Lack of enlightenment,
poor adaptation of technology and poor telecommunication infrastructure have
been identified as reasons for financial exclusion in Nigeria . This lack of financial inclusion caused Nigeria to lack
behind its sub Saharan African (SSA) country peers.
Many of our colleagues in the SSA like Here, financial inclusion means free training, open access to grants, interest free loans and scholarships in the purchase and training of telecom users in a country. Since there are no such provisions, not even loans targeted at telecom industrialisation in
The core of financial discrimination which
stokes poverty in Nigeria
is poor enlightenment which discourages citizens from having bank accounts.
Without a bank account an individual lacks access to loans, grants and scholarships. Moreover, insecurity created by the activities of herdsmen and Boko Haram has scattered the people, rendering peaceful coexistence impossible.
Without a bank account an individual lacks access to loans, grants and scholarships. Moreover, insecurity created by the activities of herdsmen and Boko Haram has scattered the people, rendering peaceful coexistence impossible.
And looking at the unemployment rate, people
are losing jobs in droves.
With the current inflationary trend, the weak
purchasing power being experienced is the reason why the number of bankable
adults is decreasing.
According to the World Bank Fintec Database 2017—Nigeria receded
in financial inclusion between 2014 and 2017 with a large percentage of
bankable adults dropping by 4 per cent to 39 per cent, while the SSA average
increased by more than 8 percentage points to 43 per cent.
In the 2016 World Bank report on Financial Sector Deepening, the introduction of MPESA in
Thus, the communication gap between the banks
and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should be addressed.
For in Kenya every bank integrated with
MPESSA (the mobile money app) for ease of money transfer.
The telecom companies then recruited agents
across the cities to distribute the products.
This Kenyan model should be studied and emulated by policymakers at the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Communications. In adopting this model, let the CBN intervene by laying down the rule.
This Kenyan model should be studied and emulated by policymakers at the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Communications. In adopting this model, let the CBN intervene by laying down the rule.
In South Africa , more than 70 per cent
of adults have bank transaction accounts.
That is more than what obtains in Brazil , Chile ,
India , Mexico , Russia
and its life insurance adoption rate is higher than wealthier countries
such as Italy and Spain . Ivory Coast has
experienced a mobile money revolution.
Now there are more adults with mobile money
accounts, 24.3 per cent than with bank accounts.
In fact,Ivory Coast has the
fifth highest rate of mobile money accounts in the world, behind 58 per cent
for Kenya , 37 per cent for Somalia , 35 per cent for Uganda and 32 per cent for Tanzania .
In fact,
Last month, the CBN said it isn’t on track to
reach its target of increasing financial inclusion in Nigeria to 80
per cent by 2020.
Therefore, it adopted a refreshed strategy by
signing a cooperation agreement with the Nigerian Communications Commission to
improve the penetration of financial services using mobile phones.
The consequences are, according to the World Poverty Clock
given by the U.S. Brookings Institution, that Nigeria
has overtaken India
as number one in the world poverty rating.
Out of Nigeria ’s 180 million people, close
to 50 per cent are deemed extremely poor.
Another report also says Nigeria has
over 87 million people living in abject poverty.
Incidentally the World Poverty Clock is a
civil society organisation created by Data Lab in Austria
and funded by the Germany
to monitor poverty across the globe.
More so, Brookings’ 2018 quarter one projectsNigeria having 73 million poor
people; the country with the largest number of extremely poor people in the world.
More so, Brookings’ 2018 quarter one projects
Brookings conducts research that leads to new
ways of solving social problems.
Its recent report ranks countries according to
their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on their purchasing power parity per
capita. This means the total value of goods and services produced is divided by your
total population while the value of the product is defined by the purchasing
power parity of your currency.
However, what is worrying about the report is that extreme poverty is growing
in Nigeria by six people every
minute, while poverty in India
continues to fall.
The report also noted that by December 2018,
3.2 million people will join poverty ranks in Africa .
The Brookings also found that extreme poverty
in the world today is an African affair since Africans account for two-thirds
of extremely poor people in the world.
And that if the trend persists, Africans will
ultimately account for 90 per cent of the world poor by 2030.
Moreover, the American Central Intelligence Agency Factbook suggests that Nigerians currently living on less than$1 a day have grown from 34 per cent between 1992 and 1999 to 67 per cent by 2018.
Moreover, the American Central Intelligence Agency Factbook suggests that Nigerians currently living on less than$1 a day have grown from 34 per cent between 1992 and 1999 to 67 per cent by 2018.
Even though our own National Bureau of
Statistics reported no fewer than 112 million Nigerians lived below poverty
line as at 2016.
It was for these reasons that at the
investiture of the new president of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers
late last month, two economists flayed the planned growth of the Nigerian
economy by two per cent as being ridiculous.
According to the duo Uche Uwaleke and Biodun Adedipe, withNigeria ’s 2.6
per cent population growth per year, failure to grow our economy at between 5
and 7 per cent from now will spell doom to the country.
According to the duo Uche Uwaleke and Biodun Adedipe, with
However, to achieve sustainable growth, the
economists noted, developing the capital market remains the key policy
issue for Nigerian prosperity.
Accordingly, introducing an array of market
products to hedge countless risks by the bourse is the way forward.
Although the Buhari administration has operated in denial of extreme poverty inNigeria ,
from the economic indices enumerated above, it is clear Nigerians have never
been this poor and desperate in their history.
Although the Buhari administration has operated in denial of extreme poverty in
Sadly, this is due unsympathetic leadership
and poor policy options.
The problem was exacerbated on the onset when
Buhari allowed the economy to drift.
Thus, investors were forced to repatriate
their investments, halting new projects and thereby creating severe job losses,
hyperinflation and the dislocation in the economy.
What’s more, the government’s import substitution policy resulting in the banning of imported rice as a way of promoting local industries is one of the factors leadingNigeria
into extreme poverty.
What’s more, the government’s import substitution policy resulting in the banning of imported rice as a way of promoting local industries is one of the factors leading
The world’s standard of lifting people out of
poverty by ensuring their disposable incomes are enough to buy them food and
shelter was rejected.
The result of poor policy has been high price
of food leading to greater poverty.
No wonder an OECD report avers that “Nigerians
would save 30 per cent of their income if they bought their food at Indian
prices.”
No comments:
Post a Comment