TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – i
Approval Page – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgement – – – – – – iv
Table of Contents – – – – – – – v
List of Tables – – – – – – – – viii
List of Abbreviation – – – – – – – ix
Abstract – – – – – – – – – x
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study – – – – – 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem – – – – – 7
1.3. Objectives of the Study – – – – – – 12
1.4. Significance of the Study – – – – – 13
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Literature Review – – – – – 14
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1. Theoretical Framework – – – – – 48
3.2. Hypotheses – – – – – – – 53
3.3. Research Design – – – – – – 53
3.4. Method of Data Collection – – – – – – 54
3.5. Method of Data Analysis – – – – – 56
3.6. Logical Data Framework – – – – 57
CHAPTER FOUR
Good Governance in the Management of MDGs and Poverty Reduction in Anambra State
4.1. Structure of MDGs office in Anambra state – – – 60
- Lack of accountability – – – – 63
- Lack of transparency – – – – 69
- Non-participation – – – – 72
- Absence of Rule of Law – – – – 73
- Absence of Responsiveness — – – – 75
- Non-consensus Oriented – – – – 77
- Lack of Equity and Inclusiveness – – – 78
- Absence of Effectiveness and Efficiency – – 80
CHAPTER FIVE
The State Implementation of Neo-liberal Economic Policies and Programme of Poverty Reduction in Anambra State
5.1 Privatization – – – – – – 86
5.2 Removal of State Subsidies – – – – – 92
5.3 Deregulation – – – – – – 100
CHAPTER SIX
6.1. Summary – – – – – – 106
6.2. Conclusion – – – – – – 108
6.3. Recommendations – – – – – 109
Bibliography – – – – – 111
List of Tables
Table 1: Total value of MDGs Conditional Grants Scheme projects by State, 2007-09 (amounts in Naira) – – – 67
Table 2: Distribution of MDGs projects in Anambra State by year and type – 68
Table 3: Functionality of Projects – – – – 71
Table 4: Indices Showing Poverty Rate in Nigeria in the Six Geo-Political
Zones and States – – – – – – 82
Table 5: Transfers to parastatals and agencies, 1998 amount (Nbn) % of Total 87
Table 6: Number of Retrenched workers in Nigeria – – 89
Table 7: Price Fluctuation of Premium Motor Spirit From 1977-2012 – – 95
Table 8: 2012 Annual Distribution of SURE-P Allocation Shares to Nigerian States and their Local Governments – – 98
Table 9: Showing the incidence of poverty by geopolitical zones between 1980 to 2010 – – – – – – – 104
Table 10: Showing Poverty Trends in Anambra State – – 104
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ADP Agricultural Development Programmes
AGCS Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme
ANIDS Anambra Integrated Development Strategy
BLP Better Life Programme
DFRRI Directorate of Food, Road and Rural Infrastructure
IMF International Monetary Fund
LEEDS Local Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
NALDA National Agricultural Land Development Authority
NAPEP National Poverty Eradication Programme
NDE National Directorate of Employment
NEEDS National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy
NIPOST Nigerian Postal Service
NITEL Nigerian Telecommunication Limited
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OFN Operation Feed the Nation
RBDA River Basin Development Authority
RES Rural Electrification Scheme
SAP Structural Adjustment Programme
SEEDS State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy
SURE-P Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme
UN United Nation
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
WTO World Trade Organization
Abstract
This study has critically examined the Millennium Development Goals and poverty reduction in Anambra State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined how lack of good governance in the management of Millennium Development Goals funds undermined poverty reduction in Anambra State, and how the state implementation of neo-liberal economic policies impeded the programme of poverty reduction in the State. Literature reviewed are deficient in explaining the link between lack of good governance in the management of resources relating to MDGs which undermined poverty alleviation in Nigeria and also did not explain how the implementation of neoliberal economic policies impeded the enormous programmes put in place by the governments for poverty alleviation in Nigeria. Hence, this was the problematique of the study. Theory of Post-colonial state was adopted in arguing that the Millennium Development Goals was a cover for the accumulation of capital by the West and the comprador bourgeoisie, and as such did not conduce to poverty reduction in Nigeria. The study relied mainly on secondary data. Using qualitative descriptive methods of data analysis, the study discovered inter alia: (i) that lack of good governance in the management of MDGs funds undermined poverty reduction in Anambra State, and (ii) that the state implementation of neo-liberal economic policies impeded the programme of poverty reduction in the State. Arising from the above findings, the study recommended among other things that Anambra state government should adopt policies that favour and encourage transparency, accountability and rule of law in the management of fund that accrues to the state.
Keywords: MDGs, Poverty, Good
governance, Development, Neo-liberal economic policies.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study
Over the past fifty years, many countries of the world and essentially African have been besieged by the challenges of poverty, stagnation and backwardness. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2006) report indicates that African countries account for about 80 percent of cumulative world poverty. As a result of this scenario, Okolie (2005:10) contends that “majority of the citizenry is affected by and mired in a culture of grinding penury occasioned largely by reckless, rapacious and unabashed misappropriation and misuse of public wealth.” Similarly, White and Killick (2001) noted that data on income poverty since late 1980s show Africa’s share of those living on less than a dollar a day to have risen, the absolute number of poor in Africa has grown five times more than the figure for Latin America and for South Asia. More so, Olukohi and Nyamjoh (2006:10) observe that:
The emergent leaders in successive order of the newly independent and post-colonial African states including Nigeria, have experimented with different fads nay a plethora of problematic and policy initiatives for overcoming challenges confronting African growth poverty reduction and overall development.
Prominent among these policies and programmes which have been severally prosecuted under the relevant United Nation’s Charter include, the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative, the Napels Terms of the Group and African Debt Relieve, the United Nations Global Compact, the various summits organized by the UN on social issues, the Environmental and Racism and Discrimination, the Poverty Reduction Papers, the 98 Plan for Africa, the Comprehensive Development Framework, Neo-economic policies, privatization, commercialization, free market etc, and latest being the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Olukoshi and Nyamnjoh (2006).
Narsir (2002) see poverty as a concept that entails socio-economic and political deprivation which may affect individuals, households or communities and which may result in lack of access to basic necessities of life. Similarly, Ihejirika (2011) equated poverty to a complex multidimensional problem, which has to do with lack of control over resources, including land, skills, knowledge, capital and social connections. According to World Bank(1990) and United Nations (1995) the various manifestations of poverty include: lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihood, hunger and malnutrition and other basic services, homelessness and unsafe degraded environment among others.
In with the above, Nwaobi (2003) asserted that Nigeria presents a “bewildering paradox.” A country richly endowed with human and material resources unfortunately, this had never translated to improved living condition for her teeming population. Despite the huge foreign exchange earnings from petroleum her main economic stay, majority of Nigerians have continued to wallow in excruciating poverty. The country is on the downward slide. There are abysmal performances of the various sectors of the economy.
Nigeria, however, happens to be chiefly amongst several other countries far behind in the trajectory of development. The country which was once within the centimeter of the world’s most fiftieth richest countries in the early 1970s has rapidly retrogressed to become one of the twenty poorest countries at the dawn of the twenty first century. Given the abundant natural resources with which Nigeria is blessed, it defies imagination to think that Nigeria is leading the Group of 77 (G77) poorest countries of the world (Abdelkrim and Awoyemi, 2006). It is equally ironic that Nigeria is the largest exporter of crude oil in Africa, sixth largest in the world and at the same time hosts the third largest number of poor people after China and India. Uneven distribution of material wealth, especially of oil returns, has further impelled a colossal chasm between the rich and the hoi-polloi. As a result, Nigeria falls among the twenty countries in the world with the widest gap between the rich and the poor (Obadan: 2008).
This has posed a serious challenge to the Nigerian government over the years with its attendant effects of deprivation of basic necessities of life. It is the remote cause of many problems in the country. These problems include lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihood, hunger and malnutrition, ill health, limited or lacking access to education and other basic services, increased morbidity and mortality from illness, homelessness and inadequate, unsafe and degraded environment and social discrimination and exclusion (Alimika, 2001). According to Sala-i-Martin, et al (2009), in the global competitiveness index 2009-2010, involving 133 economies:
Nigeria is ranked 99th this year, down five places since last year…Nigeria’s economy is characterized by weak institutions (ranked 102nd) including a serious security problem (117th), high levels of corruption (112th), and government spending that is perceived as wasteful (120th). It also receives poor assessments for its infrastructure (127th) as well as health and primary education (132nd).
It is so pathetic in the sense that the country that is potentially rich in oil and gas and other natural and agricultural resources cannot boast of putting foods on the tables of its citizens. In fact, an average Nigerian is said to be living below one dollar. Research has it that the foundation of most social vices and corrupt practices both in high and low places is this scourge called poverty. At present, Nigerian is rated as one of the poorest country of the world; a country with abundant resources both in human and mineral replication (Anger, 2010).
In response to the pervasiveness of poverty in the country, Onah (2007:47-48) has observed that “successive Nigerian governments at different levels for over four decades have introduced several policies and programmes, some of which were sector specific and others non-sector specific with poverty reduction as its centre-price.” Right from 1960 when Nigeria gained independence, the goal focus of national economic programmes has been the reduction of poverty, bridging inequality gaps and the achievement of a sustained economic growth that should translate to economic development. Additionally, several poverty reduction approaches have also been utilized in attempt to grapple with the beleaguered poverty situation of the country’s citizens. The implementations of poverty reduction approaches in Nigeria were incorporated into objectives stated in the first and second Development Plans of 1962-68 and 187-1995 respectively. Other poverty reduction programmes of pre-SAP era were the River Basin Development Authority (RBDA), the Agricultural Development Programmes (ADP), the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (AGCS), the Rural Electrification Scheme (RES), the Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) and the Green Revolution (GR) of 1980. Other poverty reduction programmes in Nigeria after the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1985 were the Directorate of Food, Road and Rural Infrastructure (DFRR), National Directorate of Employment (NDE) Better Life Programme (BLP). Thus, in spite of these policies and programmes in Nigeria and third world in general, poverty still remains pervasive and on high increase.
Consequently, realizing the threat posed by poverty to global peace and security, the United Nations in September 2000 initiated and set as target of pursing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs is a set of 8 time-bound development goals, which was signed by 189 world leaders at the United Nations Millennium summit held in New York. It is aimed at reducing the number of people who lived on less than a dollar in year 2015 by pursuing the following eight objectives; eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, reducing child mortality, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other deadly diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development (FRN 2008).
More so, with the aim of reducing poverty and suffering in the globe especially among the third world countries UN agencies like International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and World Trade Organization(WTO) all helped to develop a policy with a collective responsibility to get the rich countries increase grant/aid, removal of unsustainable debts of the poorest Third World Countries, trade liberalization and improving the per-capital income of the concerned countries (Tadaro and Smith 2008). Thus the United Nation advocated for adoption of this neo-liberal policy measures of privatization, deregulation and liberalization which were mainly predicated on the World Bank/IMF initiated model for curtailing fiscal and external imbalances for developing countries which were experiencing high incidence of poverty, external indebtedness owed it and other bilateral institutions since the early 1980s (Mills 1989:5). According to the U.N if these policies and programmes are implemented, world poverty will be cut by half, tens of millions of lives will be saved, and billions more people will have the opportunity to benefit from the global economy.
Nigeria as a member state of the UN and in a bid to reduce extreme poverty, hunger and hardship adopted the MDGs and other neo-liberal economic policies. Successive Nigerian government (military and civilian) have adopted these programme, notably under the civilian leadership of Olusegun Obasanjo Nigeria keyed into MDGs by established the twin programmes of National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) in successive manner. These programmes were developed through broad-based consultation with all major stakeholders across the country (UNDP, 2006). Besides, the programmes and policy were introduced by the political leadership in recognition that the fundamental challenges at the present stage of Nigeria’s development is to meet the basic needs of its diverse people through drastic reduction of poverty on a sustainable basis. To achieve this target therefore, the policies and programmes were meant to incorporate all the stakeholders namely, the federal government, state government, local government, civil society, research institutions, organized private sectors and concerned individual (Okoye and Onyukwu, 2007). As such States and Local governments further domesticate this strategy with the launch of State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (SEED) and Local Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LEEDS).
Anambra State as component states of the Nigerian federation keyed into the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with special emphasis on eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Arising from the above, Anambra state Government under the leadership of Mr. Peter Obi in 2006 launched the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS). Anambra Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS) is the multi-sectoral strategy adopted for achieving the vision or the vehicle for reaching all targets of the MDGs in 2015 by pursuing all goals simultaneously. Although ANIDS was not specifically designed for the MDGs but equally serves a veritable tool for the implementation of MDGs projects in the state, aimed at re-orienting values, reducing poverty, creating wealth and employment generation (Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget Anambra State, 2013).
Consequently, Fifteen years after the signing of the MDGs, its goals and objectives in Nigeria are far from being realized. This is because the implementation of MDGs within the context of poverty and hunger eradication in Nigeria has been unthinkable, unrealizable and above all given up as a futility and mirage. This could be attributed to the nature of governance. Despite these constitutional provisions, as well as the enormous financial resources, and huge potentials for MDGs, including the social and economic policies that have been implemented by successive administrations good governance continues to be elusive to Nigeria.
It is against this background that this study sets out to unravel the impact of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) efforts on poverty reduction in Anambra State Nigeria, 2006-2015. The study specifically investigates the links between good governance in management of Millennium Development Goals funds and the policy of poverty reduction in Anambra State; and the state implementation of neo-liberal policies and poverty reduction programme.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
