The federal government’s National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) is aimed at lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years. In this report, PAUL OKAH writes on the implementation of the programmes amidst rising unemployment, poverty, others.
In 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the Poverty and inequality in Nigeria report, which highlighted that 40 per cent of the total population, or almost 83 million people, live below the country’s poverty line of 137,430 naira ($381.75) per year.
According to the report, Borno state was the poorest state in Nigeria with 90 per cent, followed by Sokoto at 87.73 per cent, while Lagos was the least state with poor people, standing at 4.5 per cent poverty level.
Expectedly, the huge number of unemployed people and growing poverty in states across the country has unarguably been contributing to reported cases of social vices, including armed robbery, kidnapping, and prostitution, among others. This is as universities still churn out graduates every year, without jobs to fall back on.
Furthermore, the advent of Covid-19 in Nigeria in February last year has not helped matters as different sectors of the economy have been negatively affected, with companies downsizing and laying off staffers.
Government’s effort
A few months after his re-election for a second term in 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari created the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management Social Development with the pioneer Minister, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, saddled with the responsibility of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
It is worth noting that before the ministry was created, the federal government had launched different National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs), including the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), among others, to ensure that Nigerians were lifted from poverty through employment, no matter how menial.
In fact, the N-Power programme, targeted at school leavers and school graduates, ensured that beneficiaries earn N30,000 monthly stipends from the federal government until they are exited from the programme or secure permanent employments.
Consequently, at the end of each batch of the programme beneficiaries are exited, while new enrolees are registered.
Presently, many unemployed graduates are waiting for the commencement of Batch C N-Power this year, following the exit of batches A and B last year.
However, with unemployment rate rising on a daily basis, it is safe to say that beneficiaries of the programme sometimes fall back into the same poverty line.
Also, controversies have been trailing some of the NSIPs of the federal government, with beneficiaries often complaining of non payment, delay in payment and analysts alleging that the processes, especially disbursement of funds to beneficiaries, are marred by irregularities.
Nigerians groan
Some respondents, who spoke with Blueprint Weekend, said the federal government has been doing its best to cater for Nigerians through NSIPs, more needed to be done to curb unemployment and poverty.
Charles Effiong, who graduated from University of Uyo in 2018, told our reporter that enrolled for the Batch C N-Power last year, but has not heard anything since then.
He said: “I don’t really understand what is happening in this country. If you’re not connected, you will continue suffering like many of us. I have been finding it difficult to survive since I graduated in 2018 and did my NYSC in 2019. I applied for the Batch C N-Power last year, but nothing from government since.
“If it were in saner climes, jobs will be lining down the street for graduates to pick from, but not here in Nigeria where graduates have to stay years before they can get meaningful jobs.
“Look at the so called N-Power or NSIP that is supposed to keep us away from poverty line, but it is still marred by corruption and controversies. Just how will the poor survive in Nigeria,” he queried.
Likewise, a resident of the FCT, Joy Okafor, said she was laid off as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and has not been able to benefit from any of the federal government’s NSIPs.
“As I speak with you, feeding is difficult as a result of being sacked from work during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“You don’t need to go far in looking for poor and unemployed people in Nigeria, just look around you and see for yourself what people are going through in this country.
“I have heard severally of government sharing money to people to start up petty businesses, but I have never benefitted from such.
“I don’t think government is really reaching out to the real poor, otherwise many of us will not be where we are today. Seriously, government should put more effort in reaching out to the real poor people to curb poverty. In a situation where people find it difficult to feed, crime will continue to increase.”
However, in April last year, one of the beneficiaries of the NSIPs, Mrs Sarah Gadaga, who hails from Nasarawa state, told this reporter that she was among the 190 households in Kwali local government area of the FCT, to receive N20,000 under the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme, stating the stipend will be of great help to her family of three and petty business.
“I just received N20,000 from the federal government, under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
“Under the Conditional Cash Transport programme, we are paid N5,000 per month. Since this year, we were unable to receive any stipend for reasons the ministry explained to us. However, the N20,000 covers the months of January, February, March and this April.
“I have three children, so the money will be of great help to my family, especially at this period of staying at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I will also use part of the money to support my petty business once this pandemic is over. I am grateful to President Muhammadu Buhari for this intervention. He has just saved many lives,” she said.
Expert speaks
In an interview with Blueprint Weekend, an economic expert and Board Chairman of Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF), Dr Chiwuike Uba, outlined what government should do if it means business, with regards to curbing poverty and unemployment.
He said: “Nigeria does not have any programme and/or policies to address urbanization challenges. For instance, about 18 per cent of the urban population live in poverty, and the proportion of the urban population increased from 17.5 per cent in 1969 to 51.2 per cent in 2019.
“Illiteracy and lack of needed skills are drivers of poverty. Therefore, to reduce poverty, quality education is needed. Education improves economic activity through the expansion of labour force value and efficiency, which in turn, moves people out of poverty. Unfortunately, Nigeria pays little or no real attention to education and skills development.”
He added: “Honestly, every patriotic Nigerian would be worried over the increasing rate of poverty in Nigeria, despite the billions of monies spent by government on various poverty alleviation programmes.
“Nigeria was recently classified as the world’s poverty headquarters, with over 93 million Nigerians still living in poverty and at least three million persons sliding into extreme poverty per quarter.
“First, the top-down approach adopted in the identification and selection of the beneficiaries of the programmes/interventions, technically, and willy-nilly excludes the real poor and vulnerable in the society and allocates the resources to those who do not need the support.
“In addition, the entire process of selection and accessing the interventions are vague and fraught with secrecy or too restrictive. Planning and implementation are not done in an open and transparent way.
“The number of those accessing the programmes is also very insignificant compared to those who need support.
“When you compare the amount given to the poor people against the number of poor people and the percentage of the number of people that receive the insufficient amount given as social protection, it is evident that it would not make any impact on poverty. “In fact, the structure has the capacity to increase poverty because it creates a false hope syndrome.”
Speaking further he said: “Finally, to address the issue of poverty requires bold and daring decisions. Whereas it is important to dash/share money to the poor, it is more important to create opportunities for employment for all.
“If the monies the government has shared in the past were deployed to supporting the development of the critical infrastructure, investments in social sectors: education, health and WASH and development of a roadmap for integrated sectoral development, the impact would have been better than what we have seen with the sharing of monies.”
NSIP beneficiaries
On Monday, January 18, the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Managemnt and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, said that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the expansion of the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) to accommodate more primary school pupils, traders, graduates, farmers, among others; in order to curb poverty and unemployment in Nigeria.
Speaking during the 4th Annual Review of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), Farouq said that, following the approval of increment in the number of beneficiaries, the NHGSFP will include additional 5 million pupils, “including children in non-conventional educational settings,” the N-Power programme will create jobs for one million beneficiaries, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programmes (GEEP) programme will provide loans to an additional one million traders, farmers and market people, while the social register is also being expanded to accommodate an additional one million households.
She said: “We have continued to engage and collaborate with state governors on the implementation of the National Social Investment Programmes.
“The ministry is also working with federal and state MDAs, INGOs and NGOs to evolve policies that would support the institutionalisation of the social investment programmes in the nation.
“We have restructured the GEEP programme and other NSIPs to align them with our mandate of providing fair, focused social inclusion programmes to the vulnerable in Nigeria.
“Furthermore, the FCT has been included in the school feeding programme, while Kwara state is set to commence feeding in a few months time. The NHGSFP will soon launch a capacity building exercise for vendors and enumeration of all beneficiaries on the programme.
“Plans have been concluded for the exit and transition of the N-Power batch A & B through the creation of the NEXIT portal, which would allow those who choose to sign up to access other government empowerment opportunities.
“A beneficiary management system for the NSIPs is expected to be deployed in 2021, which would have the capacity to manage payments, address grievances and improve dissemination of information.
“Additionally, you are aware that Mr President has approved the expansion of the NSIPs, as part of his vision to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.
“The NHGSFP is to reach an additional 5 million pupils including children in non-conventional educational settings. The N-Power programme is to create jobs for a total of one million beneficiaries.
“The GEEP programme will provide loans to an additional one million traders, farmers and market people; the social register is also being expanded to accommodate an additional one million households.
“We have also launched the Rural Women grant, which will reach women in 36 states of the federation and the FCT. As part of the Economic Sustainability Plan, the Shock Responsive Social Register is to be launched, which would provide grants funds to one million identified vulnerable persons in urban areas.
“We have also successfully created and operationalised the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities to better manage the needs of our comrades, who have special needs.”
She added: “It is therefore safe to say that we have been working tirelessly to ensure that vulnerable Nigerians are brought into the federal governments social protection umbrella, which seeks to support, empower and level the playing field so that they are better equipped to handle economic and social shocks, while contributing their quota to society and to the betterment of our great Nation.
“The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme is an important intervention because of the multiple wins it is capable of delivering. It is a vehicle for reducing hunger, promoting educational gains, health status improvement and economic stimulation.
“Such programmes are recognized as positive indicators for countries who are on track to achieve sustainable development. The long term benefits to our children and the future of the nation cannot be over emphasized.
“Thus we must resolve to remain steadfast in ensuring that this programme reaches its objective and improves the lives of its beneficiaries.
“Each one of us here today, has been selected by different persons at different times to achieve the same goals which are to eliminate poverty in all its forms and uplift humanity.
“It is therefore not by coincidence that we have found ourselves at this forum together, to carry on with the work of assessing our efforts, identifying our weaknesses celebrating our strengths and encouraging one another to work harder, smarter and in a more transparent manner for the benefit of those who are under our charge.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development remains committed to providing the necessary support and the enabling environment for social protection and inclusion policies to grow and take root in the fabric of our nation so that future generations will thrive and succeed in a growingly competitive world.
“The Covid-19 pandemic and its various ramifications has forced each of us to confront worst case scenarios, but rather than dampen our spirits, I believe that we have only become stronger in our resolve to protect those in need.”
