Interview

July 4, 2025

Why we need all hands on deck to tackle multidimensional poverty—Arogundade

Why we need all hands on deck to tackle multidimensional poverty—Arogundade

By Nnasom David

In this interview with Vanguard Newspapers, Abiola Arogundade, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (OSSAP-TVEE), explained how the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) is empowering thousands of Nigerians through its skills-upgrading pilot programme, providing market-ready tools and knowledge. She, however, underscored the importance of collaboration among ministries, private sector partners, and communities to tackle the complex, multidimensional nature of poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Speak about this initiative and how the progress has been in your bid to bring 5 million Nigerians out of poverty

So, we got 7,000 entries on Instagram for Abuja. We were training in three centres, but we had to shortlist the applicants by giving them online questionnaires. Those who passed were selected.

What we’re actually doing in this stream is upskilling. So, you must already have a foundation in web security, web design, cyber security, web development, cosmetology/makeup, or solar energy. This programme isn’t for beginners; it’s for people who already have some knowledge in these fields. Our goal is to polish your skills, make sure you’re private sector-ready, entrepreneurship-ready, and ready for your clients.

So, what we’re doing is refining existing skills and empowering participants with startup kits. For web design, web development, and cyber security, we’re giving out laptops. For makeup, we’re giving large kits with products inside, packed in portable suitcases so they’re easy to move around. For solar energy, we’re providing a solar kit box. We’re also giving out electrical toolboxes. For fashion design, we’re providing portable sewing machines.We’re empowering participants as best as we can.

How many Nigerians are we targeting here?

For this pilot, because it’s the first, we’re training 1,800 people: 300 in each of the six geopolitical zones. We’ve already been fortunate to receive approval for a second phase where we’ll be scaling up and training many more people.

This pilot helps us learn and understand what works. We also wanted to test demand, and now we know it’s there, we’re oversubscribed. So, of course, we’ll go back to the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to work on expanding the programme.

What strategy have you put in place to ensure the funds are used appropriately and not diverted?

Our methodology includes rigorous screening of participants to ensure we’re reaching the right demographic, those who genuinely need this support. We’re also using random sampling. Another thing we’re doing is ensuring that every startup kit we buy is relevant and current. For example, we’re providing laptops, not outdated machines. Some trainings don’t even offer tools, but what’s the point in giving someone a skill without also giving them the tools to make a living?

At the end of each course, we invite private sector players to come in and observe. Some conduct tests, and those they like are employed on the spot. In the solar stream, for example, company reps attend to recruit trainees directly.

So, we’re not just giving you a skill — we’re preparing you to earn a living from it.

Speaking of sustainability, you’ve touched on this, but can you elaborate further?

Yes. First, we ask our students to focus and learn, that’s the foundation. Then we equip them with the right tools to do the job. For sustainability, we have a Monitoring and Evaluation team in place. In past projects, like when we gave out solar kiosks to market women, we visited them every two weeks to check on their progress.

We’re going to do the same here — monitor, evaluate, and assess the impact. We look at the multiplier effect: when you empower one person, how does it affect their family and local community? What skill are you now offering your community that wasn’t there before?

We also look at long-term goals. If we train you now, and again later, how much impact will that have on your life and those around you? If one person benefits, how many mouths are fed? That’s how we measure impact.

We encourage participants not to stop here but to keep learning. Some of those who were with us in earlier trainings are back for this phase. We also open doors for them to other opportunities. For example, the ministry offers other technical and vocational trainings (TVET). Even in your own workplace, we encourage continuous learning.

We track your progress monthly. If you came in earning ₦100,000 per year and now you earn ₦1 million, we measure that growth. If there’s no progress, we invite you back and investigate why. We consider external factors, including your community environment.

We also select skills based on what is profitable in each state. So, we’re not training people on random skills, we tailor it to your local economy. On the last day, we run an entrepreneurship course to teach participants how to make money or get jobs using the skills they’ve acquired. If you’re outstanding, you might get hired on the spot.

The funding you’re getting from the Ministry of Budget , is it enough? Or are you calling on other ministries and agencies for support?

For what we’re doing now, yes — the ministry has given us enough for this pilot phase. But we understand that we’re only one part of the broader effort to reduce poverty. The ministry is one of the implementing agencies.

Our target is to lift 5 million people out of poverty by 2030. This isn’t the responsibility of one person, office, or agency. We all have our quotas to meet in order to help the President achieve that goal.

Everything we’re doing falls under the Renewed Hope Agenda, President Bola Tinubu’s initiative to reduce inequality and lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty.