LBSAA President’s Dinner 2023 Programme of Event 5.00 - 6.00pm
6.05 pm
6꞉10 p.m 6꞉15p.m 6꞉25p.m 6꞉30p.m 6꞉35p.m 6꞉40p.m 6꞉45p.m
Registration of Guests, Red Carpet, and Cocktail Networking
(Music)
Dinner
Call to Order (Music by Veentage Band)
National Anthem – By Veentage Band
Introduction by the MCs
Welcome Remarks by LBSAA President, Mr. Agada Apochi
Remarks by the Dean, LBS – Prof. Chris Ogbechie
Ice Breaker
(Music by DJ/Veentage Band)
Ice Breaker
7.00 p.m
Fun activities
7꞉10p.m
First Course (Music by Veentage Band)
7꞉15 p.m
Presidents Award
7꞉25 p.m 7꞉30 p.m 7꞉40 p.m
Dinner (Music by Veentage Band)
Ice Breaker
Platinum Sponsors
7.50 p.m
Ice Breaker
8.15 p.m
Ice Breaker
8.35 p.m 9.05 pm
Ice Breaker Ice Breaker
7.55 pm
8꞉25 p.m
9꞉30 p.m
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Dance! Dance!! Dance!!!(Veentage Band)
Class Awards
Vote of Thanks and transition, to AfterParty 4
2022/2023 President's Dinner Planning Committee
Chijoke Ugochukwu Chairperson
Omotayo Akinuyedee
Henry Andoh
Judith Chukwu
Nmuta David Mbamalu
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Esther Ojo
Benita Adelore
Funke Medun
Temidayo Osanyintade
Onyedikachi Job-Ujah
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Uzoma Chukwuma
Joshua Mbak
David Okafor
About Lagos Business School
L
agos Business School (LBS) is the graduate business school of Pan-Atlantic University, owned by the Pan-Atlantic University Foundation (PAUF), a non-profit foundation registered in Nigeria. LBS was founded on inspirations from the teachings of St Josemaria Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei. LBS offers academic programmes, executive programmes and short courses (customised to specific company needs, as well as open-enrolment courses) in management. Its offerings have been accredited globally and ranked among the best in Africa, as it systematically strives to improve the practice of management on the continent. The business school's efforts have been recognised by several world-class accreditations and rankings. Besides the quality bar set at world-standards, LBS programmes also stand out because of the emphasis on professional ethics and service to the community
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LBS has been ranked every year, since 2007 by the Financial Times of London, among the top global providers of open enrolment executive education and in custom executive education since 2015.
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Education at LBS is comprehensive, drawing on the experiences of a multinational faculty and participants. Learning is participant-centred and uses the case study method. Activities hold on the school's purpose-built facilities which serve more than 3,000 participants yearly from indigenous and multinational companies. These attest to the expert teaching, the relevance of the programmes and the overall benefits derived from attending. LBS has a robust alumni association with more than 6,000 members. This asset base, as well as the close relationship with the corporate world, ensures that the programmes offered, as well as having international standards, also has local relevance.
In recognition of the quality of Lagos Business School's programmes and of being structured in line with global best practices, it has received several international accreditations. LBS is the first business school in West, East and Central Africa regions to be accredited by The Association of MBAs (AMBA). This puts LBS amongst the exclusive group of only 2% of business schools in 70 countries to achieve this accreditation. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has also accredited LBS, the first institution to be so recognised in all of West Africa. LBS thus joined the league of less than 5% of business schools globally, to be accredited by AACSB in December 2016. This accreditation affirms Lagos Business School's undeniable commitment, over the last 29 years, to world-class standards in teaching, learning, research, academic and professional management.
Learning at LBS is based on a Christian conception of the dignity of man, of society and economic activity. The Prelature of Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church, takes responsibility for guaranteeing that this vision underlies all teaching, publishing and research activities of the School.
LBS has been ranked every year, since 2007 by the Financial Times of London, among the top global providers of open enrolment executive education and in custom executive education since 2015. The latter ranked number one in Africa on the 2020 Financial Times list. LBS' MBA programmes have held Tier One positions on CEO Magazine's Global MBA rankings for three consecutive years. The School is listed among the top 50 global business schools on The Economist magazine's 2018 Executive MBA ranking.
LBS is a member of the Association of African Business Schools (AABS), the Global Business School Network (GBSN), the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), AACSB InternationalThe Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), alongside 220 leading graduate business schools worldwide. GMAC is an organisation of leading graduate management schools in the world and the owner of the GMAT exam.
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Sustainable Waste Management꞉ Economic Spin-Offs of At-Source Waste Separation
Contributors꞉ Orevaoghene I. Atanya, Head, Sustainability, Lagos Business School, Abam Inyang, Senior Associate, LBS Sustainability Centre
The Global Alarm Scientists across the globe are raising alarm over the increased waste production in urban cities which is fueling climate change, and slowing speedy transition into the circular economy model. As currently practised in many cities across the globe, waste generated is unsegregated at source and this increases land, air, water pollution and ocean plastic accumulation, shrinks biodiversity and carbon sink, contaminates non-renewable resources, depletes the environment, spikes cost of waste management, and inflates the cost of waste processing, among others. This has led to a call for a more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective model of waste management across the value chain starting with at-source segregation of wastes.
report reckons that it makes economic sense to properly manage waste, further stressing the health and environmental impacts uncollected waste has across ecosystems.
She says, “The cost of addressing these impacts is many times higher than the cost of developing and operating simple, adequate waste management systems. Solutions exist and we can help countries get there.”
It is common knowledge that landfills are overflowing in major African cities leading to increased greenhouse emissions. These landfills pose even greater risks; more than two-thirds of the 130plus people killed in recent landfill collapse in Africa were women according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This is because waste management in Africa has largely ignored gender disparities. Africa has also become a dumping ground for end-of-life goods, such as electronic waste, often originating from developed countries. Recycling and treatment infrastructure is typically inadequate to safely deal with these waste streams resulting in direct impacts on the environment and human health.
In its Global Snapshot on Waste Report in 2018, the World Bank clearly stated that unless action is taken, the current level of global waste will rise by 70 percent in the year 2050, driven mainly by growing populations, rapid urbanisation and increasing industrialisation. It projects a jump in waste generation from 2.01 billion tonnes to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. The report further breaks down the contribution of waste produced across the globe.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in its Pollution Prevention Article (2022) states that every business concern generates waste, requiring special handling and disposal and irrespective of the volume or nature of waste originating from businesses or homes, they are all similar in one respect - it is costing individuals and organisations money. In Fact, they opine that individuals and businesses pay for waste
High-income countries combined generate more than one-third (34 percent) of the world's waste, even though they only make for 16 percent of the world's population, and the East Asia and Pacific region churn in close to a quarter (23 percent) of all waste. It is expected that by 2050, waste generation in Sub-Saharan Africa will more than triple from existing levels, while South Asia will more than double its waste stream. What is worse as indicated by I.MarínBeltrán et.al (2022) is the outright global mismanagement of resources leading to waste on an annual basis, with studies implying we directly waste or mismanage around 49% of food produced, 78% of total water withdrawn, 31% of the energy produced, 85% of ores and 26% of non-metallic minerals extracted, respectively.
D.M.Chen et.al (2020) have put forward their findings highlighting that global waste production at current levels does not seem to follow the environmental Kuznets curve, and current projections do not meet UN SDGs for waste reduction. Their study shows that a continuation of current trends and improvements is insufficient to reduce pressures on natural systems to achieve a circular economy. These findings, reports and studies have all constituted a global alarm and an urgent call to action for the implementation of waste management practices that reverse climate change effects, conserve financial resources, regenerate our environment and minimise social conflicts. Business As Usual Laura Tuck, Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank in the Global World Bank Waste Report of 2018 says mismanagement of waste harms human health, local environments and adds to the climate challenge, with often the poorest in society most adversely impacted. She advocates for reuse and recycling as the way to go. Her colleague, Silpa Kaza, World Bank Urban Development Specialist and Lead Author of the
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twice - once when it is bought and the second time when it is thrown away. They submit that preventing waste will save individuals' and organisations resources. Waste prevention is a business and income-saving strategy beneficial to all organisations and homes, regardless of size or type. In addition to cost savings, it also helps to reduce liability, improve worker safety, and enhance social inclusion.
According to USEPA, by consuming and throwing away less, the need to handle, treat, and dispose of waste is significantly reduced. It is worthy of note that preventing waste can happen in many ways, including꞉ ● sing eco-friendly packaging products and reducing the a mount of packaging material.. ● urchasing durable, long-lasting materials.. ● liminating raw materials that are not needed in 13
Source꞉ All charts are culled from What a Waste 2.0 by Kaza et.al ● ● ●
our final product or service.. sing products that are free of toxic materialss onserving water and energy andd mplementing in-process recyclingg
paints a crystal clear picture of the challenges and opportunities in Africa. Out of the 125 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated on the continent in 2012 (which is expected to double in 2025), only 55% is collected owing to inadequate waste collection services. Over 90% is disposed of at uncontrolled waste sites and landfills, 19 of the world's biggest 50 dumpsites are located in Africa. 57% of MSW is organic waste, 13% is plastic, 70-80% is recyclable, yet only 4% is currently recycled. The Africa Union (AU) set an ambitious target that African cities will recycle 50% of waste generated by 2023, a target still far from being met.
Also, paper and plastics constitute a major component of solid waste across the globe. While we see increasing efforts to recycle paper waste across the globe, plastic pollution across natural habitats has reached a peak. I. Anyaogu (Business Day, 2022) has hinted that failure to formalise the Nigerian waste recycling sector deprives the country of value from an estimated 32 million tonnes of waste generated yearly, complicating an already aggravated environmental pollution. He further added that, according to a United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) report, out of the 32 million tonnes of waste generated annually in Nigeria, plastics account for 2.5 million tonnes, infamously placing Nigeria among the 20 nations that contribute 83 percent of the total volume of land-based plastic waste that makes it into the oceans. To put it in context, over 200,000 tonnes of plastics from Nigeria end up in the Atlantic Ocean. A World Bank report estimates that 0.51 kilogrammes of waste is generated daily by each Nigerian, and projected total waste of all Nigerians is expected to rise to 107 million tonnes by 2050 – a development that presents both a threat and an opportunity. Last year, in 2022 precisely, the international non-profit Clean-Up Nigeria, with consultative status with the United Nations, found that over 172.7 million (86.35% of) Nigerians live in an environment considered unclean by global environment standards, putting them at risk of various types of diseases.
UNEP also submits that diverting waste away from dumpsites and landfills towards reuse, recycling and recovery, could inject an additional US$8 billion US dollars every year into the African economy, and create significant socio-economic opportunities for the continent. Achieving this economic prospect implies that secondary resources could be released back into the African economy, growing and strengthening local manufacturing, creating jobs, addressing unemployment, and building local and regional economies. And if done responsibly and sustainably, will at the same time minimise the environmental and human health impacts associated with the current poor solid waste management practices seen across the African continent.
The Netherlands is a global frontrunner in waste management and circular economy (CE). In the 2020 (Netherlands) Report on Business Opportunities in Nigeria's Waste and Circular Economy, commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, they identified that for Nigeria to move forward, a more formal circular ecosystem needs to emerge. The Nigerian public and private sectors are increasingly aware of the concept of circularity in the economy, and there are ever more projects and companies involved to come up with solutions. Solutions proposed at various fora by stakeholders in the waste management space include at-source segregation which helps conserve resources,
The Opportunity in Sustainable Waste Management The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in its Africa Waste Management Outlook Summary for Decision Makers
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enhance sustainable waste management practices, and fastracks the attainment of circularity principles.
Chalkboard Examples Worth Following In Nigeria, companies like FBN Holdings, MTN, and BUA Foods have resource use and sustainable waste management policies in place. Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) has a material recovery facility for sustainable waste management. These policies influence practices that include waste segregation, recycling, upcycling, waste minimisation and composting. Its also reported that firms in Nigeria are increasingly interested in recycling by promoting plastic collection at their premises. These include the United Africa Company (UAC), First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and Nigerian Exchange Group (NSE).
The Economic, Social and Environmental (ESG) Case for Source Segregation At the recently concluded True Leaders Training Series which held on May 3, 2023 for Facility Managers, conducted by the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre (LBSSC) in partnership with the Circular Business Platform, an initiative supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, the Managing Director (MD) of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, who was a guest speaker informed participants that at-source segregation has been proven to conserve significant financial resources for businesses, individuals and homes and advocates for widespread adoption of at-source segregation.
S.Wahba et.al (2019) in their article on realising economic growth while cutting waste, highlighted the case of Kitakyushu, a highincome city in Japan and what we can learn from them. As an industrial city with significant pollution, Kitakyushu sought to apply an environmentally sound approach rather than a disposalfocused one. The main drivers of their efficient waste management system cover all steps from the start to end points꞉ sorting of the waste at source, composting widely at the household level, recycling, and engaging citizens heavily. These measures are complemented with financial incentives to reduce waste due to volume-based waste user fees rather than flat fees per household. Over time, Kitakyushu even built up an Eco-Town to increase environmental awareness and recover materials from many types of waste, including cars and appliances.
In segregating waste for easier recycling and waste management, businesses and individuals must split waste at source into 6 segregation levels, i.e. (i) Dry waste including paper, glass, rubber, etc - these are mostly combustibles (ii) Wet waste includes liquid waste, organic items like food, fruits, leaves and flowers, soiled food wrappers, hygiene products, yard waste, tissues and paper towels, as well as any other soiled item that would contaminate the recyclables (iii) Domestic hazardous waste such as motor batteries, paints, solvents, pesticides, compressed gas tanks, car wax, diesel fuel, metals, etc (iv) Domestic Biomedical waste such as used masks, gloves, sanitary napkins, diaper, waste medicines etc. (v) E-Wastes such as TVs, computers, phones, radios, DVDs, lamps, clocks, flashlights, calculators, etc and (vi) Plastic Waste. Interestingly the UNDP India Office has proffered 16 ways of segregating waste for those who want to segregate to even more granular and precise levels. They have stated benefits to include reduction in occupational health risks of waste pickers who segregate waste at collection points, elimination in the need for landfills which constitute a huge hazard to human health and the environment, and increase in revenues for households and businesses who sell recyclable waste after at-source segregation to the waste collectors who in turn recycle dry waste and sell to cement factories as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) for coprocessing and in some cases for usage in running their production machinery.
Lessons from Kitakyushu and Japan come in handy for Africa and the rest of the world to work towards reducing and managing waste effectively. Citizen awareness, engagement and participation made all the difference in Kitakyushu. Impressive commitment ran through from household levels to the government at all levels, with incentives aligned at all levels by all stakeholders, allowing for transformation of the waste management sector, which led to significant improvement of the environment, the economy, and the health of the city. Inevitably, from the Kitakyushu success story, there exists a nexus between at-source segregation, sustainable waste management and increased economic growth.
Back home in Africa, only Rwanda has come up with a circular economy plan as reported by C.Hitayezu (2023). It is a 14-year plan costing $211.2 million US dollars to manage waste and adopt clean production technologies, which will essentially adopt at-source segregation as part of its waste management practices. Africa's future economic growth and the prosperity of its people are intimately linked to a successful transition to a green and resilient economy, African Development Bank's Rwanda Country Manager Aissa Touré Sarr has said. In her words, “Investment in companies and ecosystems working on circular economy solutions has an opportunity to drive whole-ofsociety transformation and innovations.”
In 2021, the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relaunched the Source Segregation Program, which calls for waste to be segregated into pre-defined groups namely꞉ Organics, paper, plastic, can and glass waste for recycling. The relaunch was necessitated by the loss of momentum in its first launch In November 2013, when the EPA piloted the National Source Waste Segregation program in public sector organisations and Ministries involving 60 Institutions. Only recently in March 2023, the African Business Quarterly indicated that the South African military launched a separation-at-source recycling initiative to transit its waste-to-wealth ambition into the circular economy which will reduce landfills and protect the environment. The initiative is a direct brainchild of the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) in partnership with PETCO which is a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) that administers extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes on behalf of its members for various packaging material streams in order to build a circular economy and lead producer responsibility in South Africa. Waste segregation facilitates the process of reuse, recycling, and recovery of waste, which creates a huge window for circularity. Circularity, as espoused by global climate change experts, researchers and policymakers, holds huge economic opportunities for Africa as well as great potential to regenerate the environment. Circularity is underpinned by the 3 concepts of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. According to J.Kihila et.al (2021), waste reuse, recycling and recovery (RRR), if well planned and managed, can reduce the amount of waste to be disposed of by up to 65% of the total waste generated, leading to economic and environmental benefits.
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Furthermore, Hitayezu reported that the Africa Circular Economy Alliance was established in 2017 during the 23rd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held at Bonn, Germany by the governments of South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda. It aimed at encouraging Africa's transition to a circular economy at the national, regional and continental levels by operating as a collaborative platform to coordinate and link the various initiatives on the continent. Among the three countries, Rwanda is the only one that has developed a Circular Economy Action Plan and Roadmap.
Overall, at-source waste management practices that improve current waste generation dynamics and prompts a compelling response from policymakers in Nigeria and Africa are needed. It is instructive to note that policy is catching up with these sustainability trends through the circular economy and its enormous economic opportunities. On the policy side, for example, the Nigerian bustling commercial city of Lagos has announced the implementation of at-source segregation of wastes at commercial premises operating in the state. 15
Finally, we would conclude by emphasising the importance of the Circular Economy lens, innovation and creativity in the practice of sustainable waste management. In our recent study published in a chapter in the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Catalysts for a Sustainable Circular Economy, we found that businesses “that successfully implemented circular business models demonstrated a high level of creativity and innovation in their approach. They were able to identify untapped resources, develop new products and services, and engage in collaborative partnerships to enhance their business models.” N. Ferronato and V. Toretta (2019) have opined that solid waste (SW) References
mismanagement is a global issue in terms of environmental contamination, and economic sustainability, which requires carefully thought out practices, integrated assessments and holistic approaches for its solution. Achieving both economic growth and sustainable development in waste management starts with best practices in the waste value chain such as atsource segregation, which helps to reduce pressure created by waste pollution on the global ecological system whuch we all depend on for survival, as well as transform the way of produce consume -dispose of goods and resources.
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portal.org/smash/get/diva2꞉644961/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Akanji, M., Amoah, N., Akpoveso, O.T., Atanya, O. and Ogbechie, C. (2023) A review of circular economy in Nigeria꞉ From rhetoric to enterprise development. In
Jokinen, A. Lehtimäki, H., Aarikka-Stenroos, L., Jokinen, P., Eds The Routledge Handbook of Catalysts for a Sustainable Circular Economy. United Kingdom꞉ Taylor &
Francis, 2023.
Anyaogu, I. (2022, March 31). Nigeria's 32m-ton annual solid waste ripe for investments. Businessday NG. https꞉//businessday.ng/big-read/article/nigerias-32m-ton-
annual-solid-waste-ripe-for-investments/
Ashley. (2023, April 14). SA military launches separation-at-source recycling initiative. AFRICAN BUSINESS QUARTERLY. https꞉//www.abizq.co.za/sa-military-
launches-separation-at-source-recycling-initiative/
Chen, D. M.-C., Bodirsky, B. L., Krueger, T., Mishra, A., & Popp, A. (2020, June 23). The World's Growing Municipal Solid Waste꞉ Trends and Impacts. Environmental
Research Letters. https꞉//iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8659
Ferronato, N., & Torretta, V. (2019, March 24). Waste mismanagement in developing countries꞉ A Review of Global Issues. MDPI. https꞉//www.mdpi.com/1660-
4601/16/6/1060
GGGI. (2021, August 30). Rwanda launches new project “waste to resources꞉ Improving municipal solid waste (MSW) and Hazardous Waste Management in
Rwanda.” GGGI. https꞉//gggi.org/rwanda-launches-new-project-waste-to-resources-improving-municipal-solid-waste-msw-and-hazardous-waste-management-in-
rwanda/
Hitayezu, C. (2023, January 9). Rwanda launches plan for next 14 years with focus on circular economy. Down To Earth.
https꞉//www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/africa/rwanda-launches-plan-for-next-14-years-with-focus-on-circular-economy-87021
Kaza, S., Yao, L. C., Bhada-Tata, P., & Van Woerden, F. (2018). What a waste 2.0. Open Knowledge Repository.
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Kenya Launches Plastic Action Plan to promote green growth agenda. Xinhua | English.news.cn. (2019, December 4). http꞉//www.news.cn/english/africa/2019-
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Waste. Science of The Total Environment. https꞉//www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721064378
Naijalink Limited. (2020, December). Business opportunities in Nigeria's waste and circular economy sector. RVO.
Nyarko-Yirenkyi, A. (2021, December 1). Ghana꞉ EPA re-launches source segregation programme. allAfrica.com. https꞉//allafrica.com/stories/202112010154.html
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Smith, A., Brown, K., Ogilvie, S., Rushton, K., & Bates, J. (n.d.). Waste Management Options and Climate Change. https꞉//ec.europa.eu/environment/pdf/waste/studies/climate_change.pdf
UNDP India. (2023, January 18). 16-ways of segregating waste꞉ Panaji's innovative model of Solid Waste Management꞉ United Nations Development Programme.
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Who is Responsible for the Worsening Poverty in Nigeria? An Advocacy for Synergy in Public Sector Strategies By Franklin N. Ngwu | Kelechi C. Nnamdi | Lukman A. Lasisi LBS Public Sector Initiative, Lagos Business School
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Image Source꞉ The Fact Daily꞉ www.thefact.ng/nigeria-needs-n1trn-to-lift-children-out-of-poverty-unicef/
ub-Saharan Africa is the region with the largest population living in worsened poverty. Record shows that more than a third of people in SSA are surviving below the international poverty line of $2.15 per day, with the most severely affected economies to include Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. Notwithstanding, Nigeria despite being the region's largest oil exporter and the largest economy, paradoxically, hosts the largest poor population. Equally worrisome is the prediction by the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation, which predicts that Nigeria and the DRC will collectively be home to 44% of people living in extreme poverty conditions by the year 2050.
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This severity was noticed across developing economies; but it is most peculiar to Nigeria as a significant proportion of its population numbering over 133 million plunged into multidimensional poverty.
By Franklin N. Ngwu
Director, Lagos Business School (LBS) Public Sector Initiative
Kelechi C. Nnamdi Post-doctoral Researcher, LBS Public Sector Initiative
Research Assistant Public Sector Initiative, Lagos Business School
MarketMoni (Micro-credit schemes for traders & business owners at the grassroots), N-Power Scheme (Youth empowerment), School feeding program (free meals to primary school children), National Social Safety Net program, Rural electrification projects, while it appears some benefits may have been observed, yet, extreme poverty remains pervasive and worsening. Nevertheless, the sub-national (state) government were not isolated in driving the scourge of poverty within their region. There is, therefore, the need to consider alternative, coordinated, and coherent measures to clearly identify, assess, and mitigate the growing pervasive poverty situation in Nigeria. Poor policy choices and implementation have also been linked to the worsened poverty situation, and thus, the need for new thinking, new anti-poverty strategies, and mechanism across national and sub-national government is most important and urgent. Anti-poverty measures must now be thoughtful, purposeful, and organized with a proactive engagement of the private sector for accelerated and inclusive social and economic development across the Nigerian federation. The research, therefore, advocates for an urgent and coordinated action among the federal government, state governments, and the private sector leadership to develop a fully harmonize and collaborative strategy to combat poverty with focus on education, healthcare, job creation, and fiscal decentralization as key elements of an anti-poverty strategy. Most importantly, the research advocates the need for ethical public sector leadership and a strong commitment from the tiers of government.
This alarming forecast has been attributed to the lack of investment in human capital that does not align with the growing population, raising serious concerns for the future. Interestingly also, the 2022 report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealing worsening multidimensional poverty attracted the Federal Government of Nigeria to have blamed the fiscal mismanagement of the State governments to be responsible for the economic miseries across the countr y. The State governors have however unanimously spurned the indictment. This dual denial prompted the quest in our research to determine the responsible fiscal strata for worsening poverty in Nigeria. This may perhaps be seen as a failure in duty as Ola Rotimi may metaphorically ascribe that the gods are not to blame. Now, the pertinent question is꞉ who is responsible for this economic misery or do Nigerians and all those within Nigeria deserve increasing deprivations in basic needs that are above 25 percent? Evidence shows that the prevalence of severe poverty has worsened in recent years. This severity was noticed across developing economies; but it is most peculiar to Nigeria as a significant proportion of its population numbering over 133 million plunged into multidimensional poverty. This is in spite of efforts to reduce poverty at the national (federal) and sub-national (state) level, no tangible progress has been recorded as the level of deprivation is rather deepened. Within the last decade, the government reported to have taken measures to address poverty through some anti-poverty policies such as social investment program (SIP), particularly the conditional cash transfer (CCT), TraderMoni and
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Lukman A. Lasisi
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2024 LBSAA CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES
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