Fighting Poverty In Nigeria

October 15, 2008 by User Image

NaijaEcash
Filed under: Blogging, Entrepreneur, Nigerian

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There is a global call to action today. Bloggers, great and small are called upon to examine poverty and share ideas on how it can be eliminated. It is a good opportunity for me to air my view about the pathetic approaches being use to fight poverty in Nigeria.

Cash Gifts to Unemployed Youth

This is the most foolish of all the attempts at eliminating poverty. The method is crude and produces negative result. States in Nigeria that employ this method (often tagged Poverty Alleviation Schemes) end up incurring budget deficits without producing any significant result (of course half of the amount budgeted for such schemes disappear into private pockets of greedy politicians). I see these schemes as a foolish policy. Foreign nations that support such schemes are not helping Nigerians in any way.

Grants for Small Scale Entrepreneurs

This policy has some merits, but there are too many hurdles for a newbie entrepreneur to overcome. Government agencies that handle this programs are poorly positioned to offer quality services. Often times, the mentors appointed for the newbie entrepreneurs are selected based on political affiliation, rather than experience. Too many youth that received such grants ended up frustrated as the grants gets finished before the business could break-even.

So what do I recommend?

I recommend just two things. First, get the people empowered with the right knowledge. Then, eliminate two of the major constrains that has been hampering the survival of small enterprises.

Fighting Poverty With Quality Education

Too many Nigerians are getting trained for jobs that no longer exist. Yes, what is the usefulness of producing graduates for a market that is already saturated. It is high time that our society (not just the government) take a second look at our educational curriculums.

Imagine what it will be like if children are given practical lessons on how to earn a living by employing their hands and intellect. Gone are the days when Diploma, Certificates and Degrees guarantee stable employment and food on the table. It is time to face the stark reality and re-strategize.

We desperately need to start learning how to create jobs from the opportunities that lies around us instead of wasting our lives waiting for government grants.

To the best of my knowledge, the government of President Y’aradua should concentrate on just two things and posterity will write his name in gold. Get rid of the two monsters that is terrorizing Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria. Epileptic Power supply and bad roads!

Fighting Poverty With Stable Electricity

Like it or not. A colossal waste is being made of our resources due to epileptic power supply. There will be more business, more profit and invariably more opportunities for employment if all the fund being spent on fueling electricity generators are saved by Nigerian Entrepreneurs. Yours sincerely spend between $400 to $500 monthly to fuel generator.

Fighting Poverty With Good Roads

Inability of the government to provide and maintain good roads has crippled many enterprises in Nigeria. The cost of moving goods and personnel around in Nigeria is simply expensive. Cost of maintenance of motor vehicles is quite high due to high ware and tear from poorly maintained roads. Also, so much man-hours gets wasted due to road congestion.

If this two ugly monsters are eliminated by the government, the goal of poverty elimination would have been half-solved.

If you have some ideas other than those listed above, do well to share with us in a comment. Nigeria must be built by Nigerian. Waiting for foreign aids is waste of time. We have enough resources lying around that we can harness and use to move this nation forward. I am proudly Nigerian.

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Comments

5 Comments on Fighting Poverty In Nigeria

daria369 on Thu, 16th Oct 2008 2:29 am

I think it all starts with education, almost everything else is a short-term fix

naijacampusforum on Thu, 16th Oct 2008 6:27 am

Nice article.I have digged it.
I keep on telling people-Education is very good but it is not every thing.I was reding Shoemoneys letest article in his blog and he confessd that he is very poor in shool.Yet he is empowering thousands of people today and is making millions of $$.Well,giving cash as aids to our youths is not helping-at all! The besting to do is educate them and they will not only be successful but will help others thereby.Have a nice day.

naijacampusforums last blog post..Sugar Prononciation

Tosin on Thu, 16th Oct 2008 1:34 pm

Hi,

Great post as usual. I must say you are doing a good job and as a Nigerian, I am proud of you.

Visit my blog to pick you blog Award.

Cheers

Tosins last blog post..Blogger’s Award

nigerians4change on Thu, 16th Oct 2008 4:13 pm

I liked your suggestions for fighting poverty in Nigeria. And I also disagree that giving cash to unemployed youth is a waste of the Countries resources. I feel that the creation of new jobs in the Country (i.e. by tending to our other natural resources apart from oil) would be a good way to fight poverty.

NaijaEcash on Fri, 17th Oct 2008 10:15 am