Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has lamented over the fact that there are more poor Nigerians now than during the country’s independence in 1960.
According to El-Rufai, poverty can be eradicated in Nigeria if the government prioritises it, just like China and India are doing.
During an interactive session in Owerri, Imo State, the African Democratic Congress’s major member revealed this.
In his post on his X page, the former governor said: “For the sake of our people, we need to have a roadmap for beating mass poverty.
“It is deeply embarrassing that, judging from the population estimate in 1960, there are now more poor Nigerians than there were Nigerians at independence 65 years ago. China has beaten mass poverty, while India is on a path to ending it.
“We too can do it, if we make it a governance priority to move our people out of poverty.”
According to El-Rufai, Nigeria requires a practical economic plan to lift its people out of poverty.
Read Also: El-Rufai Launches Fierce Attack, Accuses Tinubu and APC of Betraying Federalism Promises
He pointed out that the federal government had to look at creative ways to encourage honest Nigerians to work harder rather than setting up agencies for humanitarian issues.
The former governor also denounced the get-rich-quick syndrome.
He said: “We need an economic programme to achieve this important human goal, a programme that is pragmatic in execution but ambitious in its goal.
“In this regard, what is needed is not new agencies of poverty alleviation or ‘humanitarian affairs’ with a massive bureaucracy, but innovative ways to make honest, hardworking citizens more productive and better-rewarded, while discouraging rent-seeking and other ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes in our society.”
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