What Nigeria govt must do to fight poverty, drive development – Pat Utomi

A political economist, Patrick Utomi, says the federal government must retool the educational system in Nigeria to fight poverty and drive national development.

Mr Utomi, a professor, spoke while interacting with reporters in Enugu on Thursday.

The economist said he had been sharing the ideas with some Nigerian leaders, particularly state governors.

How retooling education can save Nigeria

Nigerians have been battling severe economic hardship since the removal of the petrol subsidy, which increased the prices of food and other commodities.

The poverty rate in Nigeria increased to 46 per cent in 2023, representing 104 million poor Nigerians, according to data from the World Bank.

But Mr Utomi said Nigeria could reverse the poverty trend if leaders structure its educational curriculum to allow the acquisition of skills and knowledge based on existing resources in various states and regions.

The economist said such education would stimulate a “re-invention of manufacturing” in Nigeria and Africa, engendering stronger economies like those of Germany and China.

“In my view, Nigeria has to identify their factor endowments and (determine) which factor endowments they want to build value chains off of.

“Take agricultural endowments for instance. Now, if a state or region in Nigeria wants to focus on certain endowment and become dominant global players on its value chain, like sesame seeds which grow well in north-central Nigeria,” he said.

“At primary school level in such a state or region, their curriculum should be structured in such a way that every pupil there knows enough about how to grow and manage sesame seeds.”

He stressed that the pupils can continue to study and learn more about sesame seeds and consequently become experts in the processing, production and manufacturing of sesame seeds.

This, he explained, will help Nigeria become a global player in various value chains and help the country strengthen its economy by exporting the produce.

Apprenticeship

Mr Utomi also said Nigeria should consider formalising apprenticeship to fight poverty and stimulate economic development.

He said Nigeria would profit “significantly” if apprenticeship was allowed to start from the secondary school level, where students would acquire a particular skill which they would use to sustain themselves.

“Some skills are as simple as plumbing. Nigerians are limited in their capacity to do plumbing works or tiling.

“So, if we can have that dual educational system that significantly incorporates skilling, we can produce better technicians – electrical or mechanical,” he said.

“We can also produce better plumbers, better carpenters in our factories. It is going to be more efficient and competitive than if we did not have those skills.”

Mr Utomi challenged Nigerian leaders to stop fighting over political power and relying on monthly allocations and focus on utilising Nigeria’s untapped endowments to develop the country.