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| VC, Fatukasi, Registrar |
A Professor of Development Economics at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Adebayo Fatukasi, has called for the inclusion of indigenous development economists in government policymaking, warning that poverty reduction efforts may continue to fail without their input.
Fatukasi made the call on Tuesday while delivering the 59th inaugural lecture of the university titled, “Reducing Poverty in Our Land: Divine Mandate of a Development Economist!”
He stressed the need for stronger collaboration between government and development economists to design effective and sustainable strategies capable of addressing the country’s rising poverty rate.
According to him, uneven development across regions remains a major concern, noting that the pace of growth in the South-West, South-East and South-South is significantly ahead of that in the northern part of the country.
The don lamented that decades of anti-poverty initiatives had yielded limited results, attributing their shortcomings to poor funding, weak coordination, inadequate policy design, and ineffective monitoring.
“In 1972, the Federal Government introduced the National Accelerated Food Production Programme. This was followed by initiatives such as Operation Feed the Nation, the Green Revolution, and several others aimed at boosting economic growth and reducing poverty,” he said.
He added that more recent interventions, including N-Power and TraderMoni, had also struggled to deliver lasting impact.
Citing global data, Fatukasi noted that Nigeria’s poverty situation remains dire, with millions of citizens living below the international poverty line, a development he said underscores the failure of past programmes.
He identified factors responsible for the high poverty rate to include unemployment, corruption, poor education, weak healthcare systems, insecurity, and limited access to resources.
Highlighting the role of development economists, the professor said they are critical to analysing issues such as income distribution, industrialisation, infrastructure, and human capital development.
“They are involved in research, policy formulation, evaluation, and providing practical recommendations that can improve living standards,” he explained.
Fatukasi also advocated the adoption of context-specific economic models, arguing that many imported frameworks fail to reflect Nigeria’s socio-cultural realities.
He criticised what he described as the over-reliance on complex theoretical models promoted by some international organisations, warning that such approaches often result in ineffective policies.
He urged experts and stakeholders to focus on practical solutions that directly improve the welfare of citizens.
“Poverty is a complex challenge that requires collective action from individuals, communities, governments, and global institutions. Effective policies remain the hope for many vulnerable Nigerians,” he said.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Olugbenga Ige, described inaugural lectures as platforms for sharing research findings and innovative ideas, commending the lecturer for addressing critical socio-economic issues with practical policy recommendations.
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