By Our Correspondent
ABUJA – The Nat’l President of the Guild of Online Media Editors and Publishers of Nigeria (GOMEP-NG), Comr. Akpovoke Otiti, has criticised the manner in which empowerment programmes are structured in Nigeria, describing many of them as “the theatre of poverty” rather than genuine efforts to lift citizens out of economic hardship.
Otiti said the widespread practice of distributing Point of Sale (POS) machines, motorcycles, umbrellas, tables and chairs, refrigerators, grinding machines and other items during highly publicised events falls short of meaningful empowerment.
According to him, such initiatives merely equip beneficiaries to survive within an economic system that continues to keep them poor instead of creating opportunities for long-term prosperity.
“What is often celebrated as empowerment is, in reality, the staging of the theatre of poverty,” he said. “You see politicians organising elaborate events where citizens are presented with POS machines, umbrellas, tables and chairs, refrigerators and grinding machines. While these items may provide temporary relief, they do not address the structural barriers that keep millions trapped in poverty.”
Otiti argued that genuine empowerment should focus on building infrastructure, expanding access to finance, improving education, strengthening agricultural value chains and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
“A corn seller should be able to grow into a commercial farmer with access to markets, technology, credit and modern infrastructure. That is what real empowerment should achieve,” he said.
Instead, he maintained, many empowerment programmes are designed in ways that keep beneficiaries economically vulnerable and politically dependent.
“They hand people just enough tools to remain where they are, visible, dependent and easy to influence. It ensures they remain poor enough to be remembered during the next election cycle,” he added.
The GOMEP-NG President also questioned the effectiveness of small cash grants, arguing that they do little to address the root causes of poverty.
“Giving people ₦50,000 alongside a POS machine should not automatically be celebrated as generosity. Hunger makes people easier to persuade. When people are forced to struggle daily for survival, it becomes easier to win their loyalty with temporary relief,” he stated.
He noted that years of economic hardship had pushed many Nigerians into survival mode, leaving them with little opportunity to think beyond their immediate needs.
“The painful reality is that many Nigerians spend all their time and energy trying to survive. When survival becomes the priority, people have very little strength left to fight for a better tomorrow or demand lasting reforms,” he said.
Otiti further lamented that food items and other basic necessities had increasingly become instruments of political mobilisation.
“That is why bags of rice, akara, kuli-kuli and other everyday essentials have become political currency. The solution is not to sustain dependency but to create an economy where citizens can build wealth, expand businesses and become economically independent,” he said.
He urged policymakers at all levels to shift the focus of empowerment programmes from short-term handouts to long-term investments in infrastructure, agriculture, industrialisation, entrepreneurship and job creation, insisting that sustainable development can only be achieved by creating opportunities that enable citizens to prosper independently.
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