It is a year since the last global call to action against poverty took place in July 2005. When the leaders of the eight most powerful nations met in Gleneagles, Scotland, they were reminded across the world that they had the power to make history through their policies and decisions.  As Nelson Mandela has said, poverty is man made and can be eradicated.  Indeed, it is within the remits and powers of the G8 leaders to abolish poverty in the world's poorest nations for good.

Personally, I feel so strong about the issue of poverty in any shape or form that any action aimed at ending the menace is most welcome and should be given the support and focus it deserves.  It is important to point out that 2billion people across the world are facing serious poverty issues, social exclusion and living on the margins of society surviving on less than $2 per day.

The gap between the world’s rich and poor is wider than ever. Global injustices such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, conflict and illiteracy remain rife. Despite the promises of world leaders, at our present sluggish rate of progress the world will fail dismally to reach the so-called Millennium Development Goals – internationally agreed targets to halve global poverty by 2015.

World poverty is sustained not by chance or nature, but by a combination of factors: injustice in global trade; the huge burden of debt; insufficient and ineffective aid. Each of these is exacerbated by inappropriate economic policies imposed by rich countries.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. These factors are determined by human decisions. And Governments play a central role in shaping those decisions.  By mobilising popular support across a unique string of events and actions, we will press our governments to put pressure on rich countries to fulfil their obligations and promises to help eradicate poverty and to rethink some long-held assumptions.

Poverty in whatever form can stand in the way of your dreams. It can cut short your tomorrow. I am sure almost every human being on the face of the earth has heard of children dying of poverty and disease in Africa. They had big dreams and never thought of dying at such a young age. But they didn’t have to die. They only died because they had no opportunity.  They weren’t given a chance to live… so the invader called poverty had enough time to snuff out their lives.

For those who experience chronic hunger, the search for food takes precedence over everything else. Some end up eating out of garbage cans. In many rural areas women and children walk miles a day over rough terrain to draw water from the nearest source, which is far too often contaminated.  Others dig up roots, berries, and grass, anything to make hunger go away. A warm meal or a bag of groceries given with love mean so much.  We must help drive away hunger today.  Politically, while Europe is considering building a fortress in terms of immigration from Africa and other countries outside the EU, the fact remains that there will continue to be mass migration as long as the problems of poverty, hunger, malnutrition and disease are not addressed.  People in search of a better life will go over, below and across fences and fortresses at any cost.

This disease called poverty will not go away by merely wishing it did.  It requires an immediate and concerted effort to address the issue from its very foundation.  The anniversary of the call to global action to end poverty should remind African leaders to address the issue of poverty and social exclusion across the continent of Africa, those for whom a meal a day is merely a wish.  To these people in the world’s poorest countries, they cannot afford to wait when death comes knocking for death is not a respecter of persons.  Indeed vultures stand by for these poor people to die so that they can eat their flesh.  What can be more degrading?  Delay in this case is denial and silence is complacent.  There are three sensible ways out; debt cancellation, fair trade, and more effective Aid.

However, when these three steps have been met, the next step in the struggle begins; fighting corruption among African leaders and their partners in crime in the West.  African leaders are looting African treasuries and stashing the money away in rich Western banks while these foreign Governments turn a blind eye and use the money to develop their own countries.  It is a well-known fact that billions of GBP stolen from Nigeria is stashed away in banks in the West.    Whatever happened to the money laundering laws of these countries?

In my view, poverty should be regarded as a human rights issue. World poverty is created and sustained by unfair global trade policies, corruption, huge debt burden, insufficient and ineffective aid aggravated by harsh and inappropriate economic policies imposed by rich governments.  It is an aspect of man’s inhumanity to man and everyone must rise up to this challenge and be remembered for what we contributed to history.  The people of Nigeria with all our rich economic and natural resources deserve better.

Robot  # 1 | 08.07.2006 02:32

...Read the full article.

Papino  # 2 | 08.07.2006 03:15

Thought-out and good essay. The fact remains that the west,cannot sustain their greed without looting Africa.Through global trade policies,an unequal trade relation had been perfected over the years hence the panick over the growing economic relations between Africa and China/India as we have today.The west faults such a relationship with silly arguements like;China has no respect for human rights!!As if the west is devoid of human right abuses,China should only deal with countries with a western/eurocentric passmark on "good governance"and bla bla bla. China on its part deals with Africa as partners-a policy that is far better than the thiefing big brother policy of the west over the years. The MDG is a joke and you can view it from any perpective you like,truth is that the west hate to loose grip on controlling Africa.If they give monetary Aids for example,they follow up with providing technical and "expertise"workforce that recieves the same monetary aids back to the west.Sad that our countries are yet to see this high-level deciet.I travelled to Nigeria last month through Port-harcourt Airport from France.I was among the four black people in that flight.The rest was you guessed right,expertriates from Europe and Americas with their families and house helps.One of them who saw in me a potential freind,told me his system of work is what they call 28-28 shift system.This would mean a system of working 28days in Nigeria and 28 days in Europe.I don't want to imagine how well paid he is but if meeting him in the business class-i was up-graded because of my frequent flyer no be say i buy business class ticket oo-is anything to go by,then it is worth the "srtress".I wondered if we have no oil engineers that would be trained instead of this 28-28 working model that is obviously expensive to run.I can go on but it would not be any different from Benis point of view in this article. People,our government is already of the opinion that uninterruptable power supply would cost Nigeria 36Billion Dollars.My mind went straight to all the money Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala saved for us.I don't know what you think. .As Dan uwana Gwobesantashi would say,Aluta continua!!

BOE  # 3 | 08.07.2006 04:57

Again, a lot words and zero contribution to a practical solution. No doubt African Exp (http://www.africanexperience.ie/about_us) was born out of genuine concerns but its flawed vision; "Our vision is to see all immigrants feel truly welcome to Ireland - the country of the welcomes and our shared home." will only help to create a future version of Londonistan in another flavour. Cultural diversity & Integration, Intercultural/Multicultural issues blah blah blah will only work when there is equal traffic in these directions; Nigeria-Ireland-Nigeria, but for this happen, "Nigeria Works" must take root. Yes, "The people of Nigeria with all our rich economic and natural resources deserve better.", but how do we reconcile that argument with "World poverty is created and sustained by unfair global trade policies, corruption, huge debt burden, insufficient and ineffective aid aggravated by harsh and inappropriate economic policies imposed by rich governments."? Where is a solution? I am sorry, but there is nothing new here. How do we go forward, from today? Is this a start to resolving our problems? Bring solutions to the table. What are they? It is not good enough to just write; "It is an aspect of man’s inhumanity to man and everyone must rise up to this challenge and be remembered for what we contributed to history." which I totally agree with but the human side of learning is incomplete without proper education. I recommend Chinua Achebe's Another Africa excerpt here http://www.salon.com/wlust/pass/1998/11/cov_15pass.html and his bio already described everything written. "Reflections on Make poverty history campaign, one year after.......It requires an immediate and concerted effort to address the issue from its very foundation." but what actions? Wish lists as you wrote do not work. What does or what will? NVS Hello? See http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/board/showthread.php?t=21242 A solution will be to stop the few from stealing our wealth and stashing it in "the West". The West should refuse to see any African leader (presidents, governors etc, + the health visitors) for 24months until they have shown measurable benefits to their citizens in terms of basic infrastructures like schools, universities, roads, basic medical care, water, public transport, security, and life and power generation.

Palamedes  # 4 | 08.07.2006 06:44

Good article but let us get over with the "surviving on less than $2 per day" cliché. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is a more accurate comparison of standards of living across countries than using GDP. For instance, in Nigeria, by GDP, it would be about a $1 per day whereas the more accurate PPP puts it at about $4 (or $1440 per year). Bennie Attoh, Madam, we both live in the West and have had the opportunity to observe how their governments and economies works. Western governments have their annual budgets , which controls what they do. I strongly recommend to African governments to read the current budget of the Western country and see for themselves how much money is allocated to overseas aid (or words to that effect). If they can't find the allocation then it is trickery, because it shows that there was never any intention of keeping the promises – it is merely a public relation exercise. Pity that our African governments don't do their research and consequently, continue to fall for it. Mr. Kofi A. Annan foreword in The Millennium Development ... ask the rhetorical questions: "Why are the Millennium Development Goals so different?" There are four reasons, he says: First, the Millennium Development Goals are people-centred, time-bound and measurable. Second, they are based on a global partnership, stressing the responsibilities of developing countries for getting their own house in order, and of developed countries for supporting those efforts. Third, they have unprecedented political support, embraced at the highest levels by developed and developing countries, civil society and major development institutions alike. Fourth, they are achievable. It is 2006; can we, sincerely, tick any of the boxes above? Do you think that there will ever come a time when we can tick all the boxes? I don't think so. It would be stupid of us to raise our expectations: Have we not learnt any thing from European colonial occupation of Africa; do we think that they are more honest than their fore-fathers? The answer, is no; and the difference is that they are more clever than their fore-fathers and ply their self-interest and dishonesty more cleverly. A trickery frequently used by Mr. Tony Blair is to blame the other countries for not pulling their weight to help Africa. He talks a lot about Africa but look closely, and you would see that he is all talk. His "high horse" attitude and do little and blame it on other countries must irritate other Western governments. First, he initiates his own policy on African which he makes conditional on support from other Western governments without first consulting these other governments, and when they refuse to sign on – rightly, so, he blames his failure on them. This is a classic ploy that he uses time and time again to present himself as the caring friend of Africa - Rubbish; and yet, his government keep blocking effort to return the money looted from Nigeria and deposited in British banks. Our African governments must stop being taken for a ride, and it is high time we understood that our destiny is in our hands and not in the hands of Western governments.

Uche Nworah  # 5 | 08.07.2006 08:49

Palamedas, you wrote "Our African governments must stop being taken for a ride, and it is high time we understood that our destiny is in our hands and not in the hands of Western governments". This has always been my position in poverty in Africa and the c..., and also in The politics of poverty. charity begins at home, while strategic aid and fair trade by the west will help improve Africa's situation, African governments and citizens are fully responsible for Africa's fortunes and destiny. In the book Brand New Justice, Simon Anholt adds his own two pence and argues that African governments and corporations will have to improve their branding skills (currently a major competitive advantage of the west), in order to effectively market their products in the west. This is true in a way because whats the logic behind Africa sending unbranded goods/raw materials to the west at scandalous prices, only for the west to process, package, brand the goods and send back to Africa at exorbitant prices. Why does a Louis Vitton bag cost so much? branding! What is the bag made of? raw hides and skins! where are hides and skins best and cheaply sourced? Africa. Likewise a whole lot of goods which we consume, these are already being manufactured in Africa and Asia, but the question now is, why is it so difficult to harness and build on the skills already transfered to Africans by the west in the manufacture of some of these goods, why can't we build on that? if you remember, there was so much talk in Nigeria about technology transfer in the 90s, some people even wondered if technology can be transfered, this inspired the likes of Chief Onwuka Kalu (Onwuka Hi-Tek Industries) but we failed to capitalise on those efforts of the 80s and 90s by indigenous entrepreneurs, by giving them the neccessary support (zero/low interest industrial loans, tax breaks, building industrial parks with amenities for them etc). Also the citizens/consumers like you and i repeatedly failed to buy Nigerian as we derided Made in Nigeria goods hence the expression 'Aba made'. Global trade is influenced mainly by nationalist interests, therefore it will be a tough call to expect western companies and governments to hand over to Africa the benefits on a platter, these western governments and corporations have got elections to win, shareholders to compensate and citizens to placate. We really need a basic understanding of how the whole process works, if we are to make a headway, else in years to come, we would still be singing the same old poverty in Africa song.

Palamedes  # 6 | 08.07.2006 13:54

uche nworah You have raised many issues and because it is related to poverty, I shall reply with no guilt feeling of digressing from the main issue. I agree with most of your points albeit with question mark to some: Branding is very important but you must have a decent product to brand. Again, like branding, what is the use of talking fair trade , when we don't have decent products and services to sell to the world. I hope that I am not being too negative. Our effort should be to encourage local businesses. For instance, why does Ghana import Italian branded canned tomatoes when Ghanaian farmers grow tomatoes? These are poor illiterate farmers, who cannot understand such high concepts as branding, but it is they that we must help to form co-operatives; with government backed bank loans to buy modern farming and manufacturing equipments. They can do the rest – including branding when they have quality produce, product or service, but first thing first. Our governments could go one step further by banning some goods to protect local businesses - forget the IMF, Geneva Convention, or whatever. In return for the advantages, these small businesses must sign up to Quality Improvement Standard . Every year, they must present their products, services and process for evaluation; every year they must improve on their products, services and processes. In less than 10 years, these businesses would be mature enough to feel the need to brand their good and service and compete in the international market on their own. Global trade is influenced mainly by nationalist interests, therefore it will be a tough call to expect western companies and governments to hand over to Africa the benefits on a platter, Very true, You mentioned Aba made but I also remember Japanese made and then Chinese made. The last two have the last laughs – you would agree with me. What worries me is that we still don't have a Nigerian Louis Vitton, Hugo Boss, Pancaldi & B, Bruno Batoli or Church. Since the 70s, Aba tailors have been known for their excellent tailoring and I would have expected a few of them to be doing business on the international stage by now, but where are they and what happened? Here again the government can encourage tailors to merge their small businesses by promising them contracts to make uniforms for the army and police forces. The government could work with them to attain the standard of uniforms required. In a few years, these same companies would have grown and mature to be making clothes and uniforms for other armies in Africa and the world. These are some of the ways to create jobs and reduce the poverty level in Africa. Let me say at this junction that I don't like government interference in businesses and is, therefore, the reason why I think government support should be minimal: to encourage, inform and expose businesses to opportunities available to them; to provide quality standards, seminars, conferences, and trade exhibitions for small business to exchange ideas and learn from one another; to work with the merchant banks to provide loans to small businesses; to provide scholarship to sons and daughters to go and acquire modern skills and technologies and return to work for the family businesses I hope, I have said enough for the time being.

Obugi  # 7 | 08.07.2006 14:16

Palamedes, Thanx 4 a very good discussion. What worries me is that we still don't have a Nigerian Louis Vitton, Hugo Boss, Pancaldi & B, Bruno Batoli or Church. Since the 70s, Aba tailors have been known for their excellent tailoring and I would have expected a few of them to be doing business on the international stage by now, but where are they and what happened? Here again the government can encourage tailors to merge their small businesses by promising them contracts to make uniforms for the army and police forces. The government could work with them to attain the standard of uniforms required. In a few years, these same companies would have grown and mature to be making clothes and uniforms for other armies in Africa and the world. These are some of the ways to create jobs and reduce the poverty level in Africa. Everyone knows what sort of programs will work 4 local industry to help grow wealth and provide jobs. The real problem is that the Fed Govt of Nigeria is wholly owned and operated by the very same Western govts and corporations that we are supposedly competing against. Until this problem is dealt with, we will always be a poor nation when compared to others. That is why personally I have never expected the FG to help Nigerians. If you look very closely now, the efforts being made for economic restructuring right now, while very well thought out, are all geared toward handing the Nigerian economy over to foreign interests. I have no doubt that in 5 - 10yrs, the living standards of Nigerians will improve, or at least we will be on a fast growth trajectory. However, Nigerians will enter a new stage of dissatisfaction, because we will then just be workers, being controlled by Oyibos. Its already happening in Kwara with Agric, with Telecom, the Steel mills, in Banking (imagine the FG mandating that local banks MUST have foreign partners b4 being allowed to manage the foreign reserve). We are lost. The bad thing is that the native African populations of Africa actually DON'T CARE about anything other than being GIVEN free water, free degrees, free fuel, free food and other consumer goodies. We are lost, there is no hope. Obugi.

Uche Nworah  # 8 | 08.07.2006 15:02

=Obugi> We are lost. The bad thing is that the native African populations of Africa actually DON'T CARE about anything other than being GIVEN free water, free degrees, free fuel, free food and other consumer goodies. We are lost, there is no hope. Obugi. Chief Obugi, not so fast. i thought we were already on the road to recovery, at least we are all spending time having these useful e-discussions. Don't give up my brother. @Palamedas. Now you got me going on the Aba charade. To be honest with you, as an A.B.U (Aba brought up) i feel deeply sad at what has happened to my beloved town. It is indeed sad that successive regimes both at local, state and federal government levels have failed to harness the huge potentials in the town. You talk about Aba tailors, i remember how i used to take shirts and trousers made in Aba to sell in the university and later in Lagos, these tailors were good but only lacked that 'finishing touch' skills. Again the government could have easily brushed up their skills through workshops and training so that their produts can sell in the global market. The problem is that these tailors and other artisans do not see themselves as part of a collective whole, they function more like separate units, somebody needs to get them organised and make them see the benefits of collective efforts. The idea of forming co-operatives is good as it may give them the powers of collective bargaining, and subscription to common standards of quality, just like those 'George' makers in Ukwa local government in the old days. At the famous Ariaria market, you will be surprised at the limited spaces available to those shoe makers, but still they are able to make those shoes that sell all over Africa. The least the government could have done here was relocate them to more condusive and spacious industrial parks with roads, parking facilities, warehousing, energy etc, which could easily be negotiated from Ngwa people who have lots of unused lands in and around Aba. Again, Ariaria market itself lacks access roads, the deep gully around the 'Ukwu Mango' area has kept traffic out for years. This has greatly affected trade in the market especially trade with neighbouring countries i.e Cameroun. They are also detered by the rising wave of armed robber.... I guess the whole problem boils down to our desire for instant gratification provided by oil money, hence no one is interested in alternative revenue sources. I'm thinking that this problem is not only peculiar to Africa, remember also how everbody went into IT in the west during the IT boom, abandoning their other professions. I would say that the west were lucky because they suffered their own 'burn out' early enough as the IT crash made them all to come back to their senses and revert back to other time honoured professions and jobs. Maybe it is when the oil bubble busts that we will learn our lessons, but by then it may have been too late.

Elaa  # 9 | 08.07.2006 15:28

Hi Bennie, HIV/AIDS results from a viral infection. It is not a global injustice in itself. The demography of infected persons - Africans, Blacks in other populations may be injustice. It may be necessary to address corruption while addressing the three steps of "debt cancellation, fair trade, and more effective Aid." To put it as a follow-up step is to let corrupt African nations in particular, off the hook. While one should not blame the victim, the response of African nations in particular to poverty, is appalling. Uche, the question isn't really refusing to buy 'Aba made', the problem is not producing 'Aba made' up to a minimum acceptable standard. Brading is definately important. We all get on the village square from around the world 'a la' oyinbo technology. It was people who came together to make the American government and the American nation that has so many high points today. The people from countries experiencing poverty have a role to play. To address global poverty, all persons should come to the table with their resources and potentials and not wait to react only after some others may have made some contributions. The road before us is long and rough. We need to be PREPARED for the journey instead of taking the short and smooth road that leads nowhere.

bennie  # 10 | 08.07.2006 15:45

BOE, Many thanks for your contribution. Your points are noted. Please permit me to react to your suggestion that the vision of The African Experience is flawed. The African Experience was established in Ireland because of the negative and hostile experiences of immigrants to Ireland. Personally, I took it upon myself to contribute a little towards exploding the myths about Nigerians in Ireland because of my personal experience of racism both as a Nigerian and as an African woman in Ireland. Someone once said, "home is not necessarily a geographical location but a state of mind" and if I may add, a place where one finds peace, joy and happiness. Helping immigrants in Ireland to achieve some level of comfort by challenging racism and influencing change in policy is hardly flawed in my opinion. Now to Mr/Mrs Palamedes and Mr Nworah, many thanks for your points on branding and export from the African continent. I share your views. Ever tried exporting stuff from the Nigerian ports? I do often. From Customs officials to Quarantine, the experience is a nightmare - an opportunity to enrich these agents who are supposed to do their jobs. I do not want to bore you with the various departments you have to 'settle' in the process of wanting to export goods from Nigeria. I believe that the Government is responsible for creating the enabling environment for Nigerian businesses to thrive. Prof. Dora Akunyili has done a marvelous job in destroying fake and substandard drugs. We need many more heads of departments like her.

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