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Patrick O. Okigbo III, in conversation with Olushola Afolayan

Although Nigeria shed the infamous sobriquet, the “Poverty Capital of the World,” 63 per cent of its population (or 133 million people) are multidimensionally poor. The situation is worse in rural Nigeria, where 7 out of 10 people are poor. Note that 70 per cent of Nigerians live in rural areas. The northern part of the country is worse off (65 per cent of the poor), but the southern parts are not immune from the problem. For instance, the southeastern region, performing relatively better in the last survey (2018), is worse today.

What are poverty’s multifaceted dimensions in Nigeria? What are the root causes? How is the government collaborating with its partners to address this challenge? Which poverty prevention programmes succeeded or failed, and why? What are the elements of a successful poverty alleviation programme? What are the challenges with creating such a programme? How can an engaged government implement programmes changing Nigeria’s poverty narrative?

Join Patrick O. Okigbo III, Founding Partner at Nextier, and Olushola Afolayan, a Poverty Reduction Expert, to discuss these questions. Until recently, Olushola was the National Coordinator of Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index at the Presidency. She was an Embedded Advisor at Nigeria’s National Social Investment Office. Earlier in her career, she was a Senior Special Assistant on Job Creation to the Governor of Ondo State. She worked for Chevron’s PIND Foundation and several development programmes managed by Adam Smith International, Coffey, TetraTech, British Council, etc. She founded the Social Impact, Healthcare, and Education (SHE) Foundation. She was a member of the Technical Working Group for the 2021-2025 Medium-Term National Development Plan.

Nextier, a multi-competency advisory firm, uses its Development Discourse to probe for answers to complex development questions. Please find the event details below:

Date: Wednesday, May 01, 2024
Time: 15:00-16:30 (WAT)
Registration here

On April 03, 2024, Dr Tayo Aduloju and Patrick O. Okigbo III discussed “How to Grow Nigeria’s Economy.” Nextier, an Africa-focused multi-competency advisory firm, organised this discussion under its Development Discourse platform. You can click here to watch the discussion or here to download the annotated transcript.

On March 06, 2024, Dr Salihu Mohammad Lukman and Patrick O. Okigbo III discussed “Party Politics and Africa’s Democratic Future.” Nextier, an Africa-focused multi-competency advisory firm, organised this discussion under its Development Discourse platform. You can click here to watch the discussion or here to download the annotated transcript.

On February 21, 2024, Dr Modupe (Mo) Adefeso Olateju and Patrick O. Okigbo III discussed “Education Reforms: Private Schools for the Poor.” Nextier, an Africa-focused multi-competency advisory firm, organised this discussion under its Development Discourse platform. You can click here to watch the discussion or here to download the annotated transcript.

Patrick O. Okigbo III in conversation with Obi Asika

Nigeria’s overdependence on its petroleum resources hinders its economic development. Despite having the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria records a 40 per cent poverty rate, with an estimated 87 million Nigerians living below the poverty line. The country must develop its non-oil sectors to accelerate economic growth, create jobs, reduce poverty, and enhance progress. The country’s creative economy offers new growth engines. For instance, the culture, creative, hospitality, and tourism industry, recognised as one of Nigeria’s high-growth clusters, is expected to contribute about $25 billion in 2025 and about $100 billion by 2030 to the Nigerian Economy.

However, several challenges impact Nigeria’s creative economy: poor financing, market access, intellectual property protection, enabling infrastructure, an underdeveloped digital ecosystem, etc. While successive Nigerian governments demonstrated the need to develop these growth engines, none has stood out for its efforts. Indeed, Nigeria’s Nollywood, music, fashion, art, food, etc., developed despite the government.

Nextier, a multi-competency public policy advisory firm, uses its “Development Discourse” to probe for answers to complex development questions. This session will explore how Nigeria can harness its creative industry to drive economic growth. It will explore the rise of Nigeria’s Nollywood, music, fashion, art, food, etc. The discussion will explore the strategic decisions, policies, programmes and investments required to grow the industry. It will draw insights from local early successes and examine how places like South Korea, California, Riyadh, etc., deliberately created their thriving creative industries.

Join Obi Asika, Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture and Patrick O. Okigbo III, Nextier’s Founding Partner, in this conversation. Prior to his recent appointment, Obi had a front-row seat in several initiatives to develop and harness Nigeria’s soft power as a tool for economic growth. He played a prominent role in laying the infrastructure for the growth and development of Nigeria’s media and entertainment industry:

▪ Founder and CEO, Storm 360: an indigenous music label that led the globalisation of Nigerian music
and the arrival of Afrobeats
▪ Founding Partner, Dragon Africa: Strategic comms and conferences
▪ Exec Producer, Big Brother Nigeria, 2006, The Apprentice Africa 2008, Dragons Den 2008 and many
more
▪ West Africa Partner and Co-founder of AMPN West Africa: Producers of “The Voice,” “The Winner Is,”
and “I Love My Country
▪ African Advisory Committee, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, Washington DC
▪ Member of the presidential committee on the Nigerian Start-Up Act
▪ Leader, Technical Working Group CCHT (cultural, creative, hospitality and tourism industries) National
Development Plan 2020-2050
▪ Producer, “Journey of the Beats,” a 10-part documentary series on Showmax

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Time: 15:00-16:30 (WAT)
Registration Here