AN APPRAISAL OF POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OFÂ BENUE, NASARAWA AND PLATEAU STATES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE………………………………………………………………………………………i
CERTIFICATION……………………………………………………………………………..ii
DECLARATION …….…………………………………………………………………………iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………………………………..iv
DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………….viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………..ix
LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………….xiii
LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………..xv
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………..xvi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY………………………………………………1 1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM………………………………….8 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES……………………………………………………..10
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY…………………………………………..11
1.5 SCOPE OF RESEARCH………………………………………………………….12
1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES ……………………………………………………13
1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………………………………….. …..14
17.1 Sources of Data …..………………..…………………………………………….17
1.7.2 Sample Survey Units..…………………………..…………………………….17
1.7.3 Sampling Frame ……….………………………………………………………….17
1.7.4 Sample Designs ……………………………………………………………………18
1.7.5 Administration of Questionnaire ……………..………………………….19
1.7.6 Methods of Data Analysis ………………………..………………….………19
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1.8 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY…………………………………………………….27
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.2 CONCEPTS AND MEASUREMENT OF POVERTY……………………28
2.2.1 Absolute Poverty ……………………………………………………………….29
2.2.2 Relative Poverty ……………………………………………………………….41
2.2.3 Subjective Poverty……………………………………………………………..43
2.3 REVIEW OF THEORIES………………………………………………………..46
2.3.1.Individualistic Theory of Poverty. ……………………………………..46
2.3.2 The Culture of Poverty. ………………………………………………………48
2.3.3 Situational Theory of Poverty…………………………………………….49
2.3.4 Structural/Marxian Theory of Poverty……………………………….51
2.3.5 Social Exclusion Theory……………………………………………………..54
2.4 CAUSES OF POVERTY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES …………..56
2.5 EFFECTS OF POVERTY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES…………..66
CHAPTER THREE: GOVERNMENT POVERTY
ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES
3.2 AGRICULTURE……………………………………………………………………….76
3.2.1 Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural
Infrastructure………….…………………………………….……………………77
3.2.2 National Agricultural Land Development
Authority………………..…………………………………….…………………..80
3.2.3 Strategic Grains Reserve Programme ………..……………………81
3.3 EMPLOYMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT……………………….83 3.3.1 National Directorate of Employment (NDE).…………………….83
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3.3.2 Better Life Programme/Family Support
Programme ………………………………………………….…………………….85
3.3.3 Family Economic Advancement
Programme (FEAP)………………………………..………………….86
3.4 HEALTH ………………………………………………………………………………87
3.4.1 Primary Health Care……………………………………….………………….87
3.4.2 Guinea Worm Eradication Programme…….………………………..88
3.5 FINANCE …………………………………………………….……………………..89
3.5.1 People’s Bank of Nigeria (PBN)………………….……………………..89
3.5.2 Community Bank……………………………………….……………………..91
3.5.3 The National Economic Reconstruction Fund……………….92
3.6 EDUCATION ….………………………………………………………………94
3.6.1 Nomadic Education Programme ……………………………………….94
3.6.2 Universal Basic Education ………………….…………………………….95
3.7 TRANSPORT .……………………………………………………………………..96
3.8 HOUSING …………………………………………………………………………..98
3.9 PETROLEUM (SPECIAL) TRUST FUND (PTF)………..……………99
3.10 THE POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMME ……………….…..100
3.11 THE NATIONAL POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMME …102
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
4.2 MODEL OF THE STUDY AND SAMPLING FRAME……………..107
4.3 DATA PRESENTATION AND DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS……..108
4.3.1. Secondary Data.………………………………….…………………….……108
4.3.2. Primary Data……………………………………….………………………….126
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4.4 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS…………………….….…………………….151
4.4.1. Computation of Incidence of Poverty….….…………………….151
4.4.2. Examination of Statistical Significance…………………………161
4.5. DISCUSSION OF MAJOR ENDINGS…………………………………176
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
5.1 SUMMARY………………..………………………………………………………180
5.2 CONCLUSIONS .………………………………………………………………188
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………………………192
5.4 MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE..…………………200
5.5 SUGGESTIONS ON AREAS OF FURTHER RESEARCH.……201
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………….203
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………….215
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Trends in Poverty Level…..…………………………………………….110
Table 2: Incidence of Poverty by Geopolitical Zones…..………….…114
Table 3: Poverty and Occupation of Household Heads………………115
Table 4: Percentage Distribution of the Population in Poverty….118
Table 5: Trends in Poverty Level in the Study Area…..………………119
Table 6: Percentage Distribution of the Study Area’s
Population in Poverty….……………………………………122
Table 7: Distribution of NDE Beneficiaries…………………………………126
Table 8: Occupations of NDE Beneficiaries…………….………………….127
Table 9: Distribution of Beneficiaries of People’s Bank Loans……131
Table 10: Uses of Loans Obtained ………………………………………………132
Table 11: Household Patronage of Health Institutions ………………137
Table 12: Affordability of Medical Services …………………………………138
Table 13: Reasons for Dissatisfaction with Medical Services …….143
Table 14: Distribution of Deaths (in %) ……………………………………..144
Table 15: Participation in Decision Making Process …………………….149
Table 16: Values of Variables Used to Obtain Poverty Incidence
Among Beneficiaries of NDE…..……………………………………153
Table17: Incidence of Poverty (%) Among NDE Beneficiaries…….154
Table 18: Values of Variables Used to Obtain Incidence of
Poverty Among People’s Bank Beneficiaries…………………158
Table 19: Incidence of Poverty Among Beneficiaries of
People’s Bank..……………………………………………………………..159
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Table 20: National Directorate of Employment’ Result:….……….165
Table 21: People’s Bank Result………………………………………………….171
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Trends in National Poverty Level……………………………….111
Figure 2: Trends in Poverty Level in the Study Area…………….…120
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ABSTRACT
In every economy, government policy interventions are aimed at, among other objectives, attaining higher rates of economic growth and development so as to improve the welfare of citizenry bearing in mind the prevailing conditions. The Nigerian military regime, which in the 1980s opted for Structural Adjustment Programme (S.A.P.) as a solution to the ailing economy later discovered that the poor were most adversely affected by the S.A.P. policies. The government therefore found it necessary to put in place programmes meant to provide safety nets for the poor. Some of the programmes that came into being as a result of this concern are the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the People’s Bank of Nigeria as well as the Primary Health Care (PHC). These three programmes are the focus of this research. The study, which relied on primary data generated from an administered questionnaire, was designed to assess the impact of these programmes on the level of poverty in Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau States. Two local government areas in each of the three states were randomly selected for the study. Literature review focused on concepts and measures of poverty, as well as some relevant theories of poverty that seek to expose the causes and effects of poverty in developing countries. In assessing the impact of these programmes in the study area, the research adopted a descriptive approach supported by the Foster, Geer and Thorbecke (FGT) poverty index as well as the Z test distribution at 5% level of significance. Our findings reveal that the
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programmes have not been able to significantly reduce the level of poverty in the study area. The failure of the programmes to significantly reduce poverty is attributed to among others, the narrow coverage of the programmes and the fact that many of the beneficiaries did not put the skills acquired into use as was expected in respect of National Directorate of Employment; the loans acquired from People’s Bank were diverted. Primary Health Care facilities were inadequate and failed to meet the minimum expectation of those who patronized them. One of the most significant reasons for the ineffectiveness of these programmes is the non involvement of the stakeholders, particularly the poor who were the target beneficiaries. Thus an important conclusion of the study is that the non involvement of the poor in the programme design and execution is a critical factor in the failure of the programmes. It is therefore the recommendation of this study that the involvement of the poor themselves in the conception, planning and implementation of programmes meant for them as well as the institution of good governance in the administration of pro-poor programmes are crucial in the efforts towards reducing poverty in Nigeria. The involvement of beneficiaries in the programmes ensures ownership and commitment that help to promote sustainability of such programmes thereby making the programmes more effective towards attaining the set goals.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Prior to the commercial mining of fossil oil in Nigeria, the economy depended mainly on agricultural products for its domestic food supply and foreign exchange earnings. This situation however, changed as the advent of oil boom led to the neglect of the agricultural sector. In addition, the nation’s economic policies during the oil boom period paid little or no attention to the non-oil export sector. The result of this neglect was that Nigeria turned from being a major agricultural exporter and largely self-sufficient in food in the 1960s to a net food importer in the 1970s (Atoloye, 1997). The World Bank Report on Poverty and Welfare in Nigeria (World Bank, n.d.) which described the undesirable effects of developing one sector on the activities in other sector(s) of the economy provided a good illustration of the crisis in Nigeria.
The report revealed that though Nigeria has abundant land, oil and natural resources, many of her citizens are still very poor (World Bank, n.d.). The Bank observed that the country’s earnings of about U.S. $200 billion between 1970 and 1990 from oil had impacted little
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on the welfare of the people, especially the poor, as the oil revenue had not been wisely invested in productive ventures to provide a sustainable stream of benefits to the poor.
The economic depression in the economy became glaring as the growth rates in the nation’s gross domestic product (G.D.P.) which averaged 10 percent between 1970 and 1973; and 8% between 1974 and 1980 did not only decline but became negative from 1980 with an average of -6% between 1980 and 1984 (Osagie, 1992). According to Central Bank of Nigeria and World Bank (1999), as from the late 1970s, the nation has had to contend with deteriorating terms of trade, excessive importation and debt over-hang, amidst adverse economic environment caused by oil shocks and world economic depression.
The Nigerian government in a bid to curb the depression adopted the Structural Adjustment Programme (S.A.P) in 1986. The cardinal objectives of S.A.P included: diversification of the productive base of the economy so as to curtail dependence on the oil sector and imports to achieve a fiscal and balance of payments viability over the medium term; laying a solid foundation for non-inflationary growth and lessening the importance of non-productive investments in the public sector efficiency; intensifying the growth potential of the private sector
