Nigeria faces the prospect of a deepening poverty crisis, with new economic projections suggesting that more than 140 million citizens could experience worsening living conditions by the end of the year. The warning comes amid rising inflation, high unemployment and the continued erosion of household purchasing power.
Economists attribute the trend to a combination of domestic and global factors, including currency depreciation, increased fuel and transportation costs and persistent food inflation. For millions of households, these pressures have translated into reduced access to basic necessities such as healthcare, education and adequate nutrition.
Recent data from development agencies indicates that wage growth has failed to keep pace with rising prices, particularly in urban centres where the cost of living has surged sharply. Rural communities, meanwhile, continue to face challenges linked to insecurity, climate variability and limited access to markets.
Social policy experts caution that the scale of the problem requires urgent and coordinated intervention. They argue that without targeted support for vulnerable populations, the country risks long term setbacks in human capital development, as families are forced to withdraw children from school or delay medical treatment.
The federal government has acknowledged the severity of the situation and says it is expanding social investment programmes to cushion the impact of economic reforms. Initiatives include conditional cash transfers, food support schemes and targeted subsidies for small scale farmers and traders.
However, critics maintain that current measures are insufficient relative to the magnitude of the challenge. They call for broader structural reforms aimed at boosting job creation, supporting small and medium enterprises and stabilising the macroeconomic environment to encourage private investment.
Business leaders have also weighed in, stressing that sustainable poverty reduction depends on restoring growth in productive sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and technology. They argue that policies must prioritise ease of doing business, access to credit and reliable infrastructure to stimulate employment opportunities.
International partners continue to engage with Nigerian authorities on strategies to mitigate the social impact of economic adjustments. Development institutions have emphasised the importance of data driven policymaking to ensure that limited resources are directed to the communities most in need.
As the year progresses, the challenge for policymakers will be to balance fiscal discipline with social protection, ensuring that economic reforms do not come at the expense of the most vulnerable. The projected figure of 140 million people facing increased hardship serves as a stark reminder of the urgency of that task.
