SUMMARY
A
poor person is considered as one without job, who cannot help himself or cater
for his family, who has no money, farm or business. A poor person is described
as one who undernourished an ageing fast, one without self-confidence, looks
dirty and lives in filthy environment, one who cannot cater for his family,
train his children in the school and unable to pay medical bills. The
local resources from which revenue can be generated in the areas are pal, oil,
palm kernel, limestone, gravel, petroleum, kola nut and cocoa should be
enhanced. To reduce poverty in these areas, the following are suggested:
provision of electricity, pipe borne water, boreholes, good roads, more school
and teachers, agro-allied industries to offer employment, free education and
provision of scholarship, allowances for old people, credit facilities to
enable people establish their business, monitoring of programmes to ensure that
benefits reach the intended targets and reduce
inflation.
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However,
this paper has recognized the following as some of the factors that cause the
persistence of poverty persists in the country:
- Poor Macro-Economic and Monetary Policies - These have contributed to high poverty rate. The Nigerian naira that used to exchange for 1.20 naira to one British Pound in 1986, now exchanges for 240 naira. The outcome has made it almost impossible for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to thrive, which would have contributed to the reduction of poverty through job creation.
- No Heed to Globalization – Globalization relates to trade liberalization. Nations are supposed to trade freely amongst themselves for the mutual benefits of their people. As for Nigeria, they are only two major goods that could be marketed – crude oil and agricultural produce. The latter is totally neglected with the discovery of the former in a commercial quantity. The gains of globalization as currently being enjoyed by developed nations seem to be eluding Nigeria because of her inability to export manufactured goods abroad like other developed nations.
- Bad Governance – Nigeria is yet to experience good governance, this has deprived her people the dividends of democracy. Policies of government are still being formulated without due consideration to the welfare of citizens, the outcome of which is further poverty.
- Corruption – This is a serious problem in the country. Money that accrued to governments at all levels are stolen and kept in private bank accounts at time and abroad by public officials. No meaningful investment, which would have generated employment for the people could take place in an environment plagued with corrupt practices.
- Low Productive Capacity – Productivity capacity is low in the country. Industries that would have provided job employment for the people are either folding-up or producing at very low capacity; as a result unemployment is bound to increase.
RECOMMENDATION
From
the results of the study, it is observed that the government is the major organ
responsible from poverty alleviation programmes. Therefore, it is expected of
the government to intensify all effort towards the achievement of the
objectives of each poverty scheme. The government awareness of the programmes
should be enhanced. For example credit scheme which is considered one of the
most effective poverty reduction schemes is not popular among the illiterates.
The awareness of the PAP’s is high among the educated elite than the illiterates
whom are more liable to poverty.
Again,
the capacity of NGO’s and other poverty related institutions should be
strengthened in order to encourage effective engagement with the issues and
advocate for desired changes.
In
order to overcome the problem of poverty in the country, the war against
corruption should be intensified. One way to achieve it is through the
amendment of the laws that established the various anti-corruption agencies –
Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial
Crime Commission (EFCC), to free them from the control of executive
interference. In addition, the policies of government should reflect the needs
and aspirations of the people at all times.
Furthermore,
government is to put in place what Igbuzor (2005) called ‘promotion of
pro-poor’ policies. Pro-poor policies are policies that focus on the welfare of
the poor. Policies that would favour job creation like the establishment of
small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) should therefore be the focus of government.
This is because SMEs have been found to be not just job creators but creators
of wealth in the society (Ogogo, 2005).
The
paper is of the view that if policies of government are not properly put in
place in its quest for poverty reduction could lead to poverty elevation.
Therefore, as government continues to take bold step at ameliorating the
suffering of the people through the establishment of ‘pro-poor’ policies in the
area of emergence and growth of SMEs, and job creation, no doubt government’s
goal of poverty alleviation would become a reality.
CONCLUSION
The
embarrassing paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty in Nigeria
suggests the compelling need for a single-minded pursuit of the objective of
poverty reduction and its eventual elimination. To this en, there is the need
for an agreed poverty reduction agenda that can be used by all stakeholders-
Federal Government, State government, Local government, NGOs and the
International Donor Community. There is also the need for strong political
commitment to the poverty reduction goal, as well as a depoliticisation of
poverty alleviation programmes and projects. Very importantly, in order to make
a meaningful dent on poverty it is crucial for poverty reduction programmes and
measures to be implemented within the framework of rapid broad-based economic
growth with equity, controlled population growth, sound economic management and
good governance, among others. Finally, it is important to give expression to
poverty alleviation objectives in national development plans with the
strategies and measures integrated into the country’s overall
development/policy management framework.
World Bank, (2000). World Development Report (New York and Washington: Oxford University Press and World Bank).
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