WHY NIGERIANS ARE STILL POOR

The other day, I saw a danfo bus driver that I had known as far back as 2009. I remember my first encounter with him; when I was battling with a very serious financial crisis. On that fateful day, I didn’t have a dime in my pocket and was stranded at a bus park in Lagos, Nigeria. I needed one of the drivers to allow me board his bus free of charge. I went from one bus to another making my plea; but none allowed me, until this particular driver did. I expressed my profound gratitude to him for his very kind gesture. Afterwards, I never saw him again. My personal finances soon took an upward swing after that experience. Fast forward to fourteen (14) years; I saw this same driver in a bus some days ago; and noticed that he was still in the same spot. I could readily tell that he was wallowing in abject poverty.

I have come to understand that poverty is a very serious issue in Nigeria. No matter how much the outgoing Buhari-led government wants us to believe otherwise through their baseless claims and propaganda; Nigerians have become poorer in the last eight years than ever before. One must not be fooled by the smiles on people’s faces; most are crying in their private corners. People are struggling to feed even once daily and are unable to pay their children’s school fees. A guy was telling me yesterday that he and garri (cassava flour) have become very good friends. A lot of people are depressed because of the seeming hopelessness of the economic situation of the country. It is really pathetic to see so many people suffer in silence. So, why are Nigerians still poor?

First, is the insensitivity of the government to the plight of Nigerians. A vivid example of this is the new naira design initiative. I get it when they say that they are trying to block the use of money by some unscrupulous politicians to buy votes in the last general elections. But at what cost? I dare say that the initiative was ill-conceived and poorly implemented. Nigerians suffered untold hardships; yet the powers that be turned a deaf ear to our cries. What is more, the initiative failed abysmally. The government had to be forced by the Supreme Court to reverse this anti-people directive. Till date, the new naira notes are still very scarce. This is just one of several so-called government initiatives that have had an adverse effect on the collective socio-economic wellbeing of Nigerians.??

Second, lack of willingness on the part of Nigerians to do the needful. In as much as the buck of the current high rate of poverty stops at the table of the government of the day; the citizens also have a hand in their own poor state. Most Nigerians are not willing to pay the needed price to build wealth. We want the fastest and the shortest routes to riches. That is why you see a lot of people in public offices syphoning funds and a lot of our youths involved in advanced fee fraud/Yahoo. There is a discipline required to build wealth. For instance, the person who desires to come out of poverty must take knowledge and information acquisition seriously. He/she must understand the fundamentals of financial planning and abide by them. But most Nigerians lack the patience to do this. Rather than taking full responsibility for our individual financial wellbeing; we blame others for our predicaments. We hope and wish that things would get better; but they rarely do if we don’t do the right things. As a matter of fact, a lot of people have taken to money rituals, banditry, kidnapping and other vices all in a bid to make money.

Third, is the unwillingness and/or inability of Nigerians to adapt to the fast pace of change. Things are changing fast and most Nigerians are lagging behind. We have not fully come to grips with the new developments in technology; and how it is changing the nature of our jobs; and transforming the way we make money.?With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning et al; Nigerians have not fully embraced these technological innovations. What is more, our inability to cultivate relevant skills and to unlearn old antiquated ways of doing things has contributed in no small way to the depth of our poverty. Most people are not willing to pay for relevant courses and to go back to school if necessary. Yet, they keep complaining about the bad state of the economy.?

Among other things, the incoming government needs to introduce policies and programs that would truly impact people positively, and lift them out of poverty. We the citizens must also quit the blame game and focus on furthering our own affairs through legitimate means. We need to endeavour to increase our financial intelligence; and to cultivate cutting edge skills set by constantly improving ourselves.???

In conclusion, having said all the aforementioned, I strongly believe that it is not impossible to lift Nigerians out of the doldrums of poverty. The government needs to appreciate the immensity of the potentials of our human capital, and invest in it massively. The way I see it, this present government is merely paying lip service to the welfare of the masses. It behooves of the incoming administration to embrace our diversity (i.e. multi-ethnicity), and invest in educating and reskilling the people. ??

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Benjamin Aduroja

Global Financial Consultant

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