Director of the Centre for China Studies, Abuja, Charles Onunaiju, has called for a shift in Nigeria’s poverty reduction strategy from welfare-based interventions to policies that build capabilities and create sustainable economic opportunities.
Speaking at a high-level workshop on Nigeria’s poverty alleviation and China’s development experience organized by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association (DICAN) in Abuja, Onunaiju said successive Nigerian governments had consistently pledged to tackle poverty, but the problem persists because many interventions have focused on sustaining poor people rather than enabling them to overcome structural constraints.
He argued that meaningful poverty reduction should equip people with the capacity to become active wealth creators and contributors to national development.
Citing economist Amartya Sen’s capability approach, Onunaiju said poverty is fundamentally linked to a lack of opportunities and capabilities needed to achieve a decent standard of living.
Drawing lessons from China, he highlighted the country’s long-term development-oriented poverty alleviation policies.
According to Onunaiju, China’s 2001 “Outline for Poverty Alleviation and Development in Rural China” emphasized improving the quality of life, infrastructure and self-development capabilities of poor populations.
He noted that China’s poverty reduction efforts lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty over four decades and culminated in the eradication of extreme poverty in 2021.
The strategy combined village-wide development projects, infrastructure expansion, social services, education and skills training programmes.
Onunaiju said China’s approach was distinguished by its focus on development rather than direct financial assistance alone.
He pointed to the country’s poverty reduction framework, which sought to improve local income-generating capacities and guarantee access to education, healthcare and basic living conditions for vulnerable populations.
Applying those lessons to Nigeria, he cautioned that social intervention programmes, including cash transfers, may have limited long-term impact unless accompanied by structural reforms that expand economic opportunities and raise productive capacity.
He argued that investments in rural infrastructure, including feeder roads, rural electrification, primary healthcare facilities and water supply systems, could help transform local economies by improving connectivity, stimulating trade and allowing communities to leverage their comparative advantages.
According to Onunaiju, sustainable poverty reduction requires the transformation of rural economies and the removal of constraints that limit individual and community development.
He added that reducing poverty could also strengthen democratic participation by enabling citizens to make informed political choices and hold leaders accountable.
He concluded that poverty reduction should be treated as a core policy priority rather than a humanitarian gesture, stressing that addressing structural barriers is essential for achieving inclusive development and strengthening democratic governance.
