Nigeria’s Poverty Index: Study Chinese Model – Experts Urge Policymakers
By Princess Ekwi Ajide
Nigeria cannot overcome its poverty crisis through cash transfers alone, experts at a DICAN workshop in Abuja have said, calling for greater investment in infrastructure, jobs, skills and productive opportunities.
The experts spoke during a workshop on Nigeria’s poverty alleviation efforts and China’s development model, where they urged policymakers to study China’s approach while adapting relevant lessons to Nigeria’s economic and institutional realities.
Prof. Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, Provost of the Anti Corruption Academy of Nigeria, said China lifted more than 800 million people out of extreme rural poverty through targeted interventions, infrastructure development, economic reforms and accountability.
Director of the Centre for China Studies, Abuja, Dr. Charles Onunaiju, urged Nigeria to move beyond welfare driven programmes and focus more on policies that build the productive capacity of citizens.
Media scholar, Dr. Austin Maho, however, cautioned against copying China’s model wholesale, noting differences in governance, administrative capacity, data systems and security. He urged journalists to track development projects beyond official announcements, use data to measure outcomes and hold governments accountable for the impact of poverty alleviation programmes.
The experts agreed that the key lesson from China is not to replicate its system, but to make poverty reduction programmes targeted, measurable and focused on creating sustainable economic opportunities.
