Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has identified wealth creation as panacea to poverty in Nigeria.
Atiku’s position follows a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which claimed that 133 million Nigerians are within the poverty bracket, due to their inability to access basic social infrastructure.
In a statement by the Assistant Director of Administration, Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council and National Convener, Atiku Ne Zabin Mu A’ 2023, Hajiya Halima Sulieman, the former vice president believes that poverty alleviation is not sustainable in Nigeria, describing it as a temporary measure to feeding the hungry and an avenue for self-enrichment.
The Wazirin Adamawa blamed Nigeria’s dwindling resources on government’s ability to spend what it barely has to sustain, rather than investing, noting that investment opportunities are infinite but the government is blinded by the flow of oil money.
“Poverty is spreading like wildfire in Nigeria, and the simple reason is that we have failed to recognise that feeding a man with fish is not sustainable, but teaching him how to fish, not only sustains him, it equally has a positive ripple effect that affects his society. “I believe that poverty alleviation is not sustainable, as it is just a temporary measure to feed the hungry. When you feed a hungry person today who has no other means of eating tomorrow, when tomorrow comes and he’s hungry, what do you do? You feed him again and again until you run out of resources.”
