Marzuq Ungogo
As the poverty rate in Northern Nigeria continue to make us uncomfortable, it is time to look inwards into ourselves. Since we have the same quality of leadership with the southern Nigeria but end up with different economic parameters, it is sensible to look into our communities for clues.
One critical reason behind the poverty rate in Arewa is a large dependency ratio-a high number of unemployed and underemployed adults who need constant help (taimako), but a few economically stable people.
If you grew up in a town like me or old cities and your parents are at least middle class (masu rufin asiri), you are used to ‘ma su neman taimako’ waiting for your father every morning at his door. As you grow up and become employed, many of these beneficiaries (and now their children) as well as extended family will transfer your parents’ duty to you. The demands continue to be the same-money for food, school fees and medications for the sick including women-in-labour. This will sum to at least 10% of your earning, or more. I am not saying this doesn’t happen in the south too, but I will return to this later.
Of course, life is most meaningful when one is useful to others, and one should also be glad that they have enough to give out. However, it bothers me that the situation of the poor people in our communities barely changes for decades.
Two huge problems stand in the way of attempts to improve our dependency ratio.
First, a large number of underemployed, unemployed and unemployable people who depend on a few productive people. You would see one person shouldering the basic responsibilities of dozens. Many families (I mean extended families) in the north have a single income source-a big wall ‘babban bago’ of some sort who pays for everything from wedding trousseau to naming ceremony rams.
Many of our ‘ma su ku’di’ and ‘ma su rufin asiri’ are usually happy with this lethal arrangement as it protects them from ‘zagi’. Sadly as soon as the big wall falls or the person’s fortunes decline, big problem erupts. In many cases, the wife is untrained and thus unable to manage finances of the family in the absence of the husband or his money.
Second, lack of strategy to end dependence at family and community levels. The alms of food and ‘small change’ hardly removed people from poverty. We have very generous people who give daily but with no plans to lift the level of their beneficiaries. We also are obsessed of ‘a raba kowa ya samu’, a situation where money as little as 50,000 Naira is rather shared between 10 people rather than empowering a single person.
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There are no easy solutions to sociologically rooted problems, and this necessitated a whole academic field of behavioural economics. However, at individual and community levels, there are a few things we can start changing, and hopefully situation may improve.
First, we can cut underemployment by encouraging and enabling people to diversify their income instead of handing out meal tickets. This can start at family levels. A good question we need to ask ourselves always is that ‘in that event of eventualities, is there any one in our family that can step in?’. This will provoke zeal to replicate successes in families and communities.
Second, there is a need to equip our youth with modern skill that will enable them create opportunities or compete for high-end jobs. I know of an extended family that organises ‘in-house seminar’ annually to shape the perspective of its youth. The 4-day seminar features lectures, talks, workshops. As a friend to the family, I get invitations too, and benefit a lot from the seminar. An impressive aspect of the seminar is an ‘idea pitch’ and the winning idea or business gets funds for a start-up. This, if adopted by other families and communities can change a lot. For example, unemployment and underemployment in the north relates to a lot on reliance on government jobs which are largely unavailable, and often underpay. An average government job will pay a graduate 70,000 Naira a month which hardly will pay the bills, forcing the person to rely on a family ‘big wall’ at intervals. This too can take a form of community-based activities funded by the well-to-do, and such training services can be offered pro bono by skilled members of the community.
Third, families and communities have to start working on the uplift of people with their money. We need to revisit the way we give out zakat and sadaka by pooling the resources for the significant empowerment of a few, rather than peanuts for many. This is hard of course given the large number of the needy, and the social implications, but it is truly worth it.
The problem of poverty in the north is solvable. While it is hard to for individuals to do the work of the government, it is possible for us all to harness the little resources in possession for a positive change.
Dr. Marzuq Abubakar Ungoggo
