By Jennifer Y Omiloli
The presidential hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said that the whole Nigerian populace could fall into poverty if suitable consideration isn’t taken.
He said that in response to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report on 98 million individuals living in multidimensional poverty, The Cable reports.
Atiku likewise said that even the Africa’s most richest man, Aliko Dangote, has been affected by the “wave of poverty sweeping through the country”.
The PDP presidential competitor charged the individuals who place Nigeria in the state of carefreeness, saying the best test the nation is confronting is poverty and not Boko Haram or banditry.
“And in the wake of this report by the UNDP, we are greeted with nonchalance by those who led us into this crisis. It is as though they think that as long as they and their families are not amongst those 98 million extremely poor Nigerians, things can carry on as before,” he said.
Atiku, therefore, called on all stakeholders to work together and find a lasting solution to the issue, saying the situation affects everyone irrespective of their class.
He said: “The failure of our economy over the last four years affects everyone from top to bottom. Four years ago, Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s richest man, was worth $25bn.
“However, his net worth in 2019 is less than half that. He joined thousands of industrialists whose wealth and their ability to produce, had eroded in recent years, and continue to do so.”
He also said that the situation has affected industrialists in creating job opportunities with their dwindling wealth.
“With the National Bureau of Statistics reporting a net job loss of over six million since 2015, we see that if industrialists have their wealth eroding, it affects their ability to create opportunities, which means that the trickle-down effect gradually dries.
“But that cannot be allowed to be the case. Those who have the ability, including the Council of State, all former leaders, elder-statesmen, and especially the other arms of government, must begin to collaborate or solutions, before the number increases from 98 million, to all 198 million Nigerians.
“We must remember that we are stakeholders in the Nigerian project; stakeholders who must speak up for those 98 million people who are losing their voices to poverty,” he said.
