in government
circles in Nigeria since 2004, with a chapter dedicated to it in
the Vision 2020 document, little has happened. Apart from sporadic
program interventions that were implemented, there was no serious
policy commitment about it until 2016. According to the policy[13] created that year,
social protection is a mix of policies and programs designed for
individuals and households in other to reduce poverty and
socio-economic shocks by promoting and enhancing livelihoods, life
and dignity. That policy has since expired and a new one is said to
be in the making.
Reportedly, the recently introduced National Social Investment
Programme[14] focused on a more
equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable population
including women, youth and children. So far government claims to
have implemented the skill acquisition scheme for unemployed
graduates (N-Power), micro lending program otherwise known as
Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional
Cash Transfer
Program[15] and the National School
Feeding Program. Official government sources insist that 12
million households[16] have so far benefitted
from the program in the last five years. However many critical
voices including the wife of President Buhari herself contend that
although the program is lofty
in design, it was poorly executed in many states.[17] Independent monitors
including select civil society groups like the African Network for
Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ)[18] based in Benin went
around the country to track[19] some of the funds to
ensure that those who claim to have benefitted from the program are
real and verifiable.
Fragmented efforts and political differences may hinder
progress
Despite these well-meaning efforts, programme interventions
remain fragmented as political differences and competition between
federal and state governments remain a barrier. Poor donor coordination and
the existence of multiple actors[20] might have also
contributed to hinder the pace of social protection programs.
Popularity seeking politicians tend to get involved only when it
advances their political interests while citizens consider what
they get as their own share of the national cake. Many of these
interventions that come as loans are hardly refunded, making the
sustainability of such programs unlikely. Furthermore the timing to
the cash distribution in 2019 just before the election was
perceived by critics as a
ploy to influence voters[21] to support President
Buhari’s re-election bid. At the end, the transparency and fairness
are often compromised further eroding the trust between government
and citizens. The criteria and process of selection of
beneficiaries remain foggy and there are valid complaints that
distribution pattern may be skewed to benefit some regions and not
others. Few civil society groups have developed the requisite
capacity to monitor these disbursements to ensure that the poorest
of the poor are the ones that benefit from them.
Can these Social Investment Programs lift Nigerians out
of poverty?
Despite the emerging faith in social protection initiatives,
some observers prefer to describe it as mere western orthodoxy with
little evidence of results. They insist that cash distribution to
the poor ($11 monthly in case of Nigeria) is mere window dressing
that cannot provide the poor with the opportunity to participate
productively in economic life. At best, these critics insist that
recipients will survive for a few days or weeks only to fall back
into their original situation. Those who support the idea claim
that it raises the standard of living of beneficiaries alongside
giving them a genuine sense of inclusion. Countries like Ghana and
Tanzania[22] that have
recently witnessed decline[23] in their poverty rates
continue to implement social protection programs as part of their
poverty reduction measures. However, the most recent Chinese
example[24] of how the number of
poor people dropped from 98.99 million in 2012 to 16.6 million in
2018 is worth studying. The Chinese government reportedly
introduced a cocktail of policies that continuously lifted
10 million people out of poverty for seven consecutive
years[25] in order to move from
an agrarian backwater to an industrial powerhouse. .
Policy landscape needs to be fortified with an enabling
legislation
Provision of an enabling policy landscape to guide social
protection programs in Nigeria is a useful indicator of positive
political will. In addition, a budgetary provision of 765
billion naira has been made for the program in 2021 fiscal year.
These efforts though bold and commendable, do not appear sufficient
to enable the country to overcome its current overwhelming poverty
burden. With widespread conflict, fears that any rupture in Nigeria
could devastate the sub-region is real. The country needs to
urgently bring together the right partners to do more. There is a
need to back ongoing efforts with an enabling legislation in order
to insulate them from political reversal. Positive efforts have
already initiated but need to be consolidated. Furthermore,
evidence of fair, equitable and transparent allocation of these
resources across the country should be publicly provided to counter
the allegations of likely political interference. Mechanisms for
mutual accountability should be taken seriously to rebuild public
confidence. These are critical to ensure that citizens regain a
sense of inclusion in order to trust government sincerity and
actions. Social protection programs are useful but they may not be
the magic wand towards eradicating of poverty.
Dr. Uche Igwe is a Visiting Research Fellow
at Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of
Economics and Political Science (LSE). He can be reached on
u.igwe@lse.ac.uk[26]
By Uche Igwe, PhD
That there are many poor Nigerians is a fact known to many.
Sadly, Africa’s biggest economy has been struggling to put her acts
together despite being one of the largest producers of crude oil in
the continent. It has become a metaphor of the paradox of plenty
that many attribute to the curse of the endowment of natural
resources. When former Venezuelan oil minister, Juan Pablo Perez
Alfonso, exclaimed that oil is the
devil’s excrement[1], back in the days, it
appears he had countries like Nigeria in mind.
Unsurprisingly, the country has become a host to the largest
number of poor people in the world. According to the Nigeria’s
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) about 40
percent of the population or almost 83 million people live below
the country’s poverty line[2]
of 137,430 naira ($381.75) per year. Unemployment rate increased to 33% percent[3]
in the last quarter of 2020. With a Gini-coefficient of 35.1.[4]
Nigeria is one of the eight countries with the highest inequality
in income distribution in the world. Simply put few people have so
much and majority of others have too little. The country also has a
scary public
debt profile of 32.915 trillion naira[5]
and the second
highest burden of stunted children in the world[6]. With 42.5 percent youth
population, the unemployment rate is now around 27
percent as at 2020[7]
and the number
of out of school children[8]
hovers around 6.95 million according to official sources.
The mounting urgency to protect the poor and the
vulnerable.
Expectedly, incidents of violent conflict, kidnapping for
ransom, student abduction, armed robbery and terrorism are
increasing across the country. The security agencies appear
overwhelmed. Cries of marginalisation and demands of secession rent
within the country from citizens and groups who feel a deep sense
of exclusion. There is growing interethnic intolerance, mutual
suspicion and tension within groups who hitherto co-existed in
harmony. Street gangs and cult groups continue to brazenly kill,
rob and rape innocent citizens in urban slums especially in but not
exclusively in Lagos and Port Harcourt. Criminal herdsmen, unknown
gun men and bandits appear to be on a national rampage.
Proliferation and stockpiles of small arms and light weapons
continue in many communities. ‘Ungoverned’ spaces thrive
where informal forms of authority supposedly provide conducive
breeding ground for these illicit activities. During the recent
#ENDSARS protests, young
people across the country expressed anger[9]
against police brutality which quickly snowballed into tragic
dimensions culminating in massive looting and arson. As a result,
many lives were lost and properties worth billions of naira were
destroyed. Observers insist that these disturbing incidents may be
unrelated to the rising population and growing poverty. The picture
appear to be that a tipping time bomb waiting to explode and
submerge the West African sub-region.
A glimpse into the social protection arena in
Nigeria
Social protection has been widely acknowledged as a
multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach to poverty reduction
through articulating priorities of government towards sustainable
development. It appears to be one of the paths through which
President Buhari’s administration wants to follow fulfil its
promise to lift a
100 million Nigerians out of poverty. [10] Interestingly
during his 2021
Democracy Day speech[11] the President affirmed
that 3.2.6 million poor persons identified through the Nigerian
social register across 708 local governments are already
benefitting from the National Social Investment Program (NSIP)
while 10.5 million individuals have already been lifted out of
poverty in the last two years. Many Nigerians insist that there is
little evidence to justify the President’s claims. Findings from
International Centre for Investigative Reporting suggest that about
105 million Nigerians lived in poverty from the third quarter of
2019 and according to World Poverty Clock these numbers have been
far exceeded due to the pandemic. Rising poverty level in Nigeria
has been attributed to what many describe as President Buhari’s
largely inconsistent and unimpressive economic policies.[12]
Will a New Social Protection Policy deliver
hope?
Although social protection has been discussed in government
circles in Nigeria since 2004, with a chapter dedicated to it in
the Vision 2020 document, little has happened. Apart from sporadic
program interventions that were implemented, there was no serious
policy commitment about it until 2016. According to the policy[13] created that year,
social protection is a mix of policies and programs designed for
individuals and households in other to reduce poverty and
socio-economic shocks by promoting and enhancing livelihoods, life
and dignity. That policy has since expired and a new one is said to
be in the making.
Reportedly, the recently introduced National Social Investment Programme[14] focused on a more
equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable population
including women, youth and children. So far government claims to
have implemented the skill acquisition scheme for unemployed
graduates (N-Power), micro lending program otherwise known as
Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional
Cash Transfer
Program[15] and the National School
Feeding Program. Official government sources insist that 12
million households[16] have so far benefitted
from the program in the last five years. However many critical
voices including the wife of President Buhari herself contend that
although the program is lofty
in design, it was poorly executed in many states.[17] Independent monitors
including select civil society groups like the African Network for
Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ)[18] based in Benin went
around the country to track[19] some of the funds to
ensure that those who claim to have benefitted from the program are
real and verifiable.
Fragmented efforts and political differences may hinder
progress
Despite these well-meaning efforts, programme interventions
remain fragmented as political differences and competition between
federal and state governments remain a barrier. Poor donor coordination and
the existence of multiple actors[20] might have also
contributed to hinder the pace of social protection programs.
Popularity seeking politicians tend to get involved only when it
advances their political interests while citizens consider what
they get as their own share of the national cake. Many of these
interventions that come as loans are hardly refunded, making the
sustainability of such programs unlikely. Furthermore the timing to
the cash distribution in 2019 just before the election was
perceived by critics as a
ploy to influence voters[21] to support President
Buhari’s re-election bid. At the end, the transparency and fairness
are often compromised further eroding the trust between government
and citizens. The criteria and process of selection of
beneficiaries remain foggy and there are valid complaints that
distribution pattern may be skewed to benefit some regions and not
others. Few civil society groups have developed the requisite
capacity to monitor these disbursements to ensure that the poorest
of the poor are the ones that benefit from them.
Can these Social Investment Programs lift Nigerians out
of poverty?
Despite the emerging faith in social protection initiatives,
some observers prefer to describe it as mere western orthodoxy with
little evidence of results. They insist that cash distribution to
the poor ($11 monthly in case of Nigeria) is mere window dressing
that cannot provide the poor with the opportunity to participate
productively in economic life. At best, these critics insist that
recipients will survive for a few days or weeks only to fall back
into their original situation. Those who support the idea claim
that it raises the standard of living of beneficiaries alongside
giving them a genuine sense of inclusion. Countries like Ghana and
Tanzania[22] that have
recently witnessed decline[23] in their poverty rates
continue to implement social protection programs as part of their
poverty reduction measures. However, the most recent Chinese
example[24] of how the number of
poor people dropped from 98.99 million in 2012 to 16.6 million in
2018 is worth studying. The Chinese government reportedly
introduced a cocktail of policies that continuously lifted
10 million people out of poverty for seven consecutive
years[25] in order to move from
an agrarian backwater to an industrial powerhouse. .
Policy landscape needs to be fortified with an enabling
legislation
Provision of an enabling policy landscape to guide social
protection programs in Nigeria is a useful indicator of positive
political will. In addition, a budgetary provision of 765
billion naira has been made for the program in 2021 fiscal year.
These efforts though bold and commendable, do not appear sufficient
to enable the country to overcome its current overwhelming poverty
burden. With widespread conflict, fears that any rupture in Nigeria
could devastate the sub-region is real. The country needs to
urgently bring together the right partners to do more. There is a
need to back ongoing efforts with an enabling legislation in order
to insulate them from political reversal. Positive efforts have
already initiated but need to be consolidated. Furthermore,
evidence of fair, equitable and transparent allocation of these
resources across the country should be publicly provided to counter
the allegations of likely political interference. Mechanisms for
mutual accountability should be taken seriously to rebuild public
confidence. These are critical to ensure that citizens regain a
sense of inclusion in order to trust government sincerity and
actions. Social protection programs are useful but they may not be
the magic wand towards eradicating of poverty.
Dr. Uche Igwe is a Visiting Research Fellow
at Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of
Economics and Political Science (LSE). He can be reached on
u.igwe@lse.ac.uk[26]