As the world marks yet another International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the question on the mind of every average Nigerian has remained, “Are we winning the war against poverty?” one of the worst enemies of humanity, just as a report published on “Scouts for SDGs”, in 2020, rightly captions it (worst enemy of human’s happiness), has had its ride in the country.
According to the World Bank, over 6 million more Nigerians are expected to be plunged into the pool of pauperism this year, in addition to the initial 85 million, bringing the total of the needy in the country to over 91 million. The prediction was made in 2020. The outcome of the pandemic and the recession the country was plunged into, a second time within six years, may have helped to make the prediction come true.
Everyone on earth hates poverty, even the poor himself. Nevertheless, some things happen beyond man’s control. Everyone does not always have equal opportunity. Could it be termed deprivation? According to a report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), between 2007 and 2017, about 12 million people added to poverty ratio, from 86 million to 98 million. The report claimed that despite the said number being multidimensionally poor, a larger proportion of Nigerians (51%) are multidimensionally poor while 46% are income poor.
The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is traceable to 17th October 1987, when over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on October 17th to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor.
On 22 December 1992, the UN General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. According to the UN, the 2030 Agenda is again gestured toward the same promise established under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as 1.3 billion people still live in multidimensional poverty, with almost half of them children and youth.
The theme for this year, which will also run through next year is “Dignity for All in Practice”. Stressing the importance of this day, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), explained that the sustainable fight against poverty requires strengthening of individuals’ capacities through education, science and employment.
In the first quarter of 2021, a report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on its website noted that Nigeria’s Unemployment Rate has risen from 27.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, to 33 per cent. Aside from making it the second Highest on Global List, the NBS report, going by the analysis, shows that ‘more than 60 per cent of Nigeria’s working-age population is younger than 34. Unemployment for people aged 15 to 24 stood at 53.4 per cent in the fourth quarter and at 37.2 per cent for people aged 25 to 34. The jobless rate for women was 35.2 per cent compared with 31.8 per cent for men. This further shows the pace at which the country moves in fighting poverty.
While lamenting the prediction of rise in poverty level, globally, the UN stressed that almost more than a third of the new projected poverty will be domicile in sub-Saharan Africa. While the nation looks up to the leaders, the words of a former Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, in 2002 keeps ringing, “poverty is a denial of human rights for every individual. Indeed, poverty is utterly appalling. Not only does it lead to a life of daily deprivation, hunger and suffering, but it also prevents the enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms, which every human being should be able to enjoy without hindrance."