Less than 24 hours to her scheduled visit to Nigeria, Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has branded Nigeria as being home to the poorest people in the world.
The prime minister made the statement while speaking in South Africa, Cape Town on UK and Africa opportunity.
May, who will be coming to Nigeria on Wednesday, maintained that Africa has the highest number of poor people in the world and Nigeria houses the poorest.
“Much of Nigeria is thriving, with many individuals enjoying the fruits of a resurgent economy, yet 87 million Nigerians live below $1 and 90 cents a day, making it home to more very poor people than any other nation in the world,” the UK prime minister said.
May noted that the country lacks inclusive growth as the economy of the country fails to grow along with the country’s population.
She called on leaders of African countries to create more jobs in order to sustain its economy and reduce the poverty level in the continent.
May expressed that UK would invest in Africa to create more jobs to combat poverty and at the same time tackle global challenges.
The prime minister said, “Today I am committing that our development spending will not only combat extreme poverty but at the same time tackle global challenges and support our own national interest.”
“It is in the world’s interest to see that those jobs are created, to tackle the causes and symptoms of extremism and instability, to deal with migration flows and to encourage clean growth.”
Nigeria was recently named by Brookings Institution as the poverty capital of the world, overtaking India.
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