210 Out Of 220 Nigerians Are Poor By Adedara Oduguwa, PhD

Cases of poverty is worrisome in Nigeria. Unlike in the UK and US, poverty in Nigeria is measured by consumption not by income. Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter.

For example, there are about 9100 millionaires in Nigeria. That’s 1 in every 24,176 people worth $1m (#446, 630,000).

In the United States, 8.8% of the population her millionaires (22million millionaires). That’s, 1 of every 15 Americans are millionaires.

While 3.5% (2, 345, 000), that’s 1 in every 28 people in the UK are millionaires.

Similarly, one in every five Uk children are poor. Indicatively, 22% of 67m (14.5m) of Britons are poor. By UK definition of poverty, if Households income is 60% below the median household income after housing costs for that year. Then, the household is poor.

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In other words, a Briton is poor when he/she makes £140.99 (N76,000) per week, after reduction of housing cost.

Comparatively, the National Bureau of Statistics claimed anyone who earns below $2 (#893.26 )per day is poor in Nigeria. Similarly, NBS (2022), put the figure at 133m Nigerians. This is fictitious!

Let’s look at it practically, how can anyone feed on #893.26 (CBN rate) or #1400 (black market rate) per day? Contextually, it means, #298 per meal. Let’s say this is so, what of accommodation, education, clothing, and security?

Meanwhile, from the UK definition of poverty, what is called poverty income is what well to do Nigerians earn. That’s N76k per week times 4= #304,000 per month. By the time you deduct cost of rent, most comfortable Nigerians don’t earn up to the UK-poverty line.

In the US, poverty means living on less than $36 (#16,078.68) per day. This amount is almost equal to Nigeria’s monthly minimum wage of N30,000.

By implication, the US and UK definition of poverty must have put all Nigerians, apart from the 9100 millionaires on the poverty line. In other words, most Nigerian families (husband, wife and three children) live below #80,000 (16000 per a household times 5) per day.

In some cases, a family of five don’t earn upto #80,000 per month. That’s why I am proposing the Child Protection Law. It’s high time we stop contributing to poverty.

If you are a Nigerian and you don’t spend upto #16,000 per day on yourself, you are poor. Stop contributing to poverty by manufacturing babies you cannot adequately carter for.

As it stands now, 210 out of 220 Nigerians are extremely poor. A child or two is good for the new world. If you don’t fancy poverty, don’t fancy dozen of children.

We may not be out of poverty in the next 50 years even at optimum production, surplus export, good governance, genius political and economic leaders and God’s supernatural intervention, if this mindset is not changed.

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