At
independence in 1960 and for the best part of the 1960s, poverty eradication
efforts in Nigeria centered on education, which was seen as the key to
economic, technological and intellectual development of the nation ‘show the
light, and the people will find the way’, was, at the time, an oft-quoted manta
by Nigeria’s First President, the late Nnamdi Azikwe.
Thus,
education programmes were implemented alongside agricultural extension
services, which encourage increased food production. The oil boom in the 1970s
skewered this outlook as rising global oil prices boosted exports from N4
billion in 1975 to N26 billion in 1980, while GNP per capita rose from $360 to
more than $1000. By the time out prices fell, so did the nation’s export
receipts. This also translated into negative growth and a fall in GNP per
capita to $370 in the 1980s.
In
1960, according to the Federal Office of Statistics, about 15 percent of the
population was poor but by 1980 this had grown to 28%. The FOS estimated that
by 1985 the extent of poverty was bout 66% although it dropped to 43% by 1992. However,
by 1996, poverty incidence in the country was 66% or 76.6 million Nigerians out
of a population of 140 million, it said.
The
UN human poverty index in 1999 which credited Nigeria with 41.6% captured the
phenomenon more succinctly as the figure placed the nation as amongst the 25
poorest nations in the world.
Successive
governments have tried to address some of these issues though the enunciation
of poverty related programmes, the first of such programmes called, Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) was enunciated
in 1979 by Gen, Olusegun Obasanjo. The programme has the specific focus of
increasing food production on the premises that availability of cheap food will
mean higher nutrition level and invariably lead to national growth and
development. OFN lasted until Shehu Shagari’s government took over in 1979.
Shagar (1979-1983) shared almost the same poverty reduction idea with his predecessor.
He came up with his own pet project named the
Green Revolution, which also emphasized food production.
It
must be stated though that lack of continuity and shift in approach trailed
poverty alleviation programmes since the ouster of Shagar from power in 1983.
Each subsequent military administration came with a different idea or no idea
at all. Poverty reduction programmes became more ‘regime specific’ because
there was hardly any continuity with those initiated by previous governments.
The military regime of Gen. Muhammad Buhari (1983-1985) did not have a specific
poverty alleviation programme as it clearly focused on fighting indiscipline
and corruption.
This
initiative better known as WAI of War
Against Indiscipline. Sought to inculcate a military-style regimen of
discipline such queuing for public services, observing road signs, memorizing
the national anthem and generally sprucing up the national psyche on the
distinctions of right and wrong, handling of public property etc.
Some
analysts argue that the fight against indiscipline and corruption were equal to
a poverty alleviation programme in the sense that the two were partly the
reason why many Nigerians are poor. Gen. Ibrahim Banagida (185-1993) is known
to be on Head of State that introduced a welter of poverty alleviation
programmes. These include the people
bank which sough to provide loans to prospective entrepreneurs on soft
terms and without stringent requirements of collaterals. It also regulated to
an extent the activities of community banks that also sprouted as adjuncts of
the Peoples Bank and as source of cheap funds for communities and their
members.
Another
programme was the Directorates of Food Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI)
which sought to open up rural areas via construction of feeder roads and
provision of basic amenities that would turn them into production centers for
the national economy. The DFRRI was on offer as the most comprehensive
programme on the nation’s war against poverty. Considering the truism that
rural populations in Nigeria
are significantly poorer that their urban counterparts, this programme targeted
this core group.
While
all these programmes collapsed at one point or the other, nonetheless, at least one of these programmes
enunciated by the Babangida regime-the National Directorate of Employment (NDE)
– has a 17 year staying power up till date. By its mandate, NDE was to design
and implement programmes to combat mass unemployment and articulate policies
aimed at developing work programmes with labour intensive potentials. From its
programmes and its staying power, this was a scheme that could be adjudged as
the most successful of Babangida’s poverty alleviation policies.
In
2000 alone, NDE said that 21,708 youths received training in vocational skills
in 36 states of the federation and Abuja,
while 5,075 graduated in different trades. The scheme which has a special arrangement
for women is said to have trained several of them trained on how to process,
preserve and package food. However, the drawback on NDE’s schemes for now is
that there is not follow-up programme for beneficiaries.
The
regime of Late Gen. Sani Abacha 91993-1998) was known as the midwife of the family
Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP) in Nigeria’s quest for a way out of
debilitating poverty, as this was the period that marked Nigeria’s relapse into
the global bracket of 25 poorest nations. Significantly, FEAP existed for about
two years (1998-2000) during which it received funding to the tune of N7
billion out of which about N3.3 billion was disbursed as loans to about 21,000
cooperative societies nationwide that were production oriented. Such projects
targeted from assistance included poultry production, garri making, soap making
and animal husbandry.
Nonetheless,
most of these poverty alleviation progrmames suffered the same fate as a recent
government assessment showed. It found that they all failed due largely to the
fact that:
·
They were mostly not designed to alleviate
poverty
·
They lacked a clearly defined policy framework with
proper guidelines for poverty alleviation
·
They suffered fro polity instability, political
interference, policy and macroeconomic dislocations
·
They also lacked continuity.