A new report alleges that Nigeria has now replaced India as the country with the highest number of people living in extreme poverty. Nigeria has the highest GDP in Africa, but according to a study by Brookings earlier this year, a record 87 million people are living in poverty. Segun Sowunmi, spokesman for opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar, says that President Buhari is responsible for the country’s high unemployment and inflation.
But President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Festus Keyamo, argues that the economic woes are “a direct consequence of the prior state of the economy they left that we’re trying to rebuild.” Now, he says, things “are on upward swing.” Atiku Abubakar has promised that if elected, he will lift at least 50 million people out of extreme poverty within the first two years of his presidency. “We are aware that there is a ticking time bomb for Africa, especially for Nigeria, with our young population, if we don’t deal with unemployment,” said Sowunmi. But is ending poverty for 50 million people that quickly, a feat that has never been achieved before, even possible?
In this UpFront web extra, we discuss the future of Africa’s biggest economy and debate who is the best candidate to lead it into the future.
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