Poverty is as common a phenomenon as rice is to Thailand's economy. In my introductory post some days ago on the NIGERIA's LOST PEOPLE, the subject of poverty featured prominently. It is on record and practically true that over 80% of Nigerians are actually living below poverty line. According to the UN definition of poverty line, anyone living below one United States Dollar (USD) per day is living below poverty line. Vast majority of Nigerians are living in that state.
The world should not be deceived by the gleaming roads and skyscrapers they see on international TV networks showcasing the beauty of Nigeria - restricting their coverage to Lagos and Abuja. The real Nigerians live in rural areas and the many slums across the length and breath of the nation. These are the Nigerians without electricity supply, portable water and without basic means of livelihood. They are half educated or not literate at all; they simply live every single day at a time without ambition and without a future. That is poverty at its very best.
I have mentioned that before and at the risk of repeating myself, I want to re-assert that the Nigerian is about the most hardworking person on the planet. In spite of the huge odds against him, given half a chance, he can survive and become a monumental success. It is the reason why he is so frustrated when even the basic amenities required as platform for him to engage his entrepreneurial self in spite of his apparent lack of education are virtually not available.
One of such infrastructural necessities is electricity. Nigeria is one of the most densely populated nations on the planet. One out of every five black person on the earth is a Nigerian. With a population of over 150 million people, Nigeria places 8th on the chart of the world's most populous nation. A nation with such vast population is not generating up to 5,000 megawatts of electricity! It is a disaster. Over the last 20 years, multi-billion dollars have been spent on revamping the energy sector but all to no avail. Corruption and lack of political will has continued to hinder the rejuvenation of this all important sector. Today, Nigeria is the world's number one importer of generators.
The advantages a regular supply of electricity presents to the average Nigerian is enormous. He can power his house and live free from the noise and pollution of the generating sets; use electricity to power his small business premise and drastically reduce costs of overhead which presently brings his efforts to naught as a result of huge running costs. This is how important the availability of electricity is to alleviating poverty for the "common man" in Nigeria.
The other crucial infrastructure is a good road network. Nigerian roads have been classified as some of the worst death traps in the world. Annual, huge budgetary provisions are made for road construction and maintenance but the real roads that should impact positively on the common Nigerian are left unattended. Most truck roads and high ways linking cities that provide the most common transportation routes for Nigerians are littered with pot holes and are in a state of disrepair. Rural roads are non-existent as most of them are untarred and mostly impassible especially during raining seasons. Most communities are cut off from the real world as a result of erosion affecting these untarred roads because they are constantly eroding for lack of corrosion.
Food supply from rural to urban areas are transported through the roads. When the roads are in the state they are now, rural dwellers who live on subsistence farming cannot sell their goods and therefore are faced with the problem of further impoverishment. Food security becomes a major problem when rural dwellers are discouraged from engaging in large scale farming for fear of having no means of transporting the goods to the cities where they are needed. The cost of food items skyrocket when the farmers have to pay through their nose to transport goods to the cities through vehicles that ply the rough routes and have to charge high fares as a result of the wear and tear that becomes the lot of their vehicles because of bad roads.
I can only address bad roads and electricity here. The infrastructures required as platforms for poverty alleviation in Nigeria are many and varied. As the Goodluck Jonathan takes office on May 29, 2011, it is incumbent upon it as a government elected by the good and frustrated people of Nigeria to give them some good dividends of Nigeria. They that have ears, let them hear what is being said. It is time to transform Nigeria and turn Nigerians into the super stars that they are potentially at the moment.
God bless Nigeria.
The world should not be deceived by the gleaming roads and skyscrapers they see on international TV networks showcasing the beauty of Nigeria - restricting their coverage to Lagos and Abuja. The real Nigerians live in rural areas and the many slums across the length and breath of the nation. These are the Nigerians without electricity supply, portable water and without basic means of livelihood. They are half educated or not literate at all; they simply live every single day at a time without ambition and without a future. That is poverty at its very best.
I have mentioned that before and at the risk of repeating myself, I want to re-assert that the Nigerian is about the most hardworking person on the planet. In spite of the huge odds against him, given half a chance, he can survive and become a monumental success. It is the reason why he is so frustrated when even the basic amenities required as platform for him to engage his entrepreneurial self in spite of his apparent lack of education are virtually not available.
One of such infrastructural necessities is electricity. Nigeria is one of the most densely populated nations on the planet. One out of every five black person on the earth is a Nigerian. With a population of over 150 million people, Nigeria places 8th on the chart of the world's most populous nation. A nation with such vast population is not generating up to 5,000 megawatts of electricity! It is a disaster. Over the last 20 years, multi-billion dollars have been spent on revamping the energy sector but all to no avail. Corruption and lack of political will has continued to hinder the rejuvenation of this all important sector. Today, Nigeria is the world's number one importer of generators.
The advantages a regular supply of electricity presents to the average Nigerian is enormous. He can power his house and live free from the noise and pollution of the generating sets; use electricity to power his small business premise and drastically reduce costs of overhead which presently brings his efforts to naught as a result of huge running costs. This is how important the availability of electricity is to alleviating poverty for the "common man" in Nigeria.
The other crucial infrastructure is a good road network. Nigerian roads have been classified as some of the worst death traps in the world. Annual, huge budgetary provisions are made for road construction and maintenance but the real roads that should impact positively on the common Nigerian are left unattended. Most truck roads and high ways linking cities that provide the most common transportation routes for Nigerians are littered with pot holes and are in a state of disrepair. Rural roads are non-existent as most of them are untarred and mostly impassible especially during raining seasons. Most communities are cut off from the real world as a result of erosion affecting these untarred roads because they are constantly eroding for lack of corrosion.
Food supply from rural to urban areas are transported through the roads. When the roads are in the state they are now, rural dwellers who live on subsistence farming cannot sell their goods and therefore are faced with the problem of further impoverishment. Food security becomes a major problem when rural dwellers are discouraged from engaging in large scale farming for fear of having no means of transporting the goods to the cities where they are needed. The cost of food items skyrocket when the farmers have to pay through their nose to transport goods to the cities through vehicles that ply the rough routes and have to charge high fares as a result of the wear and tear that becomes the lot of their vehicles because of bad roads.
I can only address bad roads and electricity here. The infrastructures required as platforms for poverty alleviation in Nigeria are many and varied. As the Goodluck Jonathan takes office on May 29, 2011, it is incumbent upon it as a government elected by the good and frustrated people of Nigeria to give them some good dividends of Nigeria. They that have ears, let them hear what is being said. It is time to transform Nigeria and turn Nigerians into the super stars that they are potentially at the moment.
God bless Nigeria.
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