According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 133 million Nigerians live in poverty. This statistic, a civil society organisation working under the International Human Rights Commission said on Friday, December 16, 2022 might lead to a new level of hunger unheard of in Nigeria.
The non-profit organisation underlined the necessity of the government giving people in rural communities more influence in order to combat Nigeria’s rising poverty while describing the report as a warning of an impending economic disaster in the nation.
This was said by Dr. Duru Hezekiah, the IHRC’s Head of Diplomatic Missions in Nigeria and the IHRC’s At-Large Ambassador, during the distribution of food and cash to over 150 low-income individuals and people with disabilities.
The gifts that arrived before Christmas were intended to lessen the impact of the rising inflation.
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According to the NBS, 63% of Nigeria’s population, or 133 million people, were described as multidimensionally poor. According to the research, the nation’s escalating poverty is a result of low access to education, living conditions, health care, employment, and security.
The inflation rate in Nigeria has reached its highest level since September 2005, when it was 24.32 percent, according to another report released by NBS on Thursday.
At this time, inflation is at 21.47 percent.
Hezekiah, in response to the NBS numbers, cautioned that if the poverty rate were not quickly addressed, it would be a recipe for calamity.
We are actually experiencing an economic crisis, he remarked. We are still pleading with the government because if it isn’t checked, I can assure you that it will end in disaster and that Nigeria will actually be designated a “nation in hunger.”
“In International Human Rights Commission, we don’t believe in protests. We don’t believe in riots.
“We believe in dialogue and negotiation. And so we keep appealing to the government, advising them on way forward to find a lasting solution. I know we might not be able to eradicate poverty 100 per cent but I tell you the growth of a nation begins with the growth of the people. If the people are happy, if the people are well taken care of, there will be growth. Look at the developed countries today.
“The rate of poverty is low compared to us here. So if governments want to be true to themselves, they should help us by empowering these people so that they can be able to cope with the level of inflation.”
Speaking about the selection of recipients for the gifts, the IHRC director noted that many Nigerians were suffering from social vulnerability and poverty, and that for the majority of them, the holiday season did not bring anything with which to celebrate.
He stated: “It is in awareness of this that we must commend the brain and drive behind this annual end-of-year giveaway programme for the vulnerable.
“Further still, in recognition of its targeting specifically of women from selected rural areas of the Federal Capital Territory to comprise the beneficiaries of this year’s edition, I wish to reiterate that the choice could be no more appropriate, for women, being natural home-makers, have the majority of those rural households depending on them for the possibility of love, joy and laughter this season.
“For us as humanitarians to feast freely and draw the year to close with joy in our hearts, we must ensure that there is some justice in our world and society as manifested through equitable, or at least charitable.”
