We Need Inclusive Growth to Enable Economic Recovery—Uwais

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Protection, Mrs Maryam Uwais, has charged Nigerians to embrace programmes of the present administration, noting that the nation needs inclusive growth which will enable economic recovery and growth of the country.

Addressing senior journalists in Lagos at a ‘Media Interaction’ held on Friday, February 2, 2018, the President’s aide disclosed that, “We researched and found 26 attempts at economic growth in the past but the problems with the past programme has been implementation as federal and state governments scuffled over who has control of the programme.

“N-Power is a job creation and youth employment programme and our target are 500,000 unemployed graduates; 100,000 artisans; 8 regional innovation hubs for one million primary and secondary students which offer access to computer, training in animation, coding and programming.”

According her, “Every minute, 6.8 million Nigerians enter the unemployment market and Nigeria needs to ensure that 11.9 people are graduated out of poverty per minute, to escape extreme poverty.”

She further said, “10.5 million Nigerian children are out of school and 20 percent of the world’s out-of-school children are in Nigeria.”

Mrs Uwais disclosed that, “The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) will see 5.5 million school children fed with nutritious meals.

“There are also secondary beneficiaries of the programme such as the cooks whom we pay directly and farmers who supply the food stuff.”

Speaking further on how government plans to assist Nigerians, Mrs Uwais said the Government Empowerment and Enterprise Programme (GEEP) is another programme designed for zero interest loan scheme for over 1.2 million Nigerian artisans, traders, market men and women, as well as women cooperatives.

She said it was discovered that 70 percent MSMEs in Nigeria cannot access loans facilities and financial support for business growth.

According to her, GEEP works with cooperatives to assist MSMEs and the Bank of Industry (BOI), manages it by verifying the membership of the cooperatives through BVN.

Those who default payment get blacklisted and prevented from further loans. GEEP targets 1.66 million micro, small and medium enterprises.

Also, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) is the fourth programme and it is designed to support one million of the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians. CCT targets 1 million poorest households.

Human Development index (HDI) will decrease, meaning that inequalities would significantly increase, with implications such as increased poverty, crime and conflict.

Regional implications will include the overflow of poverty, crime and conflict to even poorer neighbouring countries.

Poverty rates will continue to increase, with Nigeria, consequently failing to meet SDG targets. The desperation for illegal and unsafe migration will continue to increase, underscoring the need for a very significant doubling down on social protection, as well as for creating employment and income pathways for Nigerians.

The Special Adviser highlighted economic overdependence on crude oil; absence of critical policies driving inclusive growth and changing demographic profile as challenges that could not be left unaddressed, hence President Buhari’s decision to act. Currently the programmes are operational in 14 states of the federation.