We need holistic approach to reduce poverty
The Ex NACCIMA President, Hon. Dele Kelvin Oye, says Nigeria needs a holistic approach to drive economic transformation and reduce poverty among the citizens.
He made the remark at the 76th Annual Business Lecture of the Lagos Country Club Ikeja, Lagos. The lecture, held on Friday was themed ‘Inflation, Cost of Living, and Consumer Purchasing Power; Adaptive Strategies for Nigerians.’
Addressing the gathering, Oye said: “The path to a revitalised Nigeria is not paved with excuses but with coordinated, courageous action. Our present struggles are not our destiny; they are not the result of natural disasters; they are the man-made consequences of current and past policy failures and weak institutions.
He noted that the smartest nation is not the one that knows the most, but the one that understands what truly matters. “For too long, we have memorised the solutions without internalising their meaning. We know the statistics on poverty, but do we truly grasp the human cost? “We can list the clauses of our constitution, but do we honour the spirit of justice they represent? While knowledge fills our minds with reports and strategies, it is wisdom that must shape our nation’s existence.”
This gap, he added, is most glaring when “we examine our moral and religious convictions, especially within our nation’s current challenges with insurgency. We build mega churches and giant mosques on streets with no clean water, no schools and no hospitals. We raise hands in worship on Sunday, then raise bribes on Monday. And through it all, we say it is well, truth is, God is not the problem, we are.
“We’ve allowed religion to replace responsibility. We blame the devil for everything, even the things we caused with our own hands. Faith itself is not the problem; it remains a powerful force for compassion and resilience. The problem is how it has been misused in Nigeria: to justify violence, shield criminals, or distract us from responsibility. We fast and pray for good governance while tolerating bad leaders. We worship miracles while ignoring planning, discipline, and accountability. This moral failure among leaders, institutions, and citizens has helped incubate the current insecurity that plagues us as a nation. This is the ultimate failure of wisdom: possessing the knowledge of right and wrong but failing to make the right choices.”
The Chairman, Alliance for Economic and Research emphasized that Nigeria is not beyond repair, but that the time is short. “We must stop merely collecting economic data and start creating meaningful livelihoods for our people. We must move beyond knowing we are at a crossroads to wisely choosing the right path. This requires us to ask which questions are truly worth asking: not just “how do we grow the economy?” but “how do we build a just society?” Not just “how do we secure our borders?” but “how do we secure our shared humanity?” Knowledge may live in policy papers; wisdom must live in the choices we make. As a nation at a crossroads, we must face the human cost of past and present policies.
“Unchecked inflation has driven millions toward poverty, and we cannot stand idly by while 139 million Nigerians suffer. Knowledge divorced from compassionate action becomes a hollow burden. “A holistic approach is needed to drive economic transformation and reduce poverty. True nation‑building binds wisdom to empathy and reforms that restore dignity.”
“The blueprints for reform, the economic data, the policy recommendations, and the global best practices are all forms of knowledge. We have collected the facts. We know the recipes for fiscal stability, institutional integrity, and private-sector growth. But knowledge alone is not enough. The crucial missing ingredient is WISDOM; the ability to connect the dots.”
Credit: https://thenationonlineng.net