ABUJA, Nigeria — According to latest report by World Bank, Nigeria dey face serious poverty wahala. Dem report show say over three-quarters of people wey dey live for rural areas don enter poverty, plus almost half of urban dwellers too. As we enter April 2025, 30.9 percent of Nigerians dey live below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 each day.
This mean say since 2018/2019, over 73 million Nigerians dey struggle to meet basic needs, living on ₦3460 or less per day. The northern part of the country dey hit worst, with poverty rates near 46.5 percent, while southern Nigeria dey hold around 13.5 percent. Gini index for inequality stand at 35.1, indicating serious gap between rich and poor.
From 2018 to 2024, World Bank don notice an increase of about 42 million people wey don fall into poverty, with projections say more than half of Nigerians go find demsef for this struggle by the end of 2024. Dis mean say around 104 million Nigerians go dey poor unless things change.
Dem next plans take into account the negative effects of COVID-19 lockdowns, conflict from Ukraine-Russia war, and recent economic reforms like floating the exchange rate and removing fuel subsidy wey dey affect prices of goods and services. Inflation don surge, making life harder as cost of living dey rise sharply.
World Bank analysis show say since 2010, poverty rate don dey stagnated. The major issues include low living standards, absence of better jobs, heavy reliance on oil, and lack of structural reforms. Economic shocks wey come because of policies from international bodies dey affect local economy, not just local management.
Policies like immediate removal of fuel subsidy without any economic backup plan don lead to inflation wey dey reduce household income. Businesses dey now face rising production costs, and many don result to “under-employment” or laying off workers. Dis creates more poverty in the system.
Exchange rate floating policy also dey contribute to the problem, slashing GDP from around $476.47 billion in 2022 to about $187.64 billion in 2024. Dis jump in exchange rate from N460 to N1,609 don make imported goods and raw materials too expensive. Now, people dey pay three times what dem suppose to pay for goods and services.
Despite the various economic stimulus initiatives like N100 billion for buses, N200 billion for farming, and many others, distribution dey flawed due to lack of accountability. Many Nigerians no see benefit from these initiatives.
To tackle this poverty issue, the federal government gats invest heavily in infrastructure to increase production. Questions like why Nigeria dey struggle to produce enough and why foreign investment dey scarce need answers. Stronger energy sector and better transportation systems fit make production processes smoother.
Investing inside Nigeria’s minerals sector could also reduce reliance on imports and the issues wey come with currency fluctuations. Furthermore, tackling food inflation due to insecurity in regions like North East fit improve overall quality of life for Nigerians.
As Nigeria dey face these serious economic challenges, it is important to build a system wey go support production and reduce poverty. Government must take responsibility to ensure policies fit benefit the common man and not just the elites.
