Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has raised alarm over Nigeria’s worsening poverty rate, declaring that the country has more poor citizens today than it did at independence in 1960. Speaking during an interactive session in Owerri, Imo State, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain urged leaders to make poverty eradication a governance priority.
In a post on his X page, El-Rufai said: “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.”
The former governor stressed that what Nigeria needs is not another bloated bureaucracy or new agencies but a clear, pragmatic economic programme that rewards hard work and productivity. He warned against the rising get-rich-quick mentality, calling instead for policies that promote innovation and discourage rent-seeking.
According to him, only purposeful leadership, backed by sound economic direction, can lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty and set the nation on the path of true development.
