CITAD, RLF hosts roundtable discussion, book review on ‘Face of Poverty in Nigeria’
By Mustapha Salisu
The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), in collaboration with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (RLF), hosted a roundtable discussion and review of a book titled “The Face of Poverty in Nigeria” at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano (YUMSUK).
The review, according to CITAD’s Communication Officer, Ali Sabo, aimed to bring together experts from the academia to shed more light on a newly authored book by analyzing and validating its findings. The goal was to offer workable solutions to relevant authorities for proper implementation.
In his remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Dr. Jazuli Mukhtar from the Geography Department of Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano (YUMSUK), expressed worry over Nigeria’s global ranking among nations with a high ratio of citizens grappling with poverty.
He applauded CITAD and its partner for hosting the book review, noting that it would aid in unraveling existing gaps in the book to be filled by suggestions from experts. The goal was to gain a better understanding of the challenges posed by the high rate of poverty in Nigeria and to develop effective solutions.
Dr. Muhammad Shamsudeen from the Department of Economics at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), who was among the reviewers of the book “The Face of Poverty in Nigeria,” stressed the need to shift the narrative of ranking poverty in Nigeria from international or national bodies like the World Bank, United Nations, International Monetary Funds (IMF), and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to engaging the poor directly.
“By engaging the poor man directly, you will dig out his mode of survival ranging from food, shelter, clothing and other basic amenities to provide solutions for him. As some communities might have a hospital and lack a school, while others are the opposite. Through direct engagement, a proper index for poverty rate will be gathered,” stated Dr. Shamsudeen.
He went on to commend the author of the book for approaching the poor directly before writing the book and bringing up their plights for intervention. He acknowledged that the author’s approach provided valuable insights into the lived experiences of poverty in Nigeria.
“However, the book captured and sampled just 55 persons regarded as the poor, which is a very low figure compared to Nigeria’s over 200 million population. So a law on eradicating poverty cannot be implemented on these low figures in Nigeria at large. Rather, it can be applied to the community where the author captured his respondents,” Dr. Muhammad revealed.
Despite the limitations in the sample size, Dr. Muhammad Shamsudeen commended the author for identifying gaps that could be analyzed and presented to the relevant authorities for intervention in the plights of the poor. He also acknowledged the book’s potential to contribute to efforts to improve Nigeria’s image on the global ranking of nations with high poverty rates.
Prime Time News gathered that “The Face of Poverty in Nigeria” is a publication compiling data and analysis that explores the poverty challenges Nigerians face today. The research project supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the Yusuf Bala Usman Institute, expands on Usman’s seminal observation of the impending risks Nigeria faces in 1986 in his book Nigeria Against the IMF: The Home Market Strategy.
The roundtable discussion and review of “Face of Poverty in Nigeria” provided a valuable platform for experts to share their insights and recommendations for addressing poverty in Nigeria.
