Reported by: Ime Richard Aondofa | Edited by: Henry Owen
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar used his verified Facebook page on Saturday to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, declaring that poverty is the greatest enemy humanity has ever faced and urging Nigeria to take the battle against it to every household.
In the post published in the early hours of the day, Atiku wrote that wherever poverty takes root it breeds disease, ignorance, insecurity and hopelessness, and he reminded followers that Nigeria is counted among the countries worst hit by the scourge. He called the annual observance a timely reminder for governments, civil society and every stakeholder to join hands against all forms of deprivation, and he restated his advocacy for deliberate, people-centred solutions.
The former presidential candidate argued that the fight must reach every home, every community and every school so that ordinary citizens become part of the answer. He invoked a Nigerian proverb which says that when the poor man is hungry peace sleeps outside, adding that only when poverty is defeated will freedom and dignity have true meaning for every man and woman.
The statement drew thousands of reactions within hours, with many users posting photographs of empty food plates and rising market prices. Atiku’s media office told Stone Reporter News that he is finalising a position paper that proposes new micro-credit support, removal of import duty on raw food items and cash transfers linked to the minimum wage.
Civil-society groups welcomed the intervention but demanded that words be matched by budget allocations and urgent policy shifts, warning that social media posts alone will not put food on the tables of the poor. The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed every October seventeenth since nineteen ninety three in honour of victims of extreme hardship and to press governments to deliver on the global promise of zero poverty by twenty thirty.
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