Nigeria ranks as the country with the second-largest population of poor people in the world, according to Yemi Kale, former statistician-general of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Kale revealed that about 89 million Nigerians, representing roughly 40 per cent of the population, currently live below the poverty line.
He stressed that this staggering figure places Nigeria just behind India in the global poverty index.
“To put this into perspective, fewer than 20 of the world’s 195 recognised countries even have a population as large as the number of Nigerians living in poverty,” he explained.
The disclosure came during The Platform Nigeria’s Independence Day programme, themed ‘Rebuilding Our Nation’, where Kale, who now serves as group chief economist and managing director of research and trade intelligence at Afreximbank, delivered his keynote address.
Policy delays deepened economic hardship
Kale argued that Nigeria’s deep-rooted poverty crisis did not happen overnight but was worsened by repeated policy missteps and delays in implementing crucial reforms.
“Some of the adjustments that are only now being attempted should have started more than ten years ago when the warning signs were already clear,” he said.
“Had action been taken earlier, households and businesses would have been spared the years of rising inflation, fiscal pressures, and weak investment confidence.”
He noted that wrong-headed monetary and exchange rate policies eroded investor trust, discouraged capital inflows, and left the economy struggling to create jobs.
Painful reforms but no alternative
Commenting on the present government’s economic direction, Kale admitted that ongoing reforms are difficult and causing short-term pain but maintained they remain inevitable.
“There is no credible alternative to these reforms,” he said. “What matters now is ensuring that their implementation is consistent, transparent, and sequenced in a way that eases the burden on citizens.”
According to him, reforms, if sustained with integrity, have the potential to transform Nigeria’s vast human and natural resources into tangible prosperity that goes beyond figures and official speeches.
Government urged to strengthen social protection
While acknowledging the necessity of reforms, Kale urged policymakers to balance economic adjustments with stronger social protection measures.
“The government’s role is not to avoid reform but to make sure the process is humane and socially just,” he noted.
“That means putting safeguards in place to protect vulnerable citizens while the economy undergoes transformation.”
Kale concluded by emphasising that Nigeria’s independence should symbolise the opportunity for all citizens to thrive, but that goal remains threatened unless reforms are properly executed and poverty is deliberately addressed.