Politicians in Nigeria are failing to tackle the issue of poverty

In a sense, history is the realm of reason. While politics cannot establish God’s kingdom, it can establish the conditions for both domestic and international peace as well as a legal system that enables all people to “lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way,” as stated by Pope Benedict XVI in his book “Values in the time of upheaval.”

The Guardian newspaper, the leading voice in Nigerian media, held its 40th anniversary lecture in Lagos recently. Perhaps the best public lecture in a long time for Nigerians was given by the distinguished president of the African Development Bank (AFDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, who was born in Nigeria.

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Additionally, this gentleman, who spoke as the chief guest, spoke uniquely to the most important issue that faces Black people worldwide—poverty—despite The Guardian’s choice of a highly explosive theme on federalism as the solution to Nigeria’s long-standing developmental paralysis from all angles.

It appears that Dr. Adesina either read or was inspired by the book written by the highly esteemed Pope Benedict XVI, who defined politics as essentially pursuing the common good.

The intellectual giant of a Pope made it clear in the opening quote, which was taken from one of his dozens of books written before his death, that politicians who have failed to end poverty will only succeed in inciting violence and crises that could destroy that society if caution is consistently disregarded.

As if, inspired by Pope Benedict XVI’s insightful perspective on politics, the President of the African Development Bank made it clear that African political leaders must pursue policies and agendas that aim only at the actualization of the eradication of poverty afflicting Africans, rather than implementing piecemeal initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty, if Africa is to be respected in the community of nations.

It is no exaggeration to say that in many developed civilizations today, most African passports are treated with little respect.

Is it not unfortunate that the West does not appreciate Africans, despite the fact that many of the individuals who have dominated African nations in the past have moved billions of stolen monies to western civilizations and built mansions for themselves? Five billion dollars that the late Nigerian leader Sani Abacha had hidden in the West have finally been returned to Nigeria, but they have been pilfered again by modern politicians.

When Africans travel to Europe, China, or America, they are not treated with the same respect as inhabitants of other developed countries who make similar travel plans and destinations.

How can Africa be respected when the majority of its people are fleeing war, economic hardship, and corrupt politics? Some even take dangerous routes to travel to Europe, like boarding rickety boats that cross the Mediterranean Sea off the lawless coast of Libya? Thousands of Africans who take this risk have died, and those who make it to Italy are living in filthy conditions in camps and tents because most European countries would not accept them.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishik Sunak, who was born in India, recently tightened immigration laws and implemented a plan to deport undocumented immigrants back to Rwanda in Africa.

There is not a single shred of respect for Africa among the industrialised world. This is due to political corruption, which aggressively and widely distributes poverty throughout Africa’s population. After all, there is no regard for beggars. Even Africa’s political elites go about pleading with Western governments for loans, which they all waste.

How can any intelligent person appreciate those who elected crooks to be their president, senators, and governors? This is precisely the reason why this brilliant Nigerian, who has led the African Development Bank for two terms in a row, is advocating for the eradication of poverty as opposed to its amelioration. As we continue to read, we will find that he is in perfect order.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has urged African nations to act quickly to eradicate poverty and mishandle natural riches if they hope to gain the respect of the international community.

Adesina made the comments during his speech at the 40th anniversary of the Guardian newspaper in Lagos, with the theme “For the world to respect Africa.”

Adesina bemoaned the reality that poverty still afflicts Africa despite the continent’s wealth of natural riches.

Global esteem for Africa won’t come until widespread poverty is eradicated. The main criticisms are that although our countries are resource-rich, the bulk of our inhabitants still live in poverty because we have enabled poverty to persist widespread, according to Adesina.

“Most of the time, we take poverty for granted. I want to be crystal clear. Being poor is not typical. It is odd, particularly in light of our abundance of resources and the length of time it has persisted. For these reasons, I think Africa will avoid becoming a museum of poverty. “

He objected to the term “poverty alleviation,” claiming that it suggests that living in poverty is a justifiable state. Rather, he advocated for the elimination of destitution and the generation of riches.

“We do not mean the purported reduction of poverty. Since I completely disagree with that word. Poverty is not something we can tolerate,” Adesina stated.

“Please leave and find another doctor if you have malaria and your doctor tells you that “I will alleviate your malaria.” Poverty alleviation is not something I support. A person increases to $1.60 per day if they go from $1.30 to $1.50 per day. They still live in poverty.

Adesina refuted the idea of a “natural resource curse,” claiming that poor governance and leadership are the real causes of the problem.

He highlighted the value of good governance, accountability, openness, and resource management by citing resource-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Norway that have managed their natural resources successfully.

Adesina also questioned the responsibility of African politicians who profess to be working for the public good by putting small-scale accomplishments like digging boreholes on national television.

He made the case that these behaviours, particularly in the twenty-first century, are a sign of government failure and that those in charge should be held responsible for wisely allocating the resources of the populace.

“There are moments when I wonder why people go about bragging about how they helped put a borehole in our state on national television. Since every home in the twenty-first century needs pipe-borne water, the mere fact that you’re actually digging a borehole is a sign of government failure. We also need to move past the notion that our politicians are serving the public interest. No, leaders ought to be responsible for the people’s resources.

In addition, he advocated for greater accountability and transparency in the administration of natural resources and urged African governments to cease accepting loans secured by their natural resources, branding them as “expensive” and “not transparent.”

Adesina also spoke about the problem of food security, pointing out that Africa will be crucial in providing food for the world’s expanding population while bemoaning the continent’s incapacity to feed itself. She also mentioned the continent’s large expanses of uncultivated arable land.

However, he argued that when Africa can feed itself and is no longer dependent on outside help, it will be respected globally. He also called for a change in perspective, highlighting the necessity of transparent, accountable, and responsible resource management to guarantee that the resources benefit the entire population rather than a wealthy few.

“When Africa can feed itself, it will be respected.” Any country or area that cries out for food is only free in words.

But it may be necessary to inform this African statesman—who previously held the position of minister of agriculture and rural development in Nigeria—that the vast majority of African politicians, particularly those in Nigeria, the continent’s largest democracy, will not propose laws or carry out programmes that would sufficiently empower Nigerians to the point where poverty is eliminated from the country.

The political elite in Nigeria holds the belief that the only way to gain political dominance is to envelop as many citizens in poverty as possible. This puts them in a position to continue obtaining public office, which they typically obtain through fraudulent means such as bribing voters, recruiting, and arming young people to serve as political executioners and thugs. Additionally, officials in both the electoral management body, INEC, and Nigerian courts are frequently heavily bribed and purchased because these judges are increasingly the ones who decide on contested election results that are brought before them by the defeated candidates in the grossly mishandled and tainted elections.

I have firsthand knowledge of the extraordinary desperation of most Nigerian politicians to win elections, to the point that some borrow money at exorbitant interest rates from commercial banks merely to run for office. Once elected, their main priority is repaying the enormous amounts of credit they took out to do so. In addition, I frequently watch elections through the sponsorship of my non-profit organisation. During these elections, I have witnessed numerous politicians and their operatives bribing voters, security personnel, and INEC officials in order to influence the results.

In an article published just before the 2023 presidential election, Aljazeera documented a few of these dishonest political manoeuvres by Nigerian politicians.

Aljazeera began by recalling how veteran politician Ayo Fayose made fun of Kayode Fayemi, the defeated candidate, during his June 2014 battle and victory in the gubernatorial elections in the state of Ekiti, southwest Nigeria. According to Fayose, “people want stomach infrastructure, not road infrastructure.”

He gave a decades-old activity a new vocabulary overnight and focused excessive attention on vote dealing, or the sale of votes, as a major threat to Nigeria’s electoral integrity.

Indeed, claims of vote buying and selling have plagued the nation’s elections on multiple occasions. The stakes are much higher nationwide if the rate was reportedly between $8 and $13 per vote in Ekiti when Fayemi returned to power in 2018.

Vote trading is expected to play a significant role in the February 25 elections that Nigerians will be holding to choose their president, vice president, and members of parliament. These elections will be among the most important and contentious in the nation since 1999.

In 2022, the primary between the ruling All Progressives Congress and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party was very controversial due to accusations that delegates received up to $25,000 apiece to vote in favour of people who sponsored them.

However, Aljazeera noted that the emphasis on vote selling obscures much more serious issues with Nigeria’s democratic process and runs the risk of masking such shortcomings.

In addition to rigged elections, the majority of elected officials disregard the principles of accountability and openness, which are essential to achieving good government and the end of poverty for all residents.

Politicians holding public office are known to partake in a wide range of unethical actions, including contract inflation and improper procurement. I will only tell you the tale of how corrupt politicians’ property valued at billions of dollars was seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

One of the most reputable newspapers in Nigeria published an exclusive story on December 27, 2022, stating that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had put up for auction 144 opulent homes and parcels of land seized from convicted politicians, public officials, business titans, and online scammers. These assets were obtained as proceeds of their corrupt activities, which included money laundering, fraud, misappropriation of funds, and fraudulent diversion, among other things.

58 of the homes and lands are located in Lagos State; 39 are located in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; 19 are located in Rivers State; 7 are located in Kwara State; 6 are located in Anambra State; 4 are located in Oyo State; 3 are located in Edo; 2 are located in Kaduna; 2 are located in Cross River; and 1 is located in each of the following states: Ebonyi, Gombe, Delta, and Osun.

In a June 30, 2013, article, Tiamiyu Adio Ismail accurately identified the highest percentage of public office holders in Nigeria as follows: “There is a clear indication that politics in Nigeria has been the opposite of what it is in developed countries.” Politicians in Nigeria continue to uphold outdated ideals such as broken pledges, political corruption, avarice, brutality, intimidation, and tribalism. Fraud, theft and misuse of public funds, contract inflation, sexual harassment, bribery, and other actions are considered to be manifestations of corruption.

The fact that these politicians, who gained public office by corruption, appoint the heads of law enforcement agencies, the EFCC and ICPC, which are supposed to fight economic crimes and corruption, exacerbates these moral dilemmas. Therefore, these leaders of important law enforcement agencies typically serve as the promulgators for the politicians who initially nominated them.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Nigeria is home to numerous abandoned projects that cost billions of Naira to fund and were awarded. This is a result of corrupt contractors working with politicians in government agencies to complete subpar work.

On December 7, 2023, Radio Nigeria published a story regarding a road rehabilitation project in Anambra that reportedly cost the government N404 million, however the project failed after only a year. The Amawbia-Nibo-Nise-Umuawulu Road in Anambra State is a federal route that was given to a business without any apparent records with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

When institutions like the police, INEC, and courts are properly governed to carry out their legal duties to enforce pertinent laws against political corruption, that is when politicians will start to become responsible and use resources belonging to Nigerians properly, eradicating the country’s widespread poverty.

It is only at that point that we can start to notice that politicians are motivated to end poverty.

These politicians will continue to play around with their questionable programmes that promise poverty alleviation rather than eradication for the time being.

Politicians in Nigeria would have no corrupt police officers, election organisers, judges, or credulous voters to buy off in order to keep their positions of power if they were able to end poverty.

A revolution might be necessary to realise this ambitious goal.

However, political unrest in Nigeria and much of Africa will persist until poverty is eliminated, and Africans will continue to face existential threats from insecurity and instability.