Fighting poverty in North–West

The high-level policy dialogue recently organized by the North-West Governors Forum in Kano city was both a further confirmation of the prevalence of poverty in the region and a renewal of resolve to fight it. The participation of the federal government, European Union (EU) and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICF) at the event indicated the substantial concern the rising poverty in the zone has generated at all levels

North West which comprises Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kebbi, Zamfara and Katsina States, though highly endowed with human population and natural resources, is the second most poverty-stricken zone in Nigeria after the North East. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) it released for the year 2022, it put the rate of poverty in the North West at 77.0 per cent which is just a little lower than the 77.4 per cent for the North East.

Therefore, the dialogue appeared as laudable response of the governors to the rising poverty to which the people of the North West are losing their welfare, dignity and even lives. The outcome of the event includes a plan to introduce an expanded social protection programme and innovative financing mechanisms as a strategy for an effective fight against multidimensional poverty in the North-West.

However, past experiences, especially as they relate to the implementation of similar initiatives, have continued to compel the people in the zone to develop pessimism over the sincerity as well as the commitment of the governors to the faithful execution of this one. It is on record that some equally laudable programmes failed simply because of lack of commitment on the part of the governors.

Daily Trust recalls that in the mid-2025, the same North West Governors Forum convened a Security Summit themed “Regional Cooperation for Securing Lives and Livelihoods in North-West”, which was attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima and some of the country’s security chiefs at the time. It was a move that raised the people’s hope for the adoption of tighter security measures that could result in the decimation of the capacity of violent criminals, but which was never adequately backed by concrete actions.

Also in December last year, the Northern States Governors Forum announced the establishment of a Security Trust Fund to which each state in the region would contribute one billion naira every month. This was meant to be a foundation from which financial expenses for the execution of the on-going counter-terrorism operations would be drawn.

But since the announcement of the resolution, not much about the Security Trust Fund has been heard; an indication that it has not got the necessary backing from the governors. It is just another good example of a project that has been abandoned by its own originators.

It is on the basis of this clear examples that this newspaper calls on the governors to, this time around, demonstrate genuine commitment to the implementation of this initiative. The heightened multidimensional poverty in the North West can be reduced only if the governors adopt a positive approach to the translation of their plans into realities.

In this regard, there is the need for the forum to engage critical stakeholders like the North West Development Commission (NWDC) as well as all those occupying key elective and appointive positions from the zone for the purpose of possible modification and full application of the strategy. An effective coordination of the roles to be played by member states and all stakeholders including the federal government and development partners will serve as the real guarantee for the success of the project.

More importantly, the forum should institute measures that can serve as safeguards against the politicisation of the initiative. Real benefits of the project can be derivable only if it is not unduly politicised by the people who will be responsible for its execution.

We also consider it imperative to call for the quick expansion of the initiative to cover the entire 19 northern states, all of which are plagued by varying levels of poverty. As a common affliction such as multidimensional poverty can be substantially reduced only if it is collectively tackled.

The Northern States Governors Forum should, as a matter of utmost priority, initiate a process of the harmonisation of the anti-poverty measures so far adopted by the governors forum of each of the three geo-political zones with a view to coming up with a comprehensive and long-term plan of action for the fight against poverty in the entire North. This will, certainly, be a lot more result-yielding than the fragmented efforts currently being made.

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