President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser on economic affairs Dr. Tope Fasua drew attention to the complexity of poverty measurement and defended the value of Naira in the local environment despite its high exchange rate.
Speaking on a podcast with journalist Seun Okinbaloye, Fasua talked about frequent misunderstandings about the global poverty index, especially the concept of multidimensional poverty.
“Some people don’t understand what multidimensional poverty means,” he said. “They think it’s worse than food poverty. But it could mean that your child is in a far distance in school or that the nearest hospital is not available.
He argued that Naira still has a lot of purchasing power in Nigeria despite its weak foreign exchange market.
“One dollar is about N1,500. For many Nigerians, that’s a lot of money. In the United States, $10 may not even buy lunch. Sometimes you need at least $20 – about N30,000 here,” Fasua explained.
He used relevant examples to illustrate how long Nigeria still has to go.
“If you don’t eat in a high-end restaurant, for only $5, or N7,500, you can have a great meal. At Gwarinpa, some people sell Boli and Fish for N1,500. It depends on where you come from.”
