By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.
Nigeria’s Population is projected to Hit 450m by 2050 as DICAN-China Dialogue Seeks China’s Poverty Model on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to DICAN – China dialogue, Nigeria must develop a home-grown strategy for poverty eradication by adapting successful elements of China’s development model to its peculiar political, economic and social circumstances, speakers at a high-level dialogue in Abuja have said.
The call was made on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at a one-day Diplomatic Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria (DICAN)-China Dialogue on Poverty Eradication, held at the Rotunda Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.
The dialogue, organised against the backdrop of Nigeria’s rising population and persistent poverty challenges, examined how China lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty and the lessons that could be adapted to Nigeria.
With Nigeria’s population projected to rise to more than 450 million in the year 2050 and third world populous country after China and India , participants said the country needed urgent and sustainable measures to prevent its growing population from becoming a demographic burden.
The speakers also noted that Nigeria would in October this year mark 55 years of diplomatic relations with China, describing the anniversary as an opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation in development, technology, trade, infrastructure and poverty reduction.
Representing the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Yu Dunhai, the Counselor, Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy, Counselor Sun Xuekun, said China’s poverty reduction achievement was unprecedented in scale, speed and sustainability.
According to him, China had lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty since the launch of its reform and opening-up programme in 1978, accounting for more than 70 per cent of global poverty reduction.
He said that at the end of 2012, nearly 100 million rural Chinese were still living below the poverty line, but that within eight years, by the end of 2020, all had been lifted out of poverty.
Sun said China removed 98.99 million rural poor residents, 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 impoverished villages from poverty, adding that the country achieved the United Nations 2030 poverty reduction target 10 years ahead of schedule.
He attributed the achievement to strong political leadership, targeted poverty alleviation, massive infrastructure development, local industries, social mobilisation and long-term monitoring.
“Poverty alleviation was elevated to a national priority,” Sun said, explaining that China established a clear responsibility system involving central coordination, provincial oversight and implementation at city and county levels.
He disclosed that the Chinese government invested nearly 1.6 trillion yuan in special poverty alleviation funds and mobilised more than three million officials and village work team members to work directly with communities.
He said China moved from broad-based assistance to what he described as “precision-based interventions”, identifying individual households, causes of poverty and local needs before designing interventions.
Sun further identified agricultural development, rural tourism, e-commerce, relocation from inhospitable areas, ecological compensation, education, healthcare, social security and infrastructure as key components of the Chinese strategy.
He said China subsequently linked poverty alleviation with rural revitalisation to prevent people from falling back into poverty.
The Chinese diplomat said the country’s experience showed that poverty was neither inevitable nor irreversible when governments combined strong leadership, people-centred development, targeted policies, sustained economic growth and broad social participation.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, PhD, said Nigeria could draw useful lessons from China but cautioned against blindly replicating the model.
In a goodwill message, the Permanent Secretary said Nigeria faced persistent poverty, unemployment and inequality that required “bold, pragmatic and collaborative responses.”
He said no single institution or country possessed all the answers, stressing the importance of studying international models, adapting best practices and strengthening partnerships.
According to him, China’s development experience offered lessons in long-term planning, infrastructure-led growth, targeted poverty reduction and mobilisation of domestic resources.
He, however, stressed that Nigeria’s approach must reflect its unique institutions, social structure and values.
“Our objective should be to assess which elements of the China model can be responsibly contextualised for Nigeria,” he said, listing agricultural productivity, social protection, public-private partnerships and human capital development among areas requiring attention.
Ahmed also identified policymakers, development partners and diplomatic correspondents as critical actors in the process.
He said policymakers must design coherent policies and strengthen institutions, while development partners should provide technical expertise, financing and international experience in line with Nigeria’s priorities.
He charged the media to provide accurate and balanced reporting, scrutinise policy choices and hold stakeholders accountable.
The Permanent Secretary assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to deepen international cooperation, promote knowledge exchange and mobilise partnerships for responsible investment, technology transfer and capacity building.
In his welcome address, Chairman of DICAN, Mr. Idehai Frederick, said the dialogue was timely given Nigeria’s growing concerns over poverty, food insecurity, unemployment and structural economic challenges.
Frederick said the theme, “Nigeria’s Poverty Alleviation Efforts: Adopting China Modules and Its Relevance in a New Era — The Place of Policy Makers, Development Partners, Stakeholders and Diplomatic Reporters,” was particularly relevant to Africa’s development challenges.
He said China’s achievement of lifting more than 800 million people out of extreme poverty provided a compelling development experience, but warned that Nigeria must adapt rather than directly replicate the Chinese model.
The DICAN chairman called for expanded fellowship opportunities, media exchange programmes and technical journalism training for Nigerian diplomatic correspondents.
He also urged the Chinese Embassy to facilitate stronger engagement between the Chinese business community and DICAN to promote greater understanding of bilateral trade, corporate social responsibility and investment opportunities.
Frederick identified China’s zero-tariff policy for African exports as an opportunity for Nigeria, stressing that the country needed to strengthen local supply chains, standardisation and non-oil exports to take full advantage of the policy.
He said DICAN remained committed to strengthening the link between foreign policy, development cooperation and public understanding.
Presenting a paper titled “The Political Economy and Governance Mechanism of China’s Successful Targeted Poverty Reduction,” Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria and Head of Contemporary China-Africa Research, Prof. Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, said China’s poverty reduction strategy combined sustained economic growth with targeted interventions, infrastructure development, local industry promotion and strict bureaucratic accountability.
He said China’s strategy included precision household profiling, deployment of officials to rural communities, East-West economic partnerships, relocation and resettlement, infrastructure development and strict verification of poverty reduction claims.
Prof Ibrahim said the Chinese experience demonstrated that poverty reduction required more than welfare programmes, stressing the importance of creating the capacity for poor people to become economically self-reliant.
He also highlighted China’s “10,000 Enterprises Help 10,000 Villages” initiative, which linked the private sector with poverty reduction through industrial development, employment and public welfare.
According to him, the Chinese model demonstrated the importance of aligning government, businesses and communities towards a common development objective.
Also speaking, media scholar, public affairs analyst and lecturer at the International Institute of Journalism, Dr. Austin Maho, urged Nigerian journalists and media executives to critically evaluate international development models rather than merely reproduce official narratives.
Presenting his paper, “The Critical Role of Diplomatic Correspondents and Media Executives in Contextualizing International Development Models: Lessons from China’s Poverty Alleviation Strategy for Nigeria,” Maho said Nigeria could not afford to ignore the lessons from China’s poverty reduction experience.
He said Nigeria’s rapidly growing population was outpacing the development of infrastructure, schools and employment opportunities, making poverty reduction a national security concern.
Maho said development models must be “evaluated, communicated and contextualised” before they could be applied successfully in Nigeria.
He identified three major responsibilities for diplomatic correspondents: evaluation, communication and contextualisation.
According to him, journalists must examine the actual outcomes of development projects instead of limiting their reports to ceremonies and announcements.
He also urged the media to humanise poverty by reporting how economic hardship affects ordinary Nigerians rather than treating poverty merely as statistics.
Maho warned that the media must avoid becoming either cheerleaders for foreign governments or cynical critics of international cooperation.
“Our role is not to be cheerleaders for Beijing or for Abuja. It is to be translators and accountability agents,” he said.
He urged newsrooms to establish development diplomacy beats, conduct regular field reporting, collaborate with data institutions and track the performance of poverty reduction programmes.
He also called for the adoption of poverty-related performance indicators for state and local governments, stronger fact-checking partnerships and specialised training for diplomatic correspondents on international development data and policy documents.
The speakers agreed that while China’s experience offers important lessons, Nigeria must develop solutions suited to its federal structure, democratic institutions, economic realities and demographic profile.
They stressed that targeted poverty reduction would require reliable data, accountable institutions, infrastructure, agricultural development, employment creation, social protection and sustained economic growth.
The dialogue also underscored the importance of closer Nigeria-China cooperation in trade, investment, technology transfer, infrastructure, education and capacity development.
Participants said Nigeria’s growing population made urgent action imperative, warning that without deliberate investment in human capital and economic opportunities, the country’s demographic expansion could deepen unemployment, insecurity and social inequality.
The DICAN-China dialogue therefore called for stronger collaboration among government, development partners, the private sector, the diplomatic community and the media to develop measurable and sustainable strategies for lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
The event also featured recognition of individuals who have contributed to Nigeria-China diplomatic and media relations, with DICAN announcing plans to honour Ambassador Yu Dunhai and Minister Zhou Hongyou with Awards of Excellence.
The association also announced the conferment of its Grand Patron title on the Minister of Foreign Affairs, while the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Secretary were to be recognised as DICAN Patrons for their support and collaboration with the association.
