World Bank report : Most Nigerians don’t earn N90,000 monthly – Adamu

A senior lecturer at Hussaini Adamu Polytechnic, Kazaure, Dr. Tijjani Ahmad, has agreed with the recent World Bank report that over 100 million Nigerians are still living below the poverty line, despite claims that the economy is now stable.

Speaking on Thursday in an exclusive interview with SOCIETY WATCH, Dr. Ahmad explained that according to the World Bank’s definition, poverty is measured by people living below two dollars a day.

“If you look at the exchange rate in Nigeria today, two dollars is about ₦3,000. That means ₦3,000 a day or about ₦90,000 in a month,” he said.

He noted that most Nigerians do not earn up to that amount monthly.

“How many people are earning ₦90,000 in Nigeria? Even most employees don’t get that much. So, we can agree that around 60 percent of Nigerians are living below the poverty line,” he said.

Dr. Ahmad, who is also a Research Fellow at the African Centre for Tax and Governance, said that while Nigeria’s economic indicators may show signs of stability, the reality for ordinary citizens is different.

If you look at the indices now, the economy appears stable, GDP is increasing, unemployment is reducing, the exchange rate is stabilizing, and inflation is improving compared to before,” he said.

“But these are at the macro level; the big picture. For that growth to reflect at the micro level, where ordinary Nigerians can feel it, it takes time.”

He explained that economic growth does not immediately translate into development.

When we say growth, we mean the size of the economy, revenues, GDP, purchasing power. But development is when that growth begins to impact people’s lives,” he said.

“So, the economy might be growing, but people are not yet feeling the impact.”

Dr. Ahmad also pointed out that the northern region remains poorer compared to the southern part of Nigeria due to several social and economic factors.