EVALUATION OF NATIONAL POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMME ON POVERTY ERADICATION IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA, 2001-2013

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page………………………………………………………………………        i

Approval Page…………………………………………………………………        ii

Certification……………………………………………………………………        iii

Dedication………………………………………………………………………      iv

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………      v

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………      vi

Table of Contents………………………………………………………………       vii

List of Tables……………………………………………………………………      ix

List of figures…………………………………………………………………         x

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION………………………………….…………………………        1

  1. Background of the Study………………………………………………      
    1. Statement of the Problem………………………………………………       9
    1. Objectives of the Study………………………………………………          14
    1. Significance of the Study………………………………………………       15
    1

CHAPTER TWO:

LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………  17

2.1       Youth Unemployment……………………………………………………    17

2.2       Social and Personal Well-Being…………………………………………      36

2.3       Budgetary Allocation and Performance………………………………         59

2.4       Gap in the Literature……………………………………………………       66

CHAPTER THREE:

METHODOLOGY

3.1.      Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………       67

3.2        Hypotheses……………………………………………………………        72

3.3      Research Design………………………………………………………          72

3.4        Population………………………………………………………………      73

3.5      Sample Size and Sampling Technique…………………………………         74

3.6        Sample Frame…………………………………………………………        74

3.7        The Validity and Reliability of Measuring Instruments……………            75

3.8   Methods of Data Collection ……………………………………………          75

3.8.1  Primary Sources…………………………………………………………        77

3.8.1a  Interviews………………………………………………………………       77

3.8.1b   Questionnaires…………………………………………………………       78

3.9.    Methods of Data Analysis……………………………………………            78

3.10 Logical Data Framework………………………………………………            80

CHAPTER FOUR:

BACKGROUND TO POVERTY ERADICATION IN NIGERIA

4. a. 1.  Introduction ……………………………………………………………      83

4.a.2.  Regional Agricultural Programmes……………………………………          86

4.a.3.  Operation Feed the Nation (OFN)……………………………………           87

4.a.4.  Free and Compulsory Primary Education (UPE)………………………         88

4.a.5.  Green Revolution ………………………………………………………        89

4.a.6.  Better Life Programme (BLP)…………………………………………         91

4.a.7.  Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF)……………………………………………        92

4.a.8.  Family Support Programme (FSP)   ……………………………………        97

4.a.9.  Agricultural Development Programme (ADP)…………………………         97

4.a.10. River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAS)………………………        99

4.a.11.   Universal Basic Education Programme (UBE) …………………………      100

4.a.12.   Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP)……………………………… 102

4.a.13.   National Directorate of Employment (NDE)……………………………     105

4.a.14.   Directorate for Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructures   (DFRRI)……..      116

4.a.15.   Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP) …………………       118

4.a.16.   Directorate of Social Mobilization (MAMSER)…………………………     119

4.a.17. National Accelerated Food Production Programme……………………..      128

4.a.18.   National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS)    128

4.a.19.   Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP)…………………………………..     130

4.a.20. National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP)……………………       132

CHAPTER FIVE:

The Impact of NAPEP’s Programmes on Job Creation

and Poverty Eradication in Abia State…………………………    137

5.1       Test of Hypothesis 1:The Implementation of Youth Empowerment

            Scheme (YES) Has Not Reduced the Incidence of Youth Unemployment in

            Abia State       ……………………………………………………………    137

5.2       Nature of Skills Provided………………………………………………..     141

            5.3       Number of Tricycles (keke) provided at subsidized rate………………..      142

5.4       Increase in Youth Related Unemployment Rates………………………      147

            5.5       Increase in Youth Related Criminality………………………………….      148

CHAPTER SIX:

THE IMPACT OF NAPEP’S SOWESS PROGRAMMESONIMPROVEMENT

OF SOCIAL AND PERSONAL WELL-BEINGOFABIA RESIDENTS………  151

6.1  Test of Hypothesis 2:The Implementation of NAPEP’s SOWESS Programme 

       Has Not Improved the Social and Personal Well-Being of Abia Residents       ..151

6.2   Availability of Mass Transit and Maintenance Culture……………………      154

CHAPTER SEVEN:

THE IMPACT OF BUDGETARY ALLOCATION AND PERFORMANCENAPEP

ABIA STATE……………………………………………….……………………    156

7.1  Test of Hypothesis 3: Poor Budgetary Allocation to NAPEP Adversely Affected Its Performance in Abia State…………………………………………………..  156

CHAPTER EIGHT:

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary…………………………………………………………………………… 164

Conclusions………………………………………………………………………… 165

Recommendations………………………………………………………………..    168

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….  169

Appendix …………………………………………………………………………   188

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE                                                                                   PAGE

1………………………………………………………………………………….     117

2…………………………………………………………………………………..    136

3…………………………………………………………………………………..    138

4…………………………………………………………………………………..    140

5…………………………………………………………………………………..    141

6…………………………………………………………………………………..    142

7…………………………………………………………………………………..    142

8…………………………………………………………………………………..    143

9…………………………………………………………………………………..    144

10…………………………………………………………………………………    145

11…………………………………………………………………………………    146

12…………………………………………………………………………………    147

13…………………………………………………………………………………    152

14…………………………………………………………………………………    153

15…………………………………………………………………………………    154

16…………………………………………………………………………………    156

17…………………………………………………………………………………    159

18…………………………………………………………………………………    160

19…………………………………………………………………………………    161

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE                                                                                                                     PAGE

1………………………………………………………………………………….     116

2…………………………………………………………………………………..    127

EVALUATION OF NATIONAL POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMME ON POVERTY ERADICATION IN ABIA STATE,NIGERIA,2001-2013

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

            BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Poverty appears to be one of the worst universal problems of man. According to Ukpong (1996) it humiliates and dehumanizes its victim.In fact, poverty is theoretically and methodologically a difficult question, even as Lawal and Hassan (2012) noted that the concept of poverty remains controversial both conceptually and in practical measurement. The controversy stretches even to the debate over whether it is to be poverty alleviation or poverty eradication.

Successive Nigerian governments have had to contend with this hydra-headedchallenge which appearsto have high casualties across age and gender brackets. The magnitude of poverty in Nigeria is worrisome. The UNDP has classified the country as 141 poorest nations on human development index. In its report, Nigeria is considered one of the 20 poorest countries in the world with 70% of the population classified as poor and 54.4% living in absolute poverty (UNDP-HDI, 2006; Ekugo 2006).

Recent studies have revealed that the various campaigns against poverty are yet to record any meaningful success. The UNDP report (2010) covering a period of 2000-2008 indicates that 64.4% of Nigerians live below poverty line, while the country occupies 142nd position out of 147 countries in human development index.

Available evidence shows that poverty has been a serious problem confronting  Nigeria since independence in 1960.The poverty level in the country was about 15%, and by 1980 it had reached 28.1%. In 1985, the poverty level was 46.3%, but dropped to 42.7% in 1992. As Ugo and Ukpere (2009) have noted, with the termination of the democratic process by the military government, the poverty level rose to 43.6% in 1995. A year after, about 65% of the population was below poverty line, that is, about 67.1 million Nigerians. In 1999 and 2000, UN Development Report revealed that Nigeria had degenerated further as 87% of the population was below poverty line and the country rated 154th on the world’s Marginal Poverty Index out of 172 countries (Ekpu 2004).

According to the Statistician General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, poverty in Nigeria is rising with almost 100 million people living on less than $1 a day despite strong growth(Subair, Vanguard, February 13:2012).

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) boss said that the percentage of Nigerians living in absolute poverty – those who can afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing – rose to 60.9 per cent in 2010, compared with 54.7 per cent in 2004.

Although Nigeria’s economy is projected to continue growing, poverty is likely to get worse as the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.It remains a paradox … that despite the fact that the Nigerian economy is growing, the proportion of Nigerians living in poverty is increasing every year, Statistician General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, told reporters at a press conference in Abuja, on Monday. NBS estimates that this trend may have increased further in 2011 if the potential positive impacts of several anti-poverty and employment generation intervention programmes are not taken into account (Subair, Vanguard, February 13:2012).

Subair reported him as saying that the poverty rate in Nigeria might have risen to 71.5 per cent, 61.9 per cent, and 62.8 per cent using the relative, absolute and dollar-per-day measures, respectively:

However, this will become clearer once the 2011 Annual Socio-Economic Survey is completed later in the year. Thus, using the relative, absolute and dollar-per-day poverty measures, NBS estimates that poverty may have further risen slightly to about 71.5 per cent, 61.9 per cent and 62.8 per cent respectively in 2011.

Dr. Kale said that between 2004 and 2010, Nigeria’s poverty rate had moved from 54.4 per cent to 69 per cent involving 112,518,507 Nigerians, adding that although the country’s Gross Domestic Growth (GDP) had grown since then, it had little impact on the poverty situation (Subair, Vanguard, February 13:2012).

Thus applying the United Nations’ definition of a poor person in dollar terms, the Statistician-General disclosed that 51.6 per cent of Nigerians were living below US$1 per day in 2004 but this increased to 61.2 per cent in 2010.“Although the World Bank standard now is US$1.25 per day, the old reference of US$1 per day was the standard used in Nigeria at the time that the survey was concluded,” he said.

Nigeria has a huge agricultural resource base which offers great potential for economic growth. It has vast land that is available for mechanized agriculture. Irrigation is being used only in the near arid parts of the north to increase yields.

Inspite of its huge agricultural resources, growth and oil wealth, poverty is widespread in the country and has increased since the late 1990s. Over 70 per cent of Nigerians are now classified as poor with 35 per cent of them living in absolute poverty. With limited social services and infrastructure poverty is particularly aggravated in the rural areas, where up to 80 percent of the population live below the poverty line. The country’s poor rural women and men depend on agriculture for food and income. Nigeria is a huge importer of rice and other food items in spite of its potentials for producing them to meet local demands and even for export. Generally, agriculture is done by small-scale farmers who cultivate small plots of land and depend on rainfall rather than irrigation systems. Majority of the farmers are peasant women and aged men as the able bodied youths have migrated to the urban centres for other jobs.Less than 1 hectare of land per household is cultivated.

            In spite of absence of earthquakes and other natural disasters in Nigeria it has the unenviable reputation of being classified among poorest nations of the world. Elsewhere these disasters deplete resources and cause or increase poverty. Country Studies Project (2011) notes, concerning Nigeria, that “About 57 percent of the population lives on less than US$1 per day”, an index for measuring poverty across the world. It goes on to observe that   due to inflation, per capita GDP today remains lower than in 1960 when Nigeria declared independence. In 2005 the GDP was composed of the following sectors: agriculture, 26.8 percent; industry, 48.8 percent; and services, 24.4 percent. According to the report Human capital is underdeveloped – Nigeria ranked 151 out of 177 countries in the United Nations Development Index in 2004 – and non-energy-related infrastructure is inadequate.

The percentage that lives below the poverty margin tilts more towards the extreme situations. A United Nations Human Development report says 64 percent of Nigeria’s population live in abject poverty (UN 2010 Report).According to the UNDP report titled The Real Wealth of Nations, Nigeria has a lot to do towards bridging the widening gaps in poverty and gender inequality. According to the U.N resident coordinator, Mr. Daouda Toure (UN 2010 Report), some other findings include that Nigeria’s life expectancy at birth in 2010 was at 48.4 years, a little rise from the 47.7 years recorded for the country last year, the Human Development Index (HDI) at 0.423, which ranked the country 142 out of 169 countries with comparable data.

Nigeria, the UN 2010 Report notes, did not make the very high Human Development rank, neither did it make the High Human Development rating. It was not also ranked among the countries that made it to the Medium Human Development strata. Nigeria found itself in the lowest ranking nations in the Low Human Development category, escaping from the bottom of the human development index by 27 positions.            The HDI of sub-Saharan Africa as a region increased from 0.293 in 1980 to 0.389 this year, placing Nigeria above the regional average.

This dismal position has attracted reasonable academic interest in the area of poverty in Nigeria. One of such reports released in 2009 by the Fund for Peace, an American independent non-profit research and educational organization that works to prevent violent conflicts and promote sustainable security in the world states that out of the 177 countries considered in the ranking Sudan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Central African, Iraq, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Pakistan, and Yemen, Nigeria has once again been ranked 14th most failed state in the world. A closer look will show that Nigeria is struggling for position with some countries that are at war and whose economies have been battered by such wars.

Economic indicators from CBN say inflation rate in Nigeria as at September 2011 was 10.3(CBN, 2012).According to the 2011 result which is the seventh annual Failed States Index report, Nigeria maintains its same position as that of last year, except Kenya which is now more improved than Nigeria and moved out of its 13thposition of 2010, while Yemen that was a step better than Nigeria, now in twelfth position, a step poorer.

In the field of economics the coexistence of vast wealth in natural resources and extreme personal poverty, as is found in developing countries like Nigeria, is described as “resource curse”.The term “resource curse” has come to be more widely understood to mean an abundance of natural resources which fuels official corruption resulting in a violent competition for the resource by the citizens of the nation. Nigeria’s exports of oil and natural gas – at a time of peak prices – have enabled the country to post merchandise trade and current account surpluses in recent years. Reportedly, 80 percent of Nigeria’s energy revenues flows to the government, 16 percent cover operational costs, and the remaining 4 percent go to investors. However, the World Bank has estimated that as a result of corruption, 80 percent of energy revenues benefit only 1 percent of the population.

There are some who do not even accept that there is poverty in Nigeria. For instance, Nwuke (2004:20) quotes former Governor of Bauchi, Adamu Muazu, as saying that:

There is no poverty in Nigeria. We have no business with poverty in Nigeria. I totally disagree with those people who say Nigeria is in difficulty. We must know that we are endowed with so many beautiful things people take for granted.

Such denial of the pervasiveness of poverty in Nigeria fails the acid test when juxtaposed against the findings of Nwuke (2004:20) which claim that each year with depressing consistency; Nigeria is declared among the 20 poorest countries in the world, its substantial wealth notwithstanding.

Pointers in Nigeria show that the number of those in poverty has continued to increase. For example, the number of those in poverty increased from 27% in 1980 to 46% in 1985; it declined slightly to 42% in 1992, and increased very sharply to 67% in 1996. By 1999 when the Obasanjo civilian administration came to power, estimates had it that more than 70% of Nigerians lived in poverty. That was why the government declared in November 1999 that the N470 billion budgeted for year 2000 was to relieve poverty. Before the National Assembly even passed the 2000 budget, the government got an approval to commit N10 billion to poverty alleviation programme.In the 2001 budget, the government increased the allocation to poverty alleviation programme by 150%. This idea of poverty alleviation was received with high hopes especially given the speed with which the administration tackled the fuel problem as soon as it came to power. Poverty alleviation was seen as a means through which the government could revamp the battered economy and rebuild self-esteem in majority of Nigerians who had been dehumanized and traumatized through past military regimes(Ogwumike:2003).

Poverty in Nigeria also has geographical perspective. According to the Nigeria’s Draft Report on Millennium Development Goals, the Northern part of the country accounted for the higher incidence of poverty which largely predominated in the rural areas. Specifically, the report showed that the rate of poverty was as high as 84% in states like Zamfara, Sokoto, Gombe and Bauchi during the period 1980-2004. In the Southern part, poverty had increased between 1980 and 1996, but dropped in 2004. Infact, in all states, except Bayelsa, the rate of poverty was more than half their population (Akintunde and Amaefule 2005).

Reviewing the period 2004-2010, Kale stated that while the North-West and the North-East geopolitical zones had the highest poor, the South-West recorded the lowest with 59 per cent. Whereas Sokoto tops the list of poor states with 86.4 per cent, Niger followed with 43.6 per cent.

Comparatively, while poverty showed as high as 72.2% in the North-east, it had the lowest in the South-east with 26.7%. This confirmed the findings by the World Bank Study in Nigeria which showed that there were differences between the North and South with more concentration of the poor in the Northern zone (cited in National Bureau of Statistics, 2005).

Successive government efforts at eradicating the endemic poverty in Nigeria date back to pre-Independence era. During the period, the colonial administration drew up schemes, programmes and strategies and laid out resources for the first two 10 year development plan which ended in1955. The policies were targeted at local processing of raw produce such as groundnuts, palm oil, hides and skin.

Following independence, the periods between 1962-1968, 1970-1974, 1975-1980, and 1981-1985 aimed at provision of basic infrastructure, diversification of the economy, reducing the level of unemployment rates, achieving dynamic self-sustaining growth and raising the living standard of the people. Many of these programmes includedOperation Feed the Nation (OFN) in 1976, Free and Compulsory Primary Education (FCPE) in 1977, Green Revolution in 1980. Others include the establishment of the People’s Bank of Nigeria (PBN), Community Development Bank (CDB), Nigeria Agricultural Co-operative and Rural Development Bank, Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP), among others. However, many of these programmes failed because of corruption, lack of continuity, improper implementation, poor supervision, etc.

As a result of failure of the foregoing programmes to significantly reduce the poverty index in Nigeria, and in compliance with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets, the Obasanjo civilian regime established the National Poverty Eradication Programme in 2001. In terms of structure NAPEP was designed to involve all stakeholders in poverty eradication in Nigeria namely the federal, states and local governments. Others include civil society organizations, research institutions, the organized private sector, women groups, and concerned individuals (Okoye and Onyeukwu, 2007).

As a federal government sponsored project, NAPEP was subsequently launched in various states of the federation, including Abia state and the federal capital territory,Abuja. Incidentally, no serious empirical study has been conducted to evaluate the activities of NAPEP and its impact towards poverty eradication in Abia state. This study has been designed to bridge this gap in literature. The broad aim of this study is to theoretically and empirically evaluate the impact of NAPEP towards poverty eradication in Abia state within the period under study.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page………………………………………………………………………        i

Approval Page…………………………………………………………………        ii

Certification……………………………………………………………………        iii

Dedication………………………………………………………………………      iv

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………      v

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………      vi

Table of Contents………………………………………………………………       vii

List of Tables……………………………………………………………………      ix

List of figures…………………………………………………………………         x

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION………………………………….…………………………        1

  1. Background of the Study………………………………………………      
    1. Statement of the Problem………………………………………………       9
    1. Objectives of the Study………………………………………………          14
    1. Significance of the Study………………………………………………       15
    1

CHAPTER TWO:

LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………  17

2.1       Youth Unemployment……………………………………………………    17

2.2       Social and Personal Well-Being…………………………………………      36

2.3       Budgetary Allocation and Performance………………………………         59

2.4       Gap in the Literature……………………………………………………       66

CHAPTER THREE:

METHODOLOGY

3.1.      Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………       67

3.2        Hypotheses……………………………………………………………        72

3.3      Research Design………………………………………………………          72

3.4        Population………………………………………………………………      73

3.5      Sample Size and Sampling Technique…………………………………         74

3.6        Sample Frame…………………………………………………………        74

3.7        The Validity and Reliability of Measuring Instruments…            75

3.8   Methods of Data Collection ……………………………………………          75

3.8.1  Primary Sources…………………………………………………………        77

3.8.1a  Interviews………………………………………………………………       77

3.8.1b   Questionnaires…………………………………………………………       78

3.9.    Methods of Data Analysis……………………………………………            78

3.10 Logical Data Framework………………………………………………            80

CHAPTER FOUR:

BACKGROUND TO POVERTY ERADICATION IN NIGERIA

4. a. 1.  Introduction ……………………………………………………………      83

4.a.2.  Regional Agricultural Programmes……………………………………          86

4.a.3.  Operation Feed the Nation (OFN)……………………………………           87

4.a.4.  Free and Compulsory Primary Education (UPE)…………         88

4.a.5.  Green Revolution ………………………………………………………        89

4.a.6.  Better Life Programme (BLP)…………………………………………         91

4.a.7.  Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF)……………………………………………        92

4.a.8.  Family Support Programme (FSP)   ……………………………………        97

4.a.9.  Agricultural Development Programme (ADP)…………………………         97

4.a.10. River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAS)………………………        99

4.a.11.   Universal Basic Education Programme (UBE) ……………      100

4.a.12.   Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP)……………………………… 102

4.a.13.   National Directorate of Employment (NDE)………………     105

4.a.14.   Directorate for Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructures   (DFRRI)……..      116

4.a.15.   Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP) ………       118

4.a.16.   Directorate of Social Mobilization (MAMSER)……………     119

4.a.17. National Accelerated Food Production Programme…………..      128

4.a.18.   National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS)    128

4.a.19.   Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP)……………………..     130

4.a.20. National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP)………       132

CHAPTER FIVE:

The Impact of NAPEP’s Programmes on Job Creation

and Poverty Eradication in Abia State………………    137

5.1       Test of Hypothesis 1:The Implementation of Youth Empowerment

Scheme (YES) Has Not Reduced the Incidence of Youth Unemployment in Abia State       ……………………………………………………………    137

5.2       Nature of Skills Provided………………………………………………..     141

5.3       Number of Tricycles (keke) provided at subsidized rate……  142

5.4       Increase in Youth Related Unemployment Rates…………      147

5.5       Increase in Youth Related Criminality………………………….      148

CHAPTER SIX:

THE IMPACT OF NAPEP’S SOWESS PROGRAMMESONIMPROVEMENT

OF SOCIAL AND PERSONAL WELL-BEINGOFABIA RESIDENTS………  151

6.1  Test of Hypothesis 2:The Implementation of NAPEP’s SOWESS Programme 

Has Not Improved the Social and Personal Well-Being of Abia Residents       ..151

6.2   Availability of Mass Transit and Maintenance Culture………………      154

CHAPTER SEVEN:

THE IMPACT OF BUDGETARY ALLOCATION AND PERFORMANCENAPEP

ABIA STATE……………………………………………….……………………    156

7.1  Test of Hypothesis 3: Poor Budgetary Allocation to NAPEP Adversely Affected Its Performance in Abia State……………………………………..  156

CHAPTER EIGHT:

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary…………………………………………………………………………… 164

Conclusions………………………………………………………………………… 165

Recommendations………………………………………………………………..    168

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….  169

Appendix …………………………………………………………………………   188

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE                                                                                   PAGE

1………………………………………………………………………………….     117

2…………………………………………………………………………………..    136

3…………………………………………………………………………………..    138

4…………………………………………………………………………………..    140

5…………………………………………………………………………………..    141

6…………………………………………………………………………………..    142

7…………………………………………………………………………………..    142

8…………………………………………………………………………………..    143

9…………………………………………………………………………………..    144

10…………………………………………………………………………………    145

11…………………………………………………………………………………    146

12…………………………………………………………………………………    147

13…………………………………………………………………………………    152

14…………………………………………………………………………………    153

15…………………………………………………………………………………    154

16…………………………………………………………………………………    156

17…………………………………………………………………………………    159

18…………………………………………………………………………………    160

19…………………………………………………………………………………    161

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE                                                                                     PAGE

1………………………………………………………………………………….     116

2…………………………………………………………………………………..    127

EVALUATION OF NATIONAL POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMME ON POVERTY ERADICATION IN ABIA STATE,NIGERIA,2001-2013

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

            BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Poverty appears to be one of the worst universal problems of man. According to Ukpong (1996) it humiliates and dehumanizes its victim.In fact, poverty is theoretically and methodologically a difficult question, even as Lawal and Hassan (2012) noted that the concept of poverty remains controversial both conceptually and in practical measurement. The controversy stretches even to the debate over whether it is to be poverty alleviation or poverty eradication.

Successive Nigerian governments have had to contend with this hydra-headedchallenge which appearsto have high casualties across age and gender brackets. The magnitude of poverty in Nigeria is worrisome. The UNDP has classified the country as 141 poorest nations on human development index. In its report, Nigeria is considered one of the 20 poorest countries in the world with 70% of the population classified as poor and 54.4% living in absolute poverty (UNDP-HDI, 2006; Ekugo 2006).

Recent studies have revealed that the various campaigns against poverty are yet to record any meaningful success. The UNDP report (2010) covering a period of 2000-2008 indicates that 64.4% of Nigerians live below poverty line, while the country occupies 142nd position out of 147 countries in human development index.

Available evidence shows that poverty has been a serious problem confronting  Nigeria since independence in 1960.The poverty level in the country was about 15%, and by 1980 it had reached 28.1%. In 1985, the poverty level was 46.3%, but dropped to 42.7% in 1992. As Ugo and Ukpere (2009) have noted, with the termination of the democratic process by the military government, the poverty level rose to 43.6% in 1995. A year after, about 65% of the population was below poverty line, that is, about 67.1 million Nigerians. In 1999 and 2000, UN Development Report revealed that Nigeria had degenerated further as 87% of the population was below poverty line and the country rated 154th on the world’s Marginal Poverty Index out of 172 countries (Ekpu 2004).

According to the Statistician General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, poverty in Nigeria is rising with almost 100 million people living on less than $1 a day despite strong growth(Subair, Vanguard, February 13:2012).

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) boss said that the percentage of Nigerians living in absolute poverty – those who can afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing – rose to 60.9 per cent in 2010, compared with 54.7 per cent in 2004.

Although Nigeria’s economy is projected to continue growing, poverty is likely to get worse as the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.It remains a paradox … that despite the fact that the Nigerian economy is growing, the proportion of Nigerians living in poverty is increasing every year, Statistician General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, told reporters at a press conference in Abuja, on Monday. NBS estimates that this trend may have increased further in 2011 if the potential positive impacts of several anti-poverty and employment generation intervention programmes are not taken into account (Subair, Vanguard, February 13:2012).

Subair reported him as saying that the poverty rate in Nigeria might have risen to 71.5 per cent, 61.9 per cent, and 62.8 per cent using the relative, absolute and dollar-per-day measures, respectively:

However, this will become clearer once the 2011 Annual Socio-Economic Survey is completed later in the year. Thus, using the relative, absolute and dollar-per-day poverty measures, NBS estimates that poverty may have further risen slightly to about 71.5 per cent, 61.9 per cent and 62.8 per cent respectively in 2011.

Dr. Kale said that between 2004 and 2010, Nigeria’s poverty rate had moved from 54.4 per cent to 69 per cent involving 112,518,507 Nigerians, adding that although the country’s Gross Domestic Growth (GDP) had grown since then, it had little impact on the poverty situation (Subair, Vanguard, February 13:2012).

Thus applying the United Nations’ definition of a poor person in dollar terms, the Statistician-General disclosed that 51.6 per cent of Nigerians were living below US$1 per day in 2004 but this increased to 61.2 per cent in 2010.“Although the World Bank standard now is US$1.25 per day, the old reference of US$1 per day was the standard used in Nigeria at the time that the survey was concluded,” he said.

Nigeria has a huge agricultural resource base which offers great potential for economic growth. It has vast land that is available for mechanized agriculture. Irrigation is being used only in the near arid parts of the north to increase yields.

Inspite of its huge agricultural resources, growth and oil wealth, poverty is widespread in the country and has increased since the late 1990s. Over 70 per cent of Nigerians are now classified as poor with 35 per cent of them living in absolute poverty. With limited social services and infrastructure poverty is particularly aggravated in the rural areas, where up to 80 percent of the population live below the poverty line. The country’s poor rural women and men depend on agriculture for food and income. Nigeria is a huge importer of rice and other food items in spite of its potentials for producing them to meet local demands and even for export. Generally, agriculture is done by small-scale farmers who cultivate small plots of land and depend on rainfall rather than irrigation systems. Majority of the farmers are peasant women and aged men as the able bodied youths have migrated to the urban centres for other jobs.Less than 1 hectare of land per household is cultivated.

            In spite of absence of earthquakes and other natural disasters in Nigeria it has the unenviable reputation of being classified among poorest nations of the world. Elsewhere these disasters deplete resources and cause or increase poverty. Country Studies Project (2011) notes, concerning Nigeria, that “About 57 percent of the population lives on less than US$1 per day”, an index for measuring poverty across the world. It goes on to observe that   due to inflation, per capita GDP today remains lower than in 1960 when Nigeria declared independence. In 2005 the GDP was composed of the following sectors: agriculture, 26.8 percent; industry, 48.8 percent; and services, 24.4 percent. According to the report Human capital is underdeveloped – Nigeria ranked 151 out of 177 countries in the United Nations Development Index in 2004 – and non-energy-related infrastructure is inadequate.

The percentage that lives below the poverty margin tilts more towards the extreme situations. A United Nations Human Development report says 64 percent of Nigeria’s population live in abject poverty (UN 2010 Report).According to the UNDP report titled The Real Wealth of Nations, Nigeria has a lot to do towards bridging the widening gaps in poverty and gender inequality. According to the U.N resident coordinator, Mr. Daouda Toure (UN 2010 Report), some other findings include that Nigeria’s life expectancy at birth in 2010 was at 48.4 years, a little rise from the 47.7 years recorded for the country last year, the Human Development Index (HDI) at 0.423, which ranked the country 142 out of 169 countries with comparable data.

Nigeria, the UN 2010 Report notes, did not make the very high Human Development rank, neither did it make the High Human Development rating. It was not also ranked among the countries that made it to the Medium Human Development strata. Nigeria found itself in the lowest ranking nations in the Low Human Development category, escaping from the bottom of the human development index by 27 positions.            The HDI of sub-Saharan Africa as a region increased from 0.293 in 1980 to 0.389 this year, placing Nigeria above the regional average.

This dismal position has attracted reasonable academic interest in the area of poverty in Nigeria. One of such reports released in 2009 by the Fund for Peace, an American independent non-profit research and educational organization that works to prevent violent conflicts and promote sustainable security in the world states that out of the 177 countries considered in the ranking Sudan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Central African, Iraq, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Pakistan, and Yemen, Nigeria has once again been ranked 14th most failed state in the world. A closer look will show that Nigeria is struggling for position with some countries that are at war and whose economies have been battered by such wars.

Economic indicators from CBN say inflation rate in Nigeria as at September 2011 was 10.3(CBN, 2012).According to the 2011 result which is the seventh annual Failed States Index report, Nigeria maintains its same position as that of last year, except Kenya which is now more improved than Nigeria and moved out of its 13thposition of 2010, while Yemen that was a step better than Nigeria, now in twelfth position, a step poorer.

In the field of economics the coexistence of vast wealth in natural resources and extreme personal poverty, as is found in developing countries like Nigeria, is described as “resource curse”.The term “resource curse” has come to be more widely understood to mean an abundance of natural resources which fuels official corruption resulting in a violent competition for the resource by the citizens of the nation. Nigeria’s exports of oil and natural gas – at a time of peak prices – have enabled the country to post merchandise trade and current account surpluses in recent years. Reportedly, 80 percent of Nigeria’s energy revenues flows to the government, 16 percent cover operational costs, and the remaining 4 percent go to investors. However, the World Bank has estimated that as a result of corruption, 80 percent of energy revenues benefit only 1 percent of the population.

There are some who do not even accept that there is poverty in Nigeria. For instance, Nwuke (2004:20) quotes former Governor of Bauchi, Adamu Muazu, as saying that:

There is no poverty in Nigeria. We have no business with poverty in Nigeria. I totally disagree with those people who say Nigeria is in difficulty. We must know that we are endowed with so many beautiful things people take for granted.

Such denial of the pervasiveness of poverty in Nigeria fails the acid test when juxtaposed against the findings of Nwuke (2004:20) which claim that each year with depressing consistency; Nigeria is declared among the 20 poorest countries in the world, its substantial wealth notwithstanding.

Pointers in Nigeria show that the number of those in poverty has continued to increase. For example, the number of those in poverty increased from 27% in 1980 to 46% in 1985; it declined slightly to 42% in 1992, and increased very sharply to 67% in 1996. By 1999 when the Obasanjo civilian administration came to power, estimates had it that more than 70% of Nigerians lived in poverty. That was why the government declared in November 1999 that the N470 billion budgeted for year 2000 was to relieve poverty. Before the National Assembly even passed the 2000 budget, the government got an approval to commit N10 billion to poverty alleviation programme.In the 2001 budget, the government increased the allocation to poverty alleviation programme by 150%. This idea of poverty alleviation was received with high hopes especially given the speed with which the administration tackled the fuel problem as soon as it came to power. Poverty alleviation was seen as a means through which the government could revamp the battered economy and rebuild self-esteem in majority of Nigerians who had been dehumanized and traumatized through past military regimes(Ogwumike:2003).

Poverty in Nigeria also has geographical perspective. According to the Nigeria’s Draft Report on Millennium Development Goals, the Northern part of the country accounted for the higher incidence of poverty which largely predominated in the rural areas. Specifically, the report showed that the rate of poverty was as high as 84% in states like Zamfara, Sokoto, Gombe and Bauchi during the period 1980-2004. In the Southern part, poverty had increased between 1980 and 1996, but dropped in 2004. Infact, in all states, except Bayelsa, the rate of poverty was more than half their population (Akintunde and Amaefule 2005).

Reviewing the period 2004-2010, Kale stated that while the North-West and the North-East geopolitical zones had the highest poor, the South-West recorded the lowest with 59 per cent. Whereas Sokoto tops the list of poor states with 86.4 per cent, Niger followed with 43.6 per cent.

Comparatively, while poverty showed as high as 72.2% in the North-east, it had the lowest in the South-east with 26.7%. This confirmed the findings by the World Bank Study in Nigeria which showed that there were differences between the North and South with more concentration of the poor in the Northern zone (cited in National Bureau of Statistics, 2005).

Successive government efforts at eradicating the endemic poverty in Nigeria date back to pre-Independence era. During the period, the colonial administration drew up schemes, programmes and strategies and laid out resources for the first two 10 year development plan which ended in1955. The policies were targeted at local processing of raw produce such as groundnuts, palm oil, hides and skin.

Following independence, the periods between 1962-1968, 1970-1974, 1975-1980, and 1981-1985 aimed at provision of basic infrastructure, diversification of the economy, reducing the level of unemployment rates, achieving dynamic self-sustaining growth and raising the living standard of the people. Many of these programmes includedOperation Feed the Nation (OFN) in 1976, Free and Compulsory Primary Education (FCPE) in 1977, Green Revolution in 1980. Others include the establishment of the People’s Bank of Nigeria (PBN), Community Development Bank (CDB), Nigeria Agricultural Co-operative and Rural Development Bank, Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP), among others. However, many of these programmes failed because of corruption, lack of continuity, improper implementation, poor supervision, etc.

As a result of failure of the foregoing programmes to significantly reduce the poverty index in Nigeria, and in compliance with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets, the Obasanjo civilian regime established the National Poverty Eradication Programme in 2001. In terms of structure NAPEP was designed to involve all stakeholders in poverty eradication in Nigeria namely the federal, states and local governments. Others include civil society organizations, research institutions, the organized private sector, women groups, and concerned individuals (Okoye and Onyeukwu, 2007).

As a federal government sponsored project, NAPEP was subsequently launched in various states of the federation, including Abia state and the federal capital territory,Abuja. Incidentally, no serious empirical study has been conducted to evaluate the activities of NAPEP and its impact towards poverty eradication in Abia state. This study has been designed to bridge this gap in literature. The broad aim of this study is to theoretically and empirically evaluate the impact of NAPEP towards poverty eradication in Abia state within the period under study.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

EVALUATION OF NATIONAL POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMME ON POVERTY ERADICATION IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA, 2001-2013