It’s very obvious we are behind race in eradicating poverty ― Osinbajo

By Ola Ajayi

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the country is far
behind the race in eradicating poverty.
He said this at the second  Abiola Ajimobi roundtable
programme to mark the 70th birthday of the two-time
governor of Oyo State.
The programme was well-attended by many incumbent
governors, former governors, prominent traditional rulers
and several other businessmen and women across the
country.
While speaking on the topic, ” Managing the Dynamics of
Nigeria’s Advancement: The Socio-Economic options”, Prof
Osinbajo said, “there are two issues and I’m glad that by
the response of discussants, the two issues stood out. One
is the environment for local and foreign investments and
second is eradicating poverty.”
“It’s very obvious that we are behind the race in eradicating
poverty. The reason being that before now, there were no
systematic and focused approach to eradicating poverty in
our country. This is why from 2014-2015, the APC decided
to write social investment into our manifestos”.
“So, the social investment we are talking about is not by
accident. It’s a comprehensive programme to tackle
poverty. It’s a detailed programme and first of its kind
anywhere in Africa. The programme is very seriously
scrutinized by the World Bank and as a matter of fact, the
World Bank is a collaborator”.
” Till date, that school feeding programme accounts for
feeding over 9.9m pupils in 33 states and we are going to
36. 540,000 people are being paid monthly. Of course, it’s
not a perfect programme but it’s the first pragmatic
approach to tackle poverty”.
“That’s what countries with large population of the poor did
and today it has taken a large number out of poverty. It’s
very important to bear in mind that we are at the first stage
of the programme and we will do a lot more”.
Former governor of Osun State, said for the economy to
improve, the rich in the country “must be taxed
mercilessly”.
According to him, to help lift the poor from the mud of
poverty, the rich would have to pay more than they are
paying as taxes.
“My firm belief is that there must be transparency, rigorous
poverty alleviation and anti-corruption. We must mercilessly
tax the rich and the keyword is merciless. I mean those
who are in possession of money either legitimately or
through other means. It is when we have access to  money
that we can affect the lives of the majority of the people
who are poor due to inequality in the distribution of the
wealth of the nation.”
“Population ought to be a blessing but it’s not because our
able-bodied men and women are totally useless to the
economy. Our education and other policies must stimulate
people to be productive”.
His views, which he said he presented as Ogbeni Rauf
Aregbesola and not as Minister of Interior, however drew
the ire of Mrs Ibukunoluwa Awosika, one of the discussants
who asked why the rich had to be punished for striving
hard, in the same difficult environment where the poor are.
The Guest Speaker, Prof Ayo Olukotun, who spoke on the
topic entitled, ” Managing the Dynamics of Nigeria’s
Advancement: The Socio-Economic options”,  said, ”
previous sections of this paper, some ideas were canvassed
concerning remedial initiatives that can soften our plight
and turn us off dreadful scenarios of predicted high and
increasing population growth, in the midst of slow growth
and dwindling resources. I intend to bring together these
ideas in this section, so that it can serve as a sort of
prospectus of necessary reforms and a compass for
charting our way out of what looks like a forest of a
thousand demons”.
“However much we dislike the idea of arresting uncontrolled
surge in population, we must now consider putting life into
policies and institutions which already exist but allowed to
lie fallow.”
“According to a recent report, almost 70% of existing
families have large family sizes of 6 or more persons.
Consequently, government must now consider how best to
incentivize the raising of small families and organizing
sanctions for those who depart from that norm. The
projection of almost 260 million by 2030 should jerk us
awake from the current inertia. Similarly, extant but
ineffective institutions such as the National Council on
Population Management should be forced awake from their
slumber to carry out the activities prescribed for them.”
“Needless to say that corruption must be reduced so that
resources and efforts invested can begin to show, I already
referred to the failure of previous poverty alleviation
programmes, on account of mismanagement and
corruption, this cannot be allowed to continue, and here
one must be thankful for the anti-corruption programme of
President Muhammadu Buhari, which in a manner of
speech, have put the fear of God into serving public
officials.
“I have often lamented however, in my back-page columns
in the punch that with a few exceptions, the states are not
keying in into the drive, in spite of its enormous potential.
The project requires buy-in not just from civil society, but
from the state, as well as local governments. There are, of
course, other ideas for restoration, what is important,
however, is to create what academics like to call a
developmental state, whose sole priority would be to roll
back the advance of poverty, increase the welfare of the
people, modernize structures and processes, put political
entities on the world map, copy from best practices around
the globe, as well as fulfill the social contract between
those who govern and the governed.
“Needless to say that corruption must be reduced so that
resources and efforts invested can begin to show, I already
referred to the failure of previous poverty alleviation
programmes, on account of mismanagement and
corruption, this cannot be allowed to continue”, he said.
Roll call
Those at the event included wife of the Vice President, Mrs
Dolapo Osinbajo, Mrs Florence Ajimobi,
Governors of Lagos, Babatunde Sanwolu, Ekiti Governor
Kayode Fayemi, Ogun, Prince Dapo Abiodun, deputy
governor of Oyo, Egnr Rauf Olaniyan, and Governor of Kano
State, Alhaji Umar Ghanduje. Chief Bisi Akande, former
acting national chairman of APC, Chief Bode Amao, Central
Council of Ibadan Indigenes,
Former governors of Oyo, Ogun States, Otunba Adebayo
Alao-Akala and Akinrogun Olusegun Osoba, Minister of
State, Ministry of Health, Senator Olorunnibe Mamora, Chief
Kola Daisi, an industrialist and many others.
Traditional rulers there were the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi
Adeyemi, Ooni of Ife, Oba Eniitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi,
Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji represented by
Prof Taoheed Adedoja, Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage(rtd),
Olugbon of Ilegbon, Oba Francis Olusola Alao, wife of
former Ekiti State governor, Mrs Feyisetan Fayose and
several others.