Northerners and ADC back World Bank poverty report in Nigeria, pour cold water on govt gaslighting
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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“Assertion by the World Bank that 139 million Nigerians are facing acute hunger is not news to those who know what Nigerians have been going through, particularly from 2015 to date.
“Add this figure to over 30 million out-of-school children, over 600 children dying daily from acute malnutrition, the growing unemployment rate, and you will understand the bigger picture of the current despair, despondency, decay, and hopelessness in Nigeria.
“The worst hit in terms of economic dispossession is the northern part of Nigeria, where over 80 per cent of the population have been pushed into permanent, irreversible economic bondage.
“For the northern part of Nigeria, democracy means nothing to them. It is a system that has decimated them, destroyed their cohesion, trade, and commerce, ruined their well-being, and reduced them to the level below that of slaves in a country where they are said to be citizens” – Mahdi Shehu, human rights activist.
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“It’s a report from a reputable organisation, and despite its ugly and unpalatable look, we have to accept it and look for ways and means to bring succour to those captured in the web.
“Dismissing the report will amount to a grave injustice and insult to those affected.
“I believe the North is adversely affected, and there are numerous factors responsible for this.
“The importation policy of the admission of agricultural staple foods like rice and maize, and the exorbitant high cost of fertilizer, have made things worse.
“The prices of the produce do not justify the production cost on the farmers, majority of whom are Northerners.
“This, coupled with the adverse effect of insecurity that has ravaged the North, with no respite in sight, has worsened the economic state of affairs in the region” – Jafar Bello, politician and public affairs analyst.
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Northern opinion leaders have joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to vouch for the accuracy of the new report of the World Bank which says 139 million Nigerians are living in poverty – more than the 133 million under Muhammed Buhari – amid Bola Tinubu’s touted reforms that made him deny the latest figure.
The World Bank on Wednesday expressed deep concern over deteriorating living conditions in Nigeria in the face of so-called economic stabilisation efforts that have shot up hunger figures rather than mitigate them.
The bank warned that Nigeria would like lose the gains of its ongoing reforms if it fails to bring real improvements to the lives of regular citizens.
World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, gave the warning in Abuja at the launch of the October 2025 Nigeria Development Update titled “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home”.
ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi in a statement on Thursday urged Tinubu to accept the World Bank report showing a sharp rise in poverty North and South.
He said it is a clear proof that Tinubu’s economic policies have worsened the living conditions of millions of citizens.
The take of the ADC is contrary to Tinubu’s argument through his spokesperson Sunday Dare that the figure is not “properly contextualised” and “it is unrealistic … [an] exaggerated statistical interpretations detached from local realities.”
Two Northern activists, Mahdi Shehu and Jafar Bello, also agree with the World Bank figure, per DAILY POST.
North “reduced below level of slaves”
Shehu, a human rights activist, described the World Bank report as a reflection of the harsh reality that citizens have been living through for years.
“Yesterday’s assertion by the World Bank that 139 million Nigerians are facing acute hunger is not news to those who know what Nigerians have been going through, particularly from 2015 to date.”
In his view, the hunger figure represents only a small portion of the bigger tragedy unfolding in the country.
“Add this figure to over 30 million out-of-school children, over 600 children dying daily from acute malnutrition, the growing unemployment rate, and you will understand the bigger picture of the current despair, despondency, decay, and hopelessness in Nigeria.
“The worst hit in terms of economic dispossession is the northern part of Nigeria, where over 80 per cent of the population have been pushed into permanent, irreversible economic bondage.
“For the northern part of Nigeria, democracy means nothing to them. It is a system that has decimated them, destroyed their cohesion, trade, and commerce, ruined their well-being, and reduced them to the level below that of slaves in a country where they are said to be citizens.
“The leaders live in comfort and luxury while the people suffer in silence. What we have now is not democracy; it is a system of oppression sustained by hunger, fear, and deceit.”
Rejecting report is an “injustice to the poor”
“It’s a report from a reputable organisation, and despite its ugly and unpalatable look, we have to accept it and look for ways and means to bring succour to those captured in the web,” said Bello, a politician and public affairs analyst.
“Dismissing the report will amount to a grave injustice and insult to those affected.
“I believe the North is adversely affected, and there are numerous factors responsible for this.
“The importation policy of the admission of agricultural staple foods like rice and maize, and the exorbitant high cost of fertilizer, have made things worse.
“The prices of the produce do not justify the production cost on the farmers, majority of whom are Northerners.
“This, coupled with the adverse effect of insecurity that has ravaged the North, with no respite in sight, has worsened the economic state of affairs in the region.”
Read also:
Tinubu’s denial notwithstanding, World Bank doubles down on Nigeria’s galloping poverty rate
