Peter Obi, a former presidential candidate for the Labour Party, has bemoaned the fact that Nigerians live in abject poverty while politicians are preoccupied with power struggles.
In a post on his verified X handle on Thursday, Obi said that Nigeria is regressing while other countries are pulling millions out of poverty.
According to Obi, the startling figure of around 62% of Nigerians, or 141 million people, living in poverty shows that over half of the country’s population is in appalling circumstances.
A hard reality confronts our country as we politicians compete for positions and control of party organizations, frequently exchanging posts before elections are over.
The World Bank reports that by 2025, there would be almost 139 million Nigerians living in poverty, up from 81 million in 2019. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of destitute Nigerians increased by 14 million, from 115 million to 129 million.
An extra 26 million Nigerians will fall into poverty between 2023 and 2026, according to projections for 2026, which indicate that this number will approach 141 million.
“Turning Macroeconomic Stability into Sustainable Growth” is the headline of the Nigeria Economic Outlook 2026 report, which supports these dire predictions. A staggering 141 million people, or 62% of the population, are predicted to be living in poverty by 2026.
The paper emphasizes that poverty will continue to worsen despite recent attempts at stabilization due to weak real income growth and consistently high living expenses.
The majority of Nigerians would not see enough income growth to offset rising expenses. Sustained high prices resulting from energy, logistics, and exchange-rate volatility will continue to be a hardship even if headline inflation may moderate.
Low-income households are particularly vulnerable to food inflation and price shocks because food accounts for up to 70% of their overall spending.
Micro, small, and medium-sized businesses that depend on local customers are under tremendous strain as a result of the growing tide of poverty, which also reduces demand and decreases purchasing power. If we don’t see strong job creation, productivity development, and successful social protection measures, a persistent rise in poverty might destabilize state finances, deplete human capital, and obstruct economic recovery.
“Compared to countries like Indonesia and India, our trajectory is very different. Extreme poverty in India has been successfully decreased from 35–40% in 2000 to an astounding 5.3% now. Indonesia has also achieved great progress, reducing poverty from over 30% in 2000 to about 8% because to persistent expenditures in social safety, health care, and education.
In the meantime, poverty in Nigeria has increased from roughly 40% in 2000 to a startling 62% at present.
Can we accept the fact that a child born in Nigeria today has one of the highest chances of being born into poverty worldwide? Not only is the 141 million Nigerians living in poverty a national failing, but it also poses a serious threat to our future. Complacency is out of style. Macroeconomic stability, investments in agriculture, food supply, logistics, education, health, productivity, and large-scale job creation are all structural reforms that are now essential rather than optional, he said.
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