By SONALA OLUMHENSE
As you may already have heard, the World Bank this week in Washington, DC, warned that poverty in Nigeria will increase by a whopping 3.6 percentage points by 2027.
That time span covers President Bola Tinubu’s first term and the beginning of his “Grab it, snatch it, run with it” second term.
The bank made the disclosure in its Africa’s Pulse report (PDF) released at the ongoing Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
It stated that non-resource-rich countries are expected to continue reducing poverty faster than resource-rich countries such as Nigeria.
The Bank reflects on the current predicament of African governments, noting that they must contend with rising social unrest, and calls for improved security, basic services, and access to economic opportunities.
“Breaking the cycle of mistrust between people and their government requires changing the way governments provide for their citizens, building public confidence through providing efficient services and fair regulations,” the report further stated.
The Bank describes 2024 as a year of youth protests in Africa, asserting that taking their demands seriously is key in the context of the demographic transition and youth migration.
In July of that year, the Council on Foreign Relations characterized this as “a sense of foreboding” in Nigeria.
The report observes that the link between economic grievance and political stability runs both ways: poor economic opportunities exacerbate political discontent, while the risk of conflict and violence can severely undermine economic activity and investment.
“Escaping the cycle of poor growth outcomes and political grievances will require that governments prioritise the delivery of practical solutions for their citizens,” it says.
“This implies focusing on areas where governments directly affect people’s lives—providing quality public services and fairly regulated market competition.”
The report notes that delivering such results will require a shift in the way many governments operate: “away from rent-seeking and narrow power bases and towards more inclusive, transparent, and accountable service delivery and market oversight.”
But such a shift in governance is fundamental to building citizens’ trust, strengthening the social contract, and creating incentives for positive engagement between citizens and their governments, the report further states, affirming that governments must prioritise the delivery of practical solutions.