Nigeria, despite being blessed with both natural and human resources still remains one of the poorest countries in the world with over 112 million of its population (64.1%) living below poverty line, A United Nations report on Nigeria’s Common Country Analysis, CCA, has said.
Available reports also indicated that there are over 3.3 million internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, which is Africa’s largest, ranking behind war-torn Syria and drug induced violent society, Columbia on a global scale.
According to the report, the situation is getting worst. It said poverty and hunger have remained high in rural areas, remote communities and among female –headed households and these cut across the six geo-political zones, with prevalence ranging from approximately 46.9 percent in the South West to 74.3 percent in North West and North East.
The report read in part: “Nigeria, with a population of over 175 million, is the most populous nation in Africa and the seventh most populous in the world. Her population will be approximately 200 million by 2019 and over 400 million by 2050, becoming one of the top five populous countries in the world.
“In Nigeria, 37% of children under five years old were stunted, 18 percent wasted, 29% underweight and overall, only 10% of children aged 6-23 months are fed appropriately based on recommended infant and young children feeding practices.
It said youth unemployment which is about 45% in 2016 is creating poverty, helplessness, despair and easy target for crime and terrorism with over 10 million children of school age are out of schools with no knowledge and skills.
“Nigeria’s economy is currently in a recession and it is estimated that government revenues have fallen by as much as 33 percent, which has further resulted in the contraction of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, by 0.36 percent in the first three months of 2016.
