Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, genuinely worried by the high level of multidimensional poverty had from his very first day
“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.” — Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa.
Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, genuinely worried by the high level of multidimensional poverty had from his very first day in office as governor declared an unconditional war on poverty and has subsequently invested in tailored social investments programmes and interventions designed to significantly sustainably improve the poor and vulnerable households’ income and consumption. The Governor deserves huge commendation for employing social protection programmes and investments as the strategy for waging the unrelenting war against poverty in all its ramifications. The war stems from Governor Sani’s appreciation of the negative consequences of ignoring the impact of extreme poverty on the people and stability of the State.
But what really are the motivations behind Governor Sani’s sustained and unrelenting war on poverty? Are his motivations due to enlightened self interest or from a deep belief that everyone deserves a productive life, and because every life has value he has a duty to help bring about the good life? Though the Governor comes from a very comfortable background, his wholehearted commitment towards uplifting the poor from what would seem a never ending cycle of poverty has a long history that is as old as him. It definitely did not start after his election in 2019 as a senator or as governor in 2023, nor does this date back to his younger years as a pro-democracy activist and social justice crusader. Governor Sani’s resolve has no doubt been further reinforced by the success stories of China and India that have successfully lifted more than 500 million and over 100 million people respectively out of poverty.
The empathic Governor Sani clearly understands the implication of children not going to school due to the extricating poverty of their parents, their resort to crime and the huge price that society ultimately pays in increasing crime rates, not to forget rising rates of maternal/infant mortality and malnutrition. The establishment of the Uba Sani Foundation and his determination to use the Office of the Governor as a bigger platform to wage a relentless war against poverty is a testament to the Governors’ humanity and commitment to a better life for all.
Once Governor Sani made the connection that a drastic reduction in poverty would improve the overall health of every man and woman and that ignoring it would cost the society very dearly, he has never looked back in his determination to pull the poor out of their excruciating poverty. Hear Governor Sani:” It makes socio-economic sense to fundamentally tackle poverty because the society stands to positively reap the benefits in more ways than one, both in the short and long run; in improved income, better healthcare and in overall security of the society etc. Scientists have also made our work easier by proving that there is a correlation between the socioeconomic status of an individual and the quality of their health.”
But why is the financial inclusion so important and key to Governor Sani’s economic programme? No doubt there are economic opportunities, but a sizable portion of Nigeria’s population is unfortunately excluded and they would continue to be excluded from the established financial system unless other state governments take decisive actions like Governor Sani has.
Clearly the lack of access by most Nigerians to financial services inhibits economic growth,rather than being a catalyst for economic growth. It’s also a fact that the cost of poverty is unquantifiable and goes beyond impressive Gross Domestic Products (GDP). Governor Sani as a Senator and Chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions and his exposure to the freighting stark facts on the extreme poverty in the North cleared whatever lingering doubts that he might have had. Financial inclusion is also a prerequisite for economic stability and one of the core objectives of the Nigerian Financial System Strategy 2020.
Last week the Kaduna State Government organized a summit on “Rethinking Social Protection Systems: Building Integrated Systems for Comprehensiveness and Financial Inclusion” in furtherance of the governor’s relentless efforts to change the material wealth of the people. The summit wasn’t just to showcase to the world what the Kaduna State is doing in the area of Social Protection programmes or sharing its wealth of experiences with other states on how it has vigorously implemented its various social intervention programmes,but to fashion out more effective strategies for fighting poverty.
The strong rationale behind the sustained war and for the various social intervention programmes is because over 70% of Kaduna State population are truly already multidimensionally poor. The poverty rate amongst children which has been further compounded by a high dependency rate is equally alarming. And sadly many communities have been displaced thus leaving the elderly more vulnerable.
The various initiatives by the Governor Sani administration includes Financial Inclusion to address the exclusion of the poor, under-served and vulnerable from financial services which denies them access to social intervention programmes of the state and the Federal Government. Findings have shown that there are indeed economic opportunities, but that a sizable portion of Nigeria’s population is excluded from the financial system and unless other state governments take decisive actions like Governor Sani they will be unable to access formal financial services like credit, or benefit from the improvement in the payment processes.
In the 21st century not having a bank account can be likened to a financial death sentence of some sorts as the individual cannot participate in the formal financial system, nor benefit from improved access to credit. The end result would be the continued endemic poverty of the poor.
The target for the first phase is the opening of 2.5 million bank accounts for the poor, vulnerable and underserved citizens of Kaduna State. And this has been successfully accomplished. So far over 2 million bank accounts have been opened and the state government is working assiduously to ensure that the remaining 500,000 less privileged citizens are captured.
Governor Sani has also signed into law the State Social Security Bill and the Kaduna State Social Investment Programmes Bill which created an agency to coordinate all national and sub-national social protection interventions in the State. This would no doubt help in the coordination of the various programmes aimed at bringing succor to the poor, vulnerable and the underserved. The state has also developed a Social Register for the Social Intervention Programmes which is critical to the effective implementation of the Executive Order and Financial Inclusion that is credible.
Governor Sani deserves credit for refusing to rest on his oars despite the impressive impact recorded so far in the lives of Kaduna State citizens through the various social protection programmes, for recognizing that challenges remain and for pushing his officials to refine the processes and come up with creative and innovative strategies that would help pull out more Kaduna State citizens out of poverty.
As a mark of his commitment Governor Sani has given approval for the design of 3 Flagship Social Protection Programmes; the Kaduna State Universal Child Grant Programme, Ultra-Poor Graduation Programme for Women in Rural Areas, and the Kaduna State Old-Age Social Pension Scheme for the Informal Sector. To ensure effective implementation he has indicated his intention to seek the collaboration of national and international development agencies.
The government moving forward requires the support and cooperation of national and international development agencies to improve the delivery of basic services for the poor with focus on health, education and social protection.
It’s gladdening that every perspective is being considered to ensure no one is left behind in the must win war on poverty. Governor Sani, by factoring the plight of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), has shown himself as truly a champion of the poor.
