By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has again said that alms-seeking, replica of the Almajiri culture, is not peculiar to the Northern part of the country as “it’s symptomatic of poverty.”
The lawmaker buttressed his position by sharing a video showing mile- long queues of Nigerians on Christmas Eve waiting for palliatives from President Bola Tinubu at his Bourdillon residence in Lagos State.
The lawmaker posted the video on his X account on Wednesday to emphasise that poverty transcends ethnicity and religion, calling for urgent action to address the challenge.
“Queues for presidential handouts at Bourdillon on Christmas Eve highlight a sobering reality. Poverty knows no tribe, religion, politics, or region. It is a universal challenge that demands collective action and sustainable solutions,” Mr Ndume wrote.
Senator Ndume’s comment came days after three deadly stampedes were recorded during palliative distributions in Oyo, Anambra, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), leaving no fewer than 60 people dead.
Tinubu’s philanthropic gesture of providing assistance to poor Nigerians who queue at his residence during this period has been ongoing for years. A similar video went viral during the same period in 2023.
Ndume’s statement seeks to highlight that poverty in the North, primarily caused by the Almajiri system, is also rising in the South due to what he called Tinubu’s harsh economic policies since assuming office on May 29, 2024.
According to the World Bank in its Nigeria Development Update titled ‘Turning the Corner: From Reforms & Renewed Hope, to Results’ released in December 2023, the country’s poverty rate rose from 40% in 2018 to 46%, representing an increase in the number of poor people from 79 million to 104 million.
The World Bank noted that the significant increase, caused by “sluggish growth and rising inflation,” has pushed “an additional 24 million people below the national poverty line.”
Despite the rising poverty figures, Tinubu, during his maiden media chat with journalists on Tuesday, insisted that Nigerians need to “manage.”
“People are learning management. My friend used to have 5 Rolls Royce but he now drives a Honda Accord”. Tinubu had said during his maiden media chat to drive home the need for frugality before his economic reforms start yielding fruits.
Ndume has been a vociferous critic of the President Tinubu’s administration despite being elected on the platform of the same political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), like the President.
