The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Mathias
Schmale yesterday said Nigeria currently lags behind in terms of
reaching many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030
targets.
The UN scribe said the country’s population of over 150 million has
majority living on less than N370 per day, quoting data from the World
Bank.
He said though lifting the people above the poverty line cannot be
done quickly, the government must act within the short and medium term
to ensure that vulnerable Nigerians were protected in an effective and
innovative way including cash transfer programmes and other social
protection schemes.
Speaking at the opening of the maiden Africa Social Impact Summit
(ASIS) with the theme: “Rethink, Rebuild, Recover: Accelerating Growth
for the SDGs”, which was hosted by the Sterling One Foundation in
Abuja, Schmale said even though there are significant challenges to
the attainment of the 2030 agenda, which was worsened by the COVID-19
pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Nigeria was already lagging behind
before the dual obstacles.
This was just as the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Sterling Bank
Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, insisted that wealth generation and
economic prosperity remained crucial to solving the poverty challenge
in the country.
He maintained that government must promote economic growth by
supporting the private sector to create jobs, adding, “as that growth
happens, we must then take that part of the resources to attend to
those left behind.”
Schmale, however, pointed out that about 100 million vulnerable
Nigerians currently live below the poverty line, adding that, “We need
to do things to protect them while backing the winner; there are
successful businesses, there are successful government initiatives and
so it is the right mixture of protecting the poor and backing the
winners who are doing well for the country and the continent”.
The UN resident coordinator said given that Africa was predicted to
have a staggering 830 million young people by 2050, the challenge was
to create an enabling environment for them to reach their potential
and become a blessing rather than a curse to the continent.
He said, “From our point of view, this should be viewed as a blessing
rather than a curse for the continent – one that can power its
economies and societies to greater heights.”
However, reaping the benefits of what is often referred to as the
youth dividend is not guaranteed; the potential of young people must
be cultivated and supported. Like all of us, the young also face the
headwinds of challenging megatrends such as climate change,
biodiversity loss, the fourth industrial revolution, and growing
inequality.”
Schmale said, “It is imperative that support and subsidies aimed at
making life more bearable for the poor really do reach them and that
significant adjustment are made when they don’t.”
According to him, impactful development also required investment in
quality education for all and affordable primary healthcare, pointing
out that inclusive social impact could only be achieved through the
right mix of sustainable economic growth, social protection, and a
conducive environment that includes basic health and educational
services for all.
He stressed that the government must identify truly transformative
initiatives that would catalyse tangible changes in the lives and
livelihoods of Nigerians given that Nigeria and the continent, in
general, are currently tracking behind in efforts to attain the SDGs.
He added, “Before the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine,
Nigeria was already lagging behind in achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
“So the importance of this event is to take time to rethink,
recalibrate, revise on how to get there and I think the way to get
there is all about collaborative partnerships between the private
sector, government, employers, and trade unions.
“And also to do two things, one is to protect the vulnerable. There
will always be people who lose out and currently, almost 100 million
people in Nigeria live below the poverty line. So we cannot talk about
economic growth and think that those 100 million will quickly be
lifted out of poverty.
“I think the spirit is there, the abilities are there – it is a very
educative society and they just need to be given the opportunity. And
you know the famous saying that ‘don’t give people fish, teach them
how to fish’. In Nigeria, people know how to fish, they just need to
be given the opportunity.”
Speaking further, Suleiman however, noted that the summit had been
able to appreciate the concept of, “using investment to drive social
impact to the fore, the same way we have all kinds of summits trying
to promote business development; we want to bring people together who
are trying to surf for the SDGs and make them work together.”
He said, “I think it is important for us to recognise that for us to
solve poverty, we have to also solve for prosperity. It means Nigeria
must pay attention to the things that would lead to the growth of
wealth as well because it is from the wealth that is created from
higher productivity that we will have the resources for those that are
being left behind.
“A lot of people would meet here for the first time, some have met
before, they will start working together while some are already
working together and they will accelerate what they are doing. There
is a place to bring government, NGOs, private sector, businesses
together to solve the same problem.”