More than 20 years after Nigeria’s last military ruler ordered his troops to “forever resist the seduction and temptation of political power”, the misery index of Nigerian states is causing concerns.
The misery index is meant to measure the degree of economic distress felt by everyday people, due to the risk of (or actual) joblessness combined with an increasing cost of living, according to Investopedia.
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BusinessDay’s analysis showed Imo, Adamawa, Cross River, Yobe, and Akwa Ibom states have the highest misery index of 73.46 percent, 71.7 percent, 70.5 percent, 69.4 percent, and 67.8 percent respectively.
“How can you create jobs or solve the riddle of poverty when the local godfather arms unemployed youths with guns and cutlasses to cripple economic activities?” said Mathew Erubami, a democracy campaigner based in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
He added, “Imo State has become ground zero for the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra while rising insecurities and past shadows of past oil-boom squander continue to hunt states like Yobe, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.”
Available data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also showed Imo, Adamawa and Cross River states have the highest unemployment rate among Nigeria states as of the fourth quarter of 2020.
The three states recorded 56.6 per cent, 54.9 per cent and 53.7 per cent unemployment rates respectively, followed by Yobe, Akwa Ibom and Rivers.
Charles Akinbobola, an analyst at Sofidam Capital, said these revealed a shocking degree of unemployment in a country that suffered two recessions in the last five years.
“They also show that growth and improvements in people-centred policies at the subnational level of government have been mostly insignificant despite having democratic leaders,” Akinbobola said.
Findings by BusinessDay also showed Imo, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states are among the country’s richest states, benefitting from monthly oil derivation revenues that should give them a relative advantage.
However, experts say unemployment and poverty rates in those states have for years been consistently among the nation’s highest, an indictment on a political leadership that pays scant attention to real human capital development.
“There are some state governments that have done little or nothing to lift people out of poverty; that is why we get depressed when we hear state governments asking for an increased revenue derivation formula,” said Jerome Utomi, a political economist and the programme coordinator, Social and Economic Justice Advocacy.
Gabriel Okeowo, principal lead at BudgIT, told BusinessDay that there is an urgent need for governments to address the issue of poor revenue generation in the states.
According to him, many state governments have taken their eyes off the potentials and resources that could be leveraged to create wealth at the state level.
“Low revenue generation needs to be urgently addressed in states and that cuts across all the states, including Lagos. Lagos can do more in terms of fostering industrialisation instead of relying on tax,” Okeowo said.
Available data from BudgIT 2021 State of States Report showed Zamfara State recorded a total revenue of N70.69 billion (N18.50 billion IGR, and N52.31 billion gross FAAC) in 2020, but spent N47.84 billion on operating expenses and N19.72 billion on loan repayment, totalling N67.56 billion. This represents 96 percent of the total revenue for the period.
Taraba State had total revenue of N65.94 billion, with an operating expense of N56.02 billion and loan repayments of N9.74 billion, which summed up to N65.76 billion. It was the same for Benue State with total revenue of N78.04 billion, (IGR of N10.46 billion and gross FAAC of N58.60 billion) and total expenses at N78.04 billion.
Speaking on debt as an option for raising needed funds by state governments, Okeowo said, “Loans should be spent on infrastructural projects that can generate jobs and further wealth for the people and state at large, but what we see in Nigeria is that loans are taken but they cannot be traced to any project.”
Chijioke Ekechukwu, former director-general of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told BusinessDay that the dividends of democracy can only be achieved if different state governments have the potential to be self-reliant.
According to him, all states have several revenue enablers and drivers but have chosen to depend on the Federal Government for revenue allocation.
“If the country must reap benefits of democracy, we need to change the legislative provisions, as they relate to economic relationships between the federal and state governments,” he said.
