Measuring Poverty in Nigeria

8/7/2019 Measuring Poverty in Nigeria

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Measuring Poverty in Nigeria

Sofo C.A. Ali-Akpajiak and Toni Pyke

Oxfam


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First published by Oxfam GB in 2003 Oxfam GB June 2003ISBN 0 85598 502 XA catalogue reco rd for this publication is available from the B ritish Library.All rights reserved. Reproduction, copy, transmission, or translation of any part of this publicationmay be made only und er the following conditions: with the prio r written permission of the publisher; or with a licence from the C opyright Licensing Agency Ltd., 90 Tottenh am Cou rt Road, London W1P 9HE,

UK, or from another national licensing agency; or for quo tation in a review of the work; or und er the terms set out below.This publication is copyright, but may be reprod uced by any method without fee for teaching purposes,bu t not for resale. Formal perm ission is requ ired for all such uses, but normally will be granted immediately.For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation,prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher, and a fee may be payable.

Available from:Bou rnem outh English Book C entre, PO Box 1496, Parkstone, Dorset, BH12 3YD, UKtel: +44 (0)1202 712933; fax: +44 (0)1202 712930; email: [email protected]: Stylus Publishing LLC , PO Box 605, Hernd on, VA20172-0605, USAtel: +1 (0)703 661 1581; fax: +1 (0)703 661 1547; email: [email protected] details of local agents and represe ntatives in oth er cou ntries, consult our website:http://www.oxfam.org.uk/publicationsor contact Oxfam P ublishing, 274 Banbu ry R oad, Oxford OX2 7DZ, UKtel: +44(0)1865 311 311; fax: +44 (0)1865 312 600; email: [email protected] r website contains a fully searchable d atabase of all our titles, and facilities for secu re on-line ord erin g.Printed and published by Oxfam G B, 274 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DZ, UK.Oxfam GB is a registered charity, no. 202 918, and is a member of Oxfam International.

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9 Technology and poverty in Nigeria 58 10 Co nclu sion 63Introduction 58 XT ~_. . . . , . j . , , N o te s 6 5Agricultural production and technologicaldevelopment 58 References 70Industrial development and technology 58Information and Communications

Technology 59Computer penetration 60The Internet 60Electricity 60Broadcasting 61Assessment of technological development 61Technology and governance 61Conclusion 61

IV


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Preface

This rep ort was commissioned by Oxfam GreatBritain (GB) in orde r to obtain con textual infor-mation about the prevalence and nature ofpoverty in Nigeria. The need for it arose d urin gthe initial stage of developing a new pro-gramme for Oxfam GB, when it was felt thatalthough there was no shortage of written mate-rials on the top ic, it was necessary to summ arisetheir findings in one comprehensive documentwhich would help Oxfam and other develop-ment organisations to make relevant contribu-tions to the alleviation of poverty in N igeria.

The need for this report became even moreevident when Oxfam undertook to support therole of civil society in governance through thePoverty Reduction Strategy Process (PRSP). Itwas felt that in order for civil society in Nigeriato engage meaningfully with the PRS process,civil society mus t have a common perspective onpoverty. An understanding of the underlyingcauses, contributing factors, and processes wasfelt to be a prerequisite. To this end Oxfammade a m odest financial co ntribution and com-missioned two consultants, who carried out adesktop review of written materials gatheredfrom various sources, including research insti-tutions , civil-society organ isations, b ilateral an dmultilateral institutions, government organisa-tions, and individuals.

In order to ensure that the report was credi-ble and that its contents reflected the views ofthe diverse geopolitical, social, and ethnic mixof Nigerian civil society, Oxfam facilitated ameeting for a core team of members of civil-society organisations, drawn from the sixgeopolitical zones of the coun try, w ho discussedthe initial draft report with the consultants.Then a second draft report was produced, anda wider representation of civil society, drawnfrom all 36 states and the Federa l Capital Abuja,met in a national workshop to review the repo rt,make relevant input into the contents, andendo rse the final text. Oxfam plans to commis-sion a second edition, designed to analyse theunderlying causes and gender-related dimen-sions of poverty, during the year 2003.

Oxfam acknowledges that this docu men t hasbeen made possible through the collaborative

efforts of various stakeh olders . In partic ular, wethank representatives of civil society in Nigeriafor their significant contribution. Specificthanks are extended to the co-ordination com-mittee, who discussed and made invaluablecom men ts on the initial draft, as well as the p ar-ticipants in the National PRSP, held in Kad una,who reviewed the report and made further con-tributions before the final repo rt was produced.We especially thank Mr Sofo C.A. Ali-Akpajiak and Ms To ni Pyke, the consultan ts,who had to work through a tremendousamount of literature in order to produce thisdocument.Last and not least we thank Dr Cline-Cole,lectu rer at the C entr e for West African stud ies atthe University of Birmingham , E ngland, for hisvaluable input - and our colleagues at OxfamHouse for editing and publishing the report.This Working Paper summarises informa-tion gathered from a wide range of secondarysources. The views expressed do not necessarilyrepre sent the opinions of Oxfam, or those of theauthors.Oxfam Programme TeamAbuja, NigeriaFebruary 2003


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Abbreviations

CBN Centra l Bank of NigeriaCEDAW Convention on the Elimination ofall Forms of DiscriminationAgainst W omenCPPC Cen tre for Private-PublicCo-operationEIA Environmental ImpactAssessmentFEPA Federal Environ men t Protection

PolicyFGN Federal Gove rnme nt of NigeriaFOS Fed era l Office of StatisticsGDI Gender Development IndexGDP Gross Domestic Produc tGEM Gender Empowerment IndexGNP Gross National Produc tGSM Global System for Mobile

CommunicationHDI Hum an Development IndexHPI Hum an Poverty IndexICT Information and Comm unications

TechnologyIMF International Monetary FundIPRS Interim Poverty ReductionStrategy

ISPIM RMICSMMRNEPADNDHSOPECPRSPRSPSAPSM ET F RU B EUNDPUNICEFU5MRW BWSC

Internet Service ProviderInfant Mortality RateMultiple Indicator Cluster SurveyMaternal Mortality RateNew Partnership for AfricanDevelopmentNigerian Democratic HealthSurveyOrganisation of PetroleumExporting CountriesPoverty Redu ction StrategyPoverty Reduction StrategyProcessStructural AdjustmentProgrammeSmall and Medium EnterprisesTotal Fertility RateUniversal Basic EducationUnited Nations DevelopmentProgrammeUnited Nations Children's Fun dUnder-5 Mortality RateWorld BankWorld Summit for Children

Exchange rate: 1 = N200 (on average, during the period of research).

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1 Context of the report

Oxfam is a charity, founded in Great Britain tosupport people worldwide in their efforts toovercome poverty and suffering. It works inmore than 80 countries, responding to emer-gencies caused by war and n atur al disasters, andassisting people with long-term support toenable them to take control of their own lives.Oxfam also supports campaigns to challengeand reform the injustices that create andperpetu ate poverty and suffering. W here possible,Oxfam collaborates with other organisations -from small community groups to governmentdep artme nts - to increase its impact.Oxfam Great Britain (GB) has recentlyestablished an o peratio nal office in Nigeria aftera period of data collection and analysis. Oxfamhas also been supporting the work of variouslocal part ners . It was the need to consolidate thework of these p artn ers, as well as to engag e fullywith the various actors in the national arena,that culminated in the decision to establish apermanent presence in Nigeria. Having an in-country presence means developing a coherentand consistent programme which takes intoconsideration the prevailing economic situation.Oxfam plans to develop a progr am me which fitsinto its regional programme for supportingsustainable livelihoods, with a focus on trade,as well as exploring the possibilities of doinghumanitarian relief work. In order to informthe process of developing such a programme,the decision was taken to commission a review ofthe broad param eters of poverty in Nigeria.Oxfam recognises the important role whichcivil-society organisations can play an d isworkingjointly with the Centre for Public-PrivateCo-operation (CPPC), based in Ibadan, on aninitiative which will empower civil-societyorganisations to map out entry points foradvocacy and practical engagement with otherplayers. This review of poverty in Nigeria ismeant to help to inform civil-society organi-sations about the Poverty Reduction StrategyProcess (PRSP) and help th em to define areas ofengagement.The overall aim of the review is to provideconcise background facts and analytical infor-

mation on poverty in Nigeria in relation to six

key areas: socio-cultural, political, economic,environmental, and technological issues, andalso issues related to the regional position ofNigeria in West Africa. Such an analysis shou ldinform the national conference on PovertyReduction Strategy, as well as the Oxfam GBprogram me. Th e authors were commissionedto review written and electronic materials andsummarise the main causes of poverty inNigeria; in so doing, to emphasise trad e relations,gend er-related constraints, and conflict, and tohighlight their role in creating or perpetuatingpoverty; and to identify gaps in the existinganalysis of poverty and recommend ways ofaddressing them.The review process involved a desk study ofmaterials and documents collated by OxfamGB. Oxfam provided the logistics required forthe exercise and recruited an assistant to collectadditional information from relevant agenciesand ministries. The consultants were alsoinvolved in gathering materials for the study.The consultants experienced severalconstraints on their research and analysis. First,the unreliability of available data made itdifficult to provide an in-depth analysis ofpoverty in Nigeria and thus to devise strategiesfor poverty alleviation. Also, the conflictinginformation presen ted in available data ma de itdifficult to provide a true representation of theunderlying causes of poverty in the country.An in-depth analysis which provides a truereflection of the situation to date has yet to becon duc ted. This deficiency of information mad eit difficult to provide a sufficiently detailed

poverty analysis in the areas of trade, conflict,and technology.Secondly, the democratic process in Nigeriais relatively new, and it is probably too soon toanalyse the effectiveness of the democraticsystem in general and poverty-focused policiesin particular.Finally, it is important to note that theinformation compiled in this report is based onsecondary sources and views expressed by civilsociety in Nigeria.


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2 Executive summary

Geography and populationNigeria has a landmass extending over 923,768square kilometres, and an estimated populationof 115-120 million1 people. T he average density isapproximately 124 persons per^square kilom etre,2making Nigeria one of the most densely popu-lated countries in the world. It has been claimedthat one out of every five Africans is a Nigerian .In global terms, Nigeria is said to constitute2 per cent of the world population and isexpected to be among the five or six mostpopulated countries in the world by 2025.3The spatial distribution of the population isunev en, with some areas of the country sparselyinhabited and other areas densely populated.With the exception of Lagos, which has thehighest population density in the country, theSouth East of Nigeria has the highest densities.The majority of the population 64 per cent -is concentrated in the rural areas, leavingapproximately 36 per cent living in the urbanareas.

4There are an estimated 374 different ethnicnationalities in Nigeria, each speaking its ownlanguage and contributing to an interdependentsociety which is rich in culture and diversity.5Th ere are two major religions in Nigeria, namelyChristianity and Islam, to which almost equalproportions of the population adhere, with therem aining s hare absorbed by traditiona l Africanreligions.

EconomyNigeria has remained heavily depend ent on anunpredictable oil sector, to the detriment of themany other natural resources yet to be fullyexploited. Income generated from oil hastotalled more than $320 billion since 1970.Nigeria pum ps on average 2.2 million barrels ofoil a day, which accounts for 95 per cent of itsexport earnings.6 Yet this oil wealth has beensquand ered, m ismanaged, and stolen by a corrup tfew who have 'infected the moral fabric ofsociety, contributing to group rivalries and aloss of national direction'.7 Nigeria's agricultural

potential has sadly been neglected over theyears, a fact which has obliged the country toimport foods that it used to export. Manu-facturing industry has also suffered from aserious lack of investment. Nigeria's economicindicators have fluctuated over two decades,with minor improvements in growth rates.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was estimated toreach 2.7 per cent in 1999, which was 3 pe r centbelow its target for the year. Agriculturalproduction rose by only 0.2 per cent in 1999;industrial production fell by 1.4 per cent, withindustrial capacity utilisation assessed at just31 per cent.8 Nigeria is highly vulnerable interms of food security; the heavy burden ofbalance of paym ents and a legacy of unr ele ntin gexternal debt-repayment demands have imped-ed development. The poor economic base andpolitical instability of the country have drivenout many skilled professionals.9 Nigeria hasthus been described as a society in transition,situated 'halfway between the traditional worldof the pre-capitalist, pre-colonial past and themodern world of urban life, industry and globalcommunications'.10

PoliticsNigeria is governed under a three-tier Federalstructure, comprising 36 State Governments,774 Local Government Areas (LGAs), andFederal Capital Territory located at the centreof the country at Abuja. The States are groupedinto six geopolitical zones, and the LGAs aregrouped into emirates, districts, or traditionalcouncil areas, especially in areas of the farNorth.11

Compared with other countries on thecontinent, Nigeria has experienced the greatestnum ber of violent changes in governm ent sinceits independence from colonial rule in 1960.Nearly 30 years of military dictatorship havedenied the country its full potential. The firstmilitary coup, which occurred in January 1966,led to the three-year Biafran civil war, whichcost the lives of more than one million people.Th e era of military dictatorship denied Nigerians


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Executive summary

their political rights and compromised theiruniversal hum an rights. The gross mismanage-ment and theft of government resourcesplunged the people deeper into poverty andcaused great damage to Nigerian society. It hasearned Nigeria the title of one of the four mostcorrupt countries of the world, ranked byTransparency International at 1.9, on a scalewhere 10 is the least corru pt.12

Th e democratic challengeAfter 16 years of continuous military rule,Nigeria installed a new democratic governmenton 29 May 1999 under the leadership ofPresident Chief Olegosun Obasanjo. Nigeria'snewly appointed President vowed that 'neveragain will this country sink into the abyss of therecent past when human rights abuse wasthe order of the day'. 13 Few would deny thechallenge that lies ahead: the task of overhau lingan ailing nation in decline after years of neglectand abuse. Since taking office, the governmenthas already made improvements in the areasof tackling corruption and ensuring civil andpolitical rights, through the establishment ofseveral bodies such as the Anti-corruptionCommission, the Human Rights Commission,the Human Rights Violation Commission, andthe Niger Delta Development Commission.Also, the government has made attempts toaddress the county's poverty by approvingstrategies such as the Poverty AlleviationProgra mm e (PAP), and it is currently w orkingto produce an Interim Poverty ReductionStrategy Paper.Cha nge, how ever, is slow to come ab out, an ddirect improvements in the standard of livingfor Nigerians are not yet apparent in terms ofaccess to social services, infrastruc ture, or em ploy-ment opportunities. Nigeria's performance,measured by social-welfare indicators, isincreasingly among the worst in sub-SaharanAfrica and throughout the developing world.14Estimations have been made to quantify andcalculate indices and statistics in relation toNigeria's overall development. Much of theavailable data is based on statistics gatheredfrom the 1991 Census, and clearly much haschanged since then. Many of the U nited Nationsreports and other literature acknowledge theshortage of reliable data, which has h inde redthe gathering of accurate developm ent indexes.

In spite of Nigeria's abundant naturalprosperity and oil wealth, the poverty of its

people is increasing. It is 'serious and extensiveto differing degrees in all parts of the co untryand within all the states'.15 It is estimated that70 per cent16 of the population is living belowthe poverty line in both rural and urban areas.Although the agricultural sector has suffered adecline over the years, it continues to employ70 per cent of the active labour force andcontributes to 40 per cent of GDP.17 Deterior-ation in infrastructure, poor distribution ofagricultural inputs, and their subsequent highcosts are further hampering development.Nigerians have been forced to devise their ownstrategies to cope with the relentless povertyand inequality that ravage their coun try.

Framework of the rep ortIn light of the issues outlined above, the aim ofthis report is to identify and assess the currentsocial, political, environmental, economic, andtechnological situation in Nigeria and the causesof the prevailing and widespread poverty. It isimperative to point out that all the factors areinterlink ed, and that no one area can be isolatedfor overall responsibility for the underlyingcauses of poverty in N igeria. Neglect in one ar eahas consequences for the others. This reportwill consider each factor and determine its rolein augmenting Nigeria's poverty.Social context and povertyThe report begins with an attempt to definepoverty and 'the poor'. Chapter 3 looks atpoverty in Nigeria today and provides alarmingstatistics on human development and socialprovision which demonstrate that the popula-tion of Nigeria is increasingly becoming amongthe poorest in the world, and that N igeria as awhole is in a very vulnerable position.PoliticsUnderstanding Nigeria's political history iscrucial in assessing its current poverty climateand formulating a ppro priate policies for povertyalleviation. Although Nigeria earns substantialincome from oil exports, corrupt managementof that income and over-reliance on oil exportshave brought little benefit to the masses andhave concentrated wealth in the hands of anelite minority. The report will review the country'sevolving political structures to date and considertheir impact on poverty in Nigeria. Chapter 4examines the obstacles facing the new


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democratically elected government since itsinstallation in 1999 and assesses any improve-ments in the living conditions of poorcommunities.E con om yPast economic policies have neglected the socialsector and intensified poverty. Chapter 5assesses national economic policies and relatesthem to poverty in Nigeria. Also, it considers thecurrent administration's proposed economicreforms and their prospects of alleviatingpoverty.TradeTrade plays a crucial role in the formulation ofeconomic policy. Chapter 6 assesses the impactof Nigeria's import and export trade on theeconomy as a whole. It reviews the government'seconomic reform plans for diversification in thefuture and their potential impact on poverty.The effects of globalisation on Nigeria, the insti-tutional dimensions of trade management, andthe role of civil society are also explored in thischapter.EnvironmentForm er economic policies and political instabilityhave had disastrous effects on the environment.Chapter 7 assesses the link between Nigeria'spast policies and poverty. It focuses on coreenvironmental issues and considers thechallenges of managing the environment andformulating policy.

WomenSocially, the lives of many Nigerian women areplagued by ignorance, illiteracy, high fertility,and a lack of recognition. Economically they a regenerally poor, underemployed, and unfairlyrewarded. Politically they are ignored: there areinsufficient numbers of women in positions ofpower to enable the voices of poor w omen to beheard. Chapter 8 assesses the specific effects ofpoverty on women in Nigeria.TechnologyThe antiquated technological sector in Nigeria,which is uncompetitive and expensive to main-tain, has hampered Nigeria's development.The final chapter of the report analyses theimportance of improved technologyattaining sustainable poverty alleviation. i n


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3 Social developm ent and poverty in Niger ia

IntroductionYears of military rule, fiscal neglect, and mis-management have compounded the incidenceof poverty in Nigeria. The lack of investmentand commitment to the social sector are amongthe worst in Africa. Nigeria has focused just0.2 per cent of GDP on health care and 0.7 percent on education, which has left 69 per cent ofthe population living below the 'official' povertyline.18 This chapter will focus on the currentstate of Nigeria's social sector and show how ithas compounded the problems of poor people.It begins by attempting a definition of povertyand attempts to identify 'the poor'. In analysingthe various development indices and taking acloser look at the condition of the social sector,it reveals that although Nigeria is the seventh-largest exporter of oil in the world, it is oneof the poorest countries in terms of humandevelopment.Poverty'Poverty is a plague afflicting people all over theworld. It is considered one of the symptoms ormanifestations of under deve lopm ent.'19 Beforeappropriate and effective poverty-alleviatingpolicies and strategies can be identified, it iscrucial to begin with an understa nding of poverty,its victims, and its manifestations. However,under standing poverty and identifying 'the p oor'is not a simple task. The re is no agree d universaldefinition of poverty. Poverty is 'complex andmultidimensional '2 0 and has 'various percep-tions'.2 1 It is experienced differently by menand by women and can differ according togeographica l area , social grou p, and political oreconomic context. Therefore, it is safe to agreethat the poor 'are not a homogenous gr oup'. 22

Identifying 'the poor'In order to identify, calculate, and formulateappropriate policies for poverty alleviation,some attem pt should be m ade to offer a definitionof poverty and identify the target population.Onibokun and Kumuyi in Urban Poverty inNigeria (1996) argue that poverty is linked to a

shortage of vital resources and the en duranc e of'harsh an d inhospitable environm ents', includingthe breakdown of economic, demographic,ecological, cultural, and social systems, and'bad governance', which they claim sustainssystemic poverty in developing countries.Poverty is caused when a 'distortion becom es sopronounced that people, groups and countrieslose their capacity to adapt, change an d survive'.23Examples include com munities living in the oil-producing areas in the south of Nigeria whowere displaced by pollution, or the migrationfrom rural to urban areas which underminesinfrastr uctura l facilities. A conclu ding defini-tion recognises poverty as 'a way of lifecharacterised by low calorie intake, inaccessibilityto adequ ate health facilities, low quality educationsystem, low life expectancy, high infant mortality,low income, unemployment an d underemploymentand inaccessibility to various housing and societalfacilities'.24 In real terms, poverty denies itsvictims the most basic needs for survival, whichare fundamental human rights, such as water,food, clodiing, and she lter.25 Therefore it 'manifestsitself not only in economic deprivation but alsoin terms of an individual's inability to accessbasic social a men ities'.26Lev els of povertyNumerous indices can be used to assess incomelevels and categorise individuals in terms oftheir poverty ranking, but poverty itself is noteasy to define. A UNDP report 2 7 warns of thedanger of discounting a hierarchy of povertywhich demands the identification and inclusionof all sections of society; the re po rt observes thatgeneral strategies for poverty alleviation maynot incorporate the needs of all poor people.According to the repor t, 'the poorest among thepoor are people who are the worst off in termsof physiological deprivation', suffering fromincome poverty, social exclusion, and a lack offreedom. The report concludes with a defini-t ion of the p oo r as 'those who are unemployable an dare unskilled, whose daily meals cannot be guaranteedexcept with the assistance of others because theirincomes are extremely low or nil'. The re por t ma ke s


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it dear that the definition is not exhaustive andgoes on to list sectors which m ay not be includedwhen statistics are gathered: people such asbeggars, disabled people, homeless people,unem ployed people , and those living in povertybecause they have been the victims of theft.28Income povertyHowever, in practice the most common andpreferred definition in determ ining a country'slevel of poverty is derived from the econ omists'concept of'income poverty', which assesses thepoor as people living in 'absolute' or 'relative'poverty. A person is in a state of 'absolute'poverty when his or her level of income is insuf-ficient to provide the basic necessities for life.Someone is considered to be in 'relative' povertywhen he or she appears to have more thansomeon e w ho is in absolute p overty, yet has lessthan others have in terms of income, property,and other resources. For statistical analysis andformulation of policy, the most common anduniversal measurement (not without its criticsfor being subjective) defines a person as poor ifhe or she is living below the 'poverty line'. Themost widely accepted means of calculating andassessing poverty, the poverty line is universallyset at US $1 a day, although each country isurged to set its own particular level. In globalterms there are an estimated 1.3 billion peopleliving below the poverty line, of whom nearlyhalf are living in sub-Sahara n Africa.29

Social conte xtBased on an annual increase of 2.9 per cent,revealed by the 1991 Census statistics, theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and UNDPproject Nigeria's population to be between 115and 120 million people. It is expected that thisnum ber will double in less than 25 years, givenhigh fertility rates, averaging 5.2 children perwoman. However, the actual statistics may behigher, due to the non-reporting of births.3 0The average life expectancy of a Nigerian isbetween 52 and 54 years,31 but more than onethird of Nigerians are not expected to livebeyond the age of 40.32Poverty in NigeriaAll documentation, official or otherwise, showsthat po verty in N igeria in all forms is rising at anincreasingly fast pace. Nigeria's social statisticsrank it among the worst in sub-Saharan Africa,

even though it possesses the greatest naturalresources. The World Bank has observed thatthe poor of Nigeria have 'a cash income [that]is insufficient to cover minimum standardsof food, water, fuel, shelter, medical care andschooling'.33 Given that Nigeria is the seventhlargest exp orte r of oil in the world, these revela-tions are distressing. All comm entators agreethat the causes and effects of poverty in N igeriaare far-reaching, diverse, and complex. Thiswas remarked in a recent UNDP publication,which commented: 'the inescapable picture ofNigeria as one of the poorest countries in theworld is not in doubt ... she is worse off todaythan in the 1980s.'34 'The poverty profile ofNigeria does indeed present a very sombrepicture of a rich nation in declin e.'35

Table 1, taken from a recent publicationby the Central Bank of Nigeria, illustratesthe increasing incidence of poverty across thecountry.Table 1: Incidence of poverty by geopolitical zones :!(>Geopolitical zone

North EastNorth WestMiddle BeltSouth EastSouth WestSouth SouthNationwide

Percentage1985/6

53.248.448.430.942.038.043.0

1992/3

N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A-N/A34.10

1997

68.062.053.079.574.178.669.2

Income poverty in NigeriaGiven the absence of an 'official' po verty line forthe purposes of measurement, the World Bankand the Federal Office of Statistics have estab-l ished that a two-thirds mean per capita householdexpenditure would determine the poverty lin e inNigeria, whereas a one-thirds mean per capitahousehold expenditure would indicate extremepoverty. In monetary terms at 1996/97 prices,the above formula translates into N658 (US$8.20) per month as the poverty line, and N320per month (US $4.00) as an indication of extrem epoverty. Given these figures, it is estimated that55.8 million Nigerians (48.5 per cent of thepopulation) are living below the poverty line.These figures also indicate that Nigerians areliving well below the universal poverty line ofUS $1 a day. The World Bank (1996) gives ahigher estimate of 66 per cent of the population


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Social development and poverty in Nigeria

living in poverty, while the Central Bank ofNigeria (1997) reported that 69.2 per cent ofthe population were poor. The 2001 UNDPHuman Development Report remark ed tha t povertyin Nigeria has 'been exacerbated' since thesestatistics were obtained, and cites recen t estimatesthat two-thirds of the population in Nigeria areexperiencing income poverty. Studies condu ctedin urban and rural settings support theseestimates and reveal a general response thatpoverty has increased in the last ten years.Urban dwellers in the North East, for example,believed that 62 per cent of their populationwere poor, while respondents in the South Eastfelt that 45 per cent were poor. In the ruralareas, those in the North East felt that 50 percent of them were poor, and the correspon dingfigure for the South East was 54.5 per cent.While a greater num ber of the nation's poor aresaid to live in the rural areas, the poverty gapbetween rural and urban populations has beenclosing since 1992, with continued and large-scale rural-urban migration. Current statisticsrank the total rural poor at 56 per cent, whilethe urban poor constitute 43 per cent.37

Income inequality in NigeriaA measure of inequality within a country iscalculated by the Gini index. A UNDP repor t3 8explains that Nigeria's Gini Coefficient is closeto 1, revealing that a great proportion of thenational income is eluding the poor. The povertygap in Nigeria is widening, and a greaterproportion of the nation's wealth is beingconcentrated in the hands of the wealthiest20 per cent of the nation . In N igeria it is thoughtthat the highest income-earning status is enjoyedby just 10 per cent of the population, who havea 31.4 per cent share of the total nationalincome. The poorest 10 per cent receive just1.3 per cent. Nearly 50 per cent of the totalnational income is owned by 20 per cent of thehighest income-earning group. An estimated20 per cent of the poorest portion of the popu-lation own 4 per cent of the total nationalincome.39 As the rep ort comm ents, this wideninggap of inequality further marginalises the poorand may serve as a breeding ground for conflict,civil strife, and political instabilitya prospectthat Nigeria's initial attempts at democracy canill afford.

Human development in NigeriaIn dete rmining a country's m easure of poverty,the Human Poverty Index (HPI), HumanDevelopment Index (HDI), Gender Develop-ment Index (GDI), and Gender EmpowermentInde x (GEM) are utilised. Nigeria's statistics ondevelopment are discouraging, and the situationcan only get worse if appropriate poverty-alleviation systems are n ot pu t in place.40Human Poverty Index, Human DevelopmentIndexTh e H PI concentrates on calculating deprivationin terms of'longev ity' (survival rates), 'knowledge'(rates of illiteracy), and 'standard of living'(access to basic se rvices).41 Similarly, the HumanDevelopment Index (HDI) measures the inci-dence of human poverty in a country. Nigeria'sHPI is 41.6, which ranks it 54

thout of the 78poorest countries in the world in terms of theprovision of education and services such aspotable water, public-health measures, andsanitation.42 Nigeria's HDI index is 0.456, rankin git 156 th in the world. The UNDP suggests thatNigeria 'at the dawn of the third millenniumand the twenty-first century...[is] among thelowest of the low'.43 Th e 23 countries with H DIranks below N igeria are the least developed inAfrica.

Gender Development Index, GenderEmpowerment IndexTh e G ender Development Ind ex (GDI) assessesdisparities between males and females inrelation to the HD I result. The closer the GDI tothe HD I, the lower the gende r disparity prevailingin a country. In adjusting the m easure for genderanalysis, the statistics show that Nigeria's GDI is0.425, rankin g the country 124th in the world.44Women generally live longer tha n men, althoughmen are better off in terms of knowledge(literacy) and income. The income disparitybetween men and women in Nigeria shows thatthe real GDP per capita of women is only42.8 per cent of that of men and is lower thanthe average for sub-Saharan Africa (54.9 percent).45 The Gender Empowerment Index(GEM) measures the gender inequality ineconomic and political opportunities in acoun try; it focuses on the m echanisms availablewhich would empower men and women to takeadvantage of these opportunities. The GEMshould reinforce and increase the GDI. TheGEM is 0.456 for men and 0.442 for women,which shows that men are marginally better offthan women in Nigeria.46


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The experience of poverty inNigeriaTh e concept of poverty as linked to presen t andfuture feelings of insecurity is now widely citedand is reiterated in the World Bank's WorldDevelopment Report 2000-2001, which cond uctedconsultations through direct participatoryresearch with 16 comm unities across Nigeria.The report highlights how the poor in Nigeriaexperience and understand their poverty. Itdiscovered that poverty was expressed less interms of quantifiable, material criteria and mo rein terms of qualitative, subjective criteria. Thestudy demonstrated that the poor experiencedpoverty as social and personal isolation, whichmade them feel insecure, vulnerable, andpowerless. A breakdown in communality forceda heavy reliance on the individual and theextended family, compounding the isolationthat sometimes led to conflict. Respondentsrevealed their feelings of insecurity and itssubsequent effects on their health, leading totension and aggravating violence. The idea ofbeing wealthy was viewed in urban areas ashaving a 'secure life and peace of mind', togetherwith access to essentials such as food, health care,and education, living in good accommodation,and having access to opportunities which inturn enabled offspring to access such servicesand be rich. Th e poo r were perceived as lackingsecurity, living in poor housing, having noaccess to essential services, and bein g p erpetu allyin debt and constantly having to borrow. Inrural areas, wealth was expressed in terms ofland ownership and capital availability, alongwith access to markets. Both urban and ruralrespondents stated that security allowed anindividual to have status and dignity incontrast to the poor, who had none .

External influences on povertyOne should not endeavour to provide a pictureof poverty without reference to the globaleconomic circumstances that have com poundedthe inability of some developing countries tohaul themselves out of poverty. As Onibokumpoints out, populations and governments indeveloping countries, including Nigeria, havean aggravated burd en of debt which 'mo rtgagesa large pa rt of exp ort earnin gs and considerablyrestricts their a lready limited economic possibil-ities'.47 Nigeria's external debt amounts toUS $28bn, of which US $6.6bn is owed in

interest and penalties to the Paris Clubalthough this figure is disputed by some as anunderestimation. Various Structural AdjustmentProgrammes (SAPs) prescribed by the Inter-national Monetary Fun d, seeking to res tructurean ailing economy, have h ad c atastrophic conse-quences for the majority of the population. Thedecline in government expenditure on socialservices has served to aggravate the incidenc e ofpoverty.48 True, the rate of economic growthincreased from 1.8 per c ent to 5.4 per cent, but'absolute' poverty also increased , along with theproportion of those living in 'extreme' poverty,which rose by 12-14 per cent. 49 The policy offoreign-exchange rate-conversion forced anincrease in the cost of critical goods and services.The removal of subsidies on social servicesmeant that the costs of education and healthcare were seriously affected. An increase in thecost of imports and the undermining of manu-facturing capacity led to an increase in inflation.Currently capacity utilisation in manufacturingis jus t 35 per cent. Th e diversion of scarce foreignexchange to dubious speculative activitiesintensified capital flight, worsened income-distribution patterns, and further marginalisedand deprived the poor.50

Health services in NigeriaNigerian governments have in the past madeinsufficient allocations to the social sector.Erratic disbursements and allocations toeducation, for example, went mainly to tertiarycolleges, bring ing little benefit to the poo r, whocan barely afford p rima ry educatio n. In relationto health care, the biggest allocation went toservice personnel costs, rather than materialsand medicine. The statistics for Nigeria'shealth-care system, education provision, andinfrastructural development presented belowreveal much about the poor living conditions ofthe general population.The evolution of Nigeria's public-healthservice began with the 10-year colonial adm inis-tration plan from 1946 to 1956, when trea tme ntwas required for soldiers of the West AfricanFrontier Force and the colonial administrationstaff. Subsequent health-sector plans wereadaptions of preceding plans. It was not until1975 that an attempt was made to embrace theprovision of prim ary health care to all Nigeriansunder the Basic Health Services Scheme(BHSS). The BHSS aimed to increase access tohealth care in terms of affordability, location,


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Social developmen t and poverty in Nigeriaand distribution of services, increase accessto preventative health care, and provide anadaptable service based on local needs andtechnology.51The current health-care systemOver the last two decades, Nigeria's health-caresystem has deterior ated - a fact attribute d to thecountry's poor governance and leadership durin gthe military era. This was reflected in budgetallocations and the fiscal requirements of theStructural Adjustment Programmes. The lackof reliable data makes it difficult to provide anholistic assessment of the degree of financialcommitment provided at all levels. In terms ofFederal Government spending, funding forthe health sector durin g the period 1990-1998constituted 1-2 per cent of GDP, according togovernm ent sources. Th e World Bank, however,estimates that the true figure was 0.2 per centfor the same period.52 The present government'sbudget for health care for the year ending 2000was N 17,582 million, constituting 2.7 per centof the annual federal budget. This amountincreased from N 13,737 million from theprevious year, but was a reduction of 1.8 percent in the overall budget comm itment.

The decline of the health-care sector inNigeria was accompanied by the collapse ofinstitutional capacity, due partly to the 'braindrain' phenomenon which drove many ofNigeria's qualified professionals to seek employ-ment overseas, partly to the poor motivation ofremaining staff, and partly to the generalisationof corrup t practices.53 In response , many of thesubsequent health-care provisions were d onor-led. Figures for 1999 reveal that 14 differenthealth-ca re policies, 16 individual programmes,and 11 agencies and departme nts were createdto manage donor-led health-care programmes.54Due to the political crisis, aid sanc tions, and theend of donor funding in the 1990s, the health-care system virtually collapsed. This has led toan increase in the provision of private healthcare, concentrated mainly in urban areas andutilised by middle- to high-income earners.In 1999 these accounted for 31 per cent ofprimary health care and 75 per cent of secondaryhealth-care provision.55

The Central Bank of Nigeria in a recentappraisal stated that the 'performance of thesocial services sector rema ined unsatisfactory in2000'.56 In terms of health care, it revealedstatistics which demonstrated the poor provisionof services to the general population. In terms

of the ratio of hospital staff to patients, therewere 4529 patients per physician, an increasefrom 4479 the previous year, and 920 patientsper staff-nurse, up from 906 the previous year.There are 1611 patients competing for eachhospital bed, an increase from 1564 in theprevious year's statistics.Types of health-care provisionTh ere are th ree levels of health-care provisionin NigeriaFederal, State, and Local Govern-me nt Area (LGA). The Federal government setspolicies and guidelines on health and familyplanning. States determine policies for serviceprovision. Implementation and provision arethe responsibility of the Local Government Area.LGAs provide primary health-care facilities,based in clinics and health centres, such asmaterna l and child-care services, preventativecare, and basic curative treatm ent. S tate govern-ments provide secondary-level care in districthospitals for curative and some preventativeservices. The Federal Government controls thetertiary level, which includes teaching hospitals.57There are 10,149 primary health-care centresin Nigeria, 936 secondary health-care centres,and 51 tertiary health-care centres. Table 2shows the types of health-care facility availableto Nigerians.5 8 General hospitals and smallclinics are the dominant health-care facilitiespatronised by households throughou t the country.More than 33 per cent of Nigerians use generalhospitals, and nearly 27 per cent pa tronise clinics.However, a rural/urban analysis shows that thegeneral hospitals are predominantly utilised byurba n dwellers (50 per c ent), whereas only 16.2per cent of patients are rural dwellers, probablydue to the absence of local hospitals. Clinicswere accessed by 32.9 per c ent of the populationin rura l areas and by only 16.3 per ce nt of urbandwellers. Tradition al medicine continues to beimporta nt for Nigerians. In response, the presentadministration has established a TraditionalMedical Development Programme and code ofTable 2: Typo of health-care facility used byNigeriansFacilityGeneral Hospital(per cent)ClinicTraditionalDispensaryOthe r5 9

National33.324.616.516.29 .4

Urban50.416.312.49. 211.7

Rural16.232.920.623.17.2


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practice in herbal therapy.60 An overwhelmingmajority of health facilities88.1 per c e n t- levya fee for medical services rendered.61Travel time an d distance to facilityAlmost 78 per cent of Nigerians live within 10 kmof some kind of health-c are facility. A Nige rianDemocratic Health Survey (NDHS)62 foundthat 68 per cent of households lived within10 km of a health centre, and 54 per cent livedthe sam e distance from a clinic. Less than ha lf ofthe population45 per cent - live within 10 kmofa general hospital. Two-thirds of the po pulationare within 10 km of a pharmacy. In terms oftravel time, 59 per cent of househ olds live within30 minutes of a health centre or pharmacy, and48 per cent are within 30 minutes of a clinic.Only 42 per cent of the population live within30 minutes of a hospital, and 45 per cent arewithin 30 minutes of a private do ctor. Regionally,those living in the southern part of the countrylive closest to a health-care facility. In the SouthWest region, 88 per cent live within 10 km of ahealth facility; the corresponding figure in theSouth East is 87 per cent, while 82 per cent haveaccess in the Central region, compared with73 per cent in the North East and 67 per cent inthe North West. The central region has thehighest proportion of households living within1 km of a facility.

Health status of NigeriansThere are acute deficiencies in the provision ofeven the most basic of health services for thegeneral population in Nigeria. Particularly badis the provision of ma ternal and child-care services,which is compounding Nigeria's poverty andcontributing to its dismal performance ininterna tional statistics.

Child healthT h ere are an estimated 60 million childrenliving in Nigeria. Statistics show that of all thecountries in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria hasmade the least progress in child welfare, and itsrecord is one of the worst among the inter-national com munity.63Infant Mortality Rate, Under-5 Mortality RateThe Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) and theInfant Mortality Rate (IMR) are two measuresof a country's position in terms of its child-survival rates and quality of child-care provision.The U5MR measures human progress through

calculations incorporating information onnutritiona l status, matern al health, the availabilityof safe water, and sanitation. It is repu ted toestablish 'a more accurate picture of [the] healthstatus of the majority of children and of societyas a whole'.64 The IMR measures the probabilityof a child dying before his or her fifth b irthday.There are variations in the statistical data andestimation techniques used in national surveys,along with variations in recall periods and thesize and complexity of surveys, a fact whichcontributes to the difficulty of providing accurateanalysis or assessing trends. Ina ccurate repor tingis further compounded by cultural beliefs, andthe customary reluctance to discuss sensitivedata such as death of children, particularly inthe case of a recent death. However, despitethese constraints, statistics show that Nigeria iswell beh ind t he targets set by the World Summitfor Children (WSC) and the National Programm eof Action for the Survival, Protection andDevelopment of the Nigerian Child (NPA).65As me ntione d above, statistics vary accord ingto literature and surveys. The IMR rate, forinstance, varies from 75 to 217 deaths per 1000live births.66 The U5MR produces similar findings,with statistics varying between 140 to 178 per1000 live birth s.67 According to UN ICEF, almostone in five children in Nigeria dies before theag e of five. This rate is 30 times higher than inindustrialised countries,68 ranking Nigeriain descending order - fifteenth out of 187countries.69Main causes of mortalityThe risk of death in the early years of life islinked to a prevalence in vaccine-preventablediseases such as measles, pertussis, and neonataltetanus. The topfive nfant-mortality diseases inthe coun try have been identified as follow:7026 per cent malaria24 per cent diarrhoea22 per cent Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI)22 per cent Vaccine Preventab le Diseases (VPD)e.g. measles, polio2 per cent malnutrition4 per cent oth er (e.g. chicken pox)Other factors linked with early death in childreninclude birth intervals, birth order, mother'sage at birth, mother's level of education, andmother's health and nutrition during pregnancy.The NDHS conducted in 1999 found that thehigher a m other's level of education,72 the lower

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the level of child mortality, which indicates thatmothers with no education were three timesmore likely to experience their child dyingbefore the first birthday, compared with motherswho had post-secondary education. The surveyconcluded that children born of older mothersaged between 40 and 49 years were twice as likelyto die as infants of mothers aged less than 40years. Ano ther c ontribution to child mortality isbirth spacing: there are twice as many deathsamong children born less than two years apartfrom a sibling than there are among childrenborn thr ee years after a preceding birth.73ImmunisationTh e 1999 NDHS reported a 'significant w orseningof vaccination coverage'74 over the last decade:the propo rtion of children aged between 12 and23 months who were considered to be fullyimmunised declined from 30 per cent to 17 percent. This includes vaccinations against tub er-culosis (TB), polio, measles, and dipthe ria (DPT).The level of coverage for initial vaccinationsagainst TB and first top-up vaccinations againstDPT and polio is approximately 50 per cent.Second and third injections against DPT andpolio declined to just over 25 per cent coverag e.Statistics reveal that 41 per cent of children inNigeria received the measles vaccine, and 38per cent of children received no vaccinations atall.75 Children in urban areas were three timesmore likely to be fully vaccinated than theircounterpa rts living in rural areas. For exam ple,BCG coverage against TB in urba n areas was 75per cent, compared with 46 per cent in ruralareas. The survey suggests that the disparity isattributable to ignorance of the importance ofimmunisation, coupled with the poor access an davailability of health services in the rur al areas.Statistics supplied by Multiple Indic ator ClusterSurvey (MICS) 1999 reveal even lower rates,with only 13 per c ent of infants between the agesof 12 and 23 months fully immunised; 46 percent received no immunisations at all.76 T hedecline appears to be greater for DPT andpolio than for TB and measles, which could beattributed to the shortage of supply of thevaccines during 1996-1998."

Nigeria's immunisation coverage is lowerthan the average for sub-Saharan Africa andother developing countries. DPT 3 and polio 3coverage in Nigeria were half the average forsub-Saharan Africa and a third of the averagefor developing countries.78 DPT 3 in Nigeriahad the seventh lowest rate of coverage in theworld. For measles and BCG vaccinations,

Nigeria was 17-20 per cent behind averages forsub-Saharan Africa.79 Low coverage of poliovaccination makes Nigeria one of the fewcountries that have not eradicated the disease.80Nigeria is currently in the final stages of theglobal effort to eradicate polio. In 1995,95 casesof wild polio virus were detected: this was thethird largest number of polio cases recorded inthe world, after Angola and India. From Jan uaryto October 2000, jus t five cases were confirmed.However, given the low level of routine immu-nisation in Nigeria generally, total eradicationcontinues to be a challenge.81 The FederalGovernment launched the National Immuni-sation Fund in 1999 to 'achieve high and substantiallevels of immunisation against all vaccinepreventable diseases, including attaining nationalself-sufficiency in vaccine production'.8 2 It ishoped to achieve 80 per cent coverage inimmunisations through 'adopting measures toachieve self-sufficiency in vaccine production,including completion of phase I of the VaccineProduction Laboratory, seeking partnershipwith foreign firms, e tc.'.83 In 1999 Sub-NationalImmunization Days (SNIDs) were introduced,along with house-to-house cam paigns, after p oorcoverage rates indicated that target populationswere still not being reac hed. Statistics from theCentral Bank of Nigeria report that the rate ofimmunisation rose from 51.9 to 72.7 per centin 1999, an increase which was attributed tothe government initiative of house-to-houseimmunisation.Child nutritional statusMalnutrition in childhood can be attributed toinadequate food intake, recurrent infections,and/or inadequate maternal care.8 4 Its occur-rence in early childhood and during gestationcan have serious repercu ssions in later life. Poorlevels of food intake, coupled with conditionssuch as diarr hoe a, can result in a loss of essentialnutrients and can have serious consequences interms of restricted growth and the breakdownof the body's imm une system. A malnourishedchild or mother is also at greater risk ofcontracting other diseases, such as malaria andmeasles.85

There are three measurements for assessingthe nutritional status of children: Height forAge (stunting), Weight for Height (wasting),and Weight for Age (underweight). Once again,the varyin g statistical method s an d insufficiencyof data recording make it difficult to assess atrend or obtain a true picture from the data.According to NDHS 1999, jus t un de r half of

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Measuring Poverty in N igeria

children under the age of three in Nigeria arestunted, and one quarter are severely stunted.This suggests chronic food insecurity and/orrepeated illnesses.86 Statistical comparisons byUNICEF suggest that stunting in childrenunder 5 years had increased from 1990 to 1993but decreased in 1999, with an overall declinefrom 43 per cent to 34 per cent. The re was anincrease in the prevalence of wasting from 10per cent in 1990 to 16 per cent in 1999. Thestatistics for underweight children indicate adecline from 36 per cent in 1990 to 31 per centin 1999,87 whereas UND P statistics reveal that70 per cent of children u nde r 5 years are severelyand m oderately und erweight, while 62 per centdisplay wasting and stunting.The UNICEF/FGN situation assessmentindicates a noticeable lack of up-to-date infor-mation on the nature and prevalence of povertyin Nigeria, which makes an adequate interpre-tation of the above statistics very difficult. T heassessment notes that malnourishment is moreprevalent in rural than urban areas, and thatgeographical disparities indicate that the situa-tion is more prevalent among children in theNorth East and North West of the country.Nigeria fares better in relation to stunting incomp arison w ith the rest of sub-Saharan Africa,but is worse off in terms of wasting. In compari-son with South Africa, Nigeria's indicators forboth wasting and stunting a re five times worse.88However, what each of the findings displays isthe 'acute state of food insecurity' in N igeria.89Maternal healthFertilityThe total fertility rate (TFR) summarises thelevel of fertility in terms of the number ofchildren that a woman would have by the end ofher childbearing years. The TFR for Nigeria is5.2. Statistics vary; in the light of omissions inbirth records, a truer TFR is estimated to becloser to 5.9 or 6.0, with regional and rural-urban variations.90 For example, in the NorthEast of Nigeria the TFR is 6.8, while in theCentral and South W est zones it is 4.5. Fertilityrates for women are hig her in rura l areas, with aTFR of 5.4, compared with 4.5 in urban areas.Wom en with a secondary education had a lowerTFR, compared with women with no education(4.91 and 6.13 respectively). Women with ahigher education reported a TFR of 2.43. Thereare regional variances of TFR, with women inthe No rth East reporting 6.79, and those in theSouth East reporting 4.64.91

The crude birth-rate measures the annualnum ber of births in a p opulation . Statistics forNigeria reveal that there were 38 births per1000 persons in the period 1994-1998. Thegeneral fertility rate, which represents theannual nu mbe r of births per population amongwomen of child-bearing age (15-44 years), was176 per 1000 wome n.92Antenatal care and plac e of deliveryMore than half of all women in Nigeria (58 percent) report giving birth at home. There hasbeen an increase of 5 per cent to 37 per cent inthe use of health-care facilities for giving birthsince 1990. Fifty-two per cent of urban womenare likely to make use of a health-care facility,compared with 32 per cent in rural areas.Regional variations show that in the North Eastof Nigeria 85 per cent of women deliver athom e, compared with 91 per cent in the N orthWest. In th e South W est, 67 per cent of deliveriesare conducted in a health-care facility.93Findings from the 1999 NDHS indicate that thegreater the number of children the less likelya mother is to utilise a health facility for herdeliveries. A skilled health worker attends 47per cent of first births and only 35 per cent ofsixth and higher births.94 Teenage mothers areless likely to attend health facilities for delivery.

UNICEF claims that 44 per cent of womenaged between 20 and 24 reported that theyhad given birth before they were 20 years old,27 per cent before they were 18, and 8.5 percent before they were 15 years old. Statisticsreveal that a staggering 30 per cent of teenage rsaged betwe en 15 and 19 years were alread ymothers or were pre gnan t with their first child.Th e rates were higher in the N orth West, where55 per cent of girls aged 15-19 years werealready mothers, compared with 7.9 per cent inthe South West.95Antenatal care varied according to region.Women in urban areas are more likely to receiveantenatal care than w omen in urban areas, whichis due to the improved availability of serviceprovision in urban areas. Once again, resultsclearly indicated a general lack of assistance forwomen and young girls in the North: 96

North West: 65 per cent received no care4 per cent were helped by a birthattendant North East: 54 per cent no care8 per cent birth attendant South West: 4 per cent no care89 per cent trained health worker

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South East97: 8 per cent no care82 per cent trained health worker

Central 20 per cent no care76 per cent trained health worker

Level of education has a direct impact on amother's source of antenatal care and assistanceduring birth. The higher the level of educa tion,the greater the likelihood that antenatal carewill be sought from a doctor during pregnancy.An estimated 67 per cent of women with post-secondary education received antenatal carefrom a doctor, compared with only 8 per centwho had received no education. In terms ofreceiving antenatal care from any serviceprovider, 55 per cent of women with noeducation experienced no antenatal care,compared with 3.4 per cent of those withsecondary education and 0.8 per cent of thosewith post-secondary e ducation.98 These statisticsmay also indicate the level of service provis ion inparticular areas.Tetanus toxoid vaccinationA preg nan t mo ther should receive a tetanustoxoid vaccination to help to prevent neonataltetanus, which is a principal cause of deathamong infants in developing countries. Theproportion of women who had not receivedtetanus vaccinations averaged 39 per centnationally, with regional variations rangingfrom 13 per cent in the South West to 69 percent in the North West." Tetanus infectionswere more common among older mothers,of whom 57.3 per cent had received noinjection.10 0 This has contributed to the highlevels of maternal mortality from neonataltetanus in Nigeria and has increased incomparison with the rest of the world.10 1 Theproportions of women who had received notetanus injection were as follows: North West: North East: South West: South East: Central:

69 per cent64 per cent13 percent21 percent28 percent

Maternal mortalityNigeria has one of the highest ma ternal mortalityrates (MMR) in the world. The re are reportedly704 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.10 2This m eans that of the approximately 2.4 millionlive births, about 170,000 women die of

complications during pregnancy or delivery.UNICEF claims that this contributes to thedeath of one woman every three minutes. TheNigerian rate is 100 times higher than the ratein industrialised countries.10 3 The most commonidentified causes of maternal mortality are asfollows: Haemorrhaging: 23 per cent Sepsis: 17 percent (infection of the

genital tract) Malaria: 11 per cent Anaemia: 11 per cent104 Abortion: 11 per cent Toxemia/eclampsia: 11 per cent

CPD: 11 per cent (cephalo-pelvici- . \ ins

Others:disproportion)15 per cent

Illegally induced abortions also contribute tothe mortality figures women of child-bearing ageand particularly among young wom en. Nigeriahas strict abortion laws, a fact which does notprevent large numbers of illegal and unsafeterminations, which can result in death or long-term he alth complications.10 6Births by caesarean section can contribute tosaving the lives of women unable to delivernormally. Results in an NDHS survey show thatonly 4 per cent of births in Nigeria wereconducted by caesarean section (1 in 27 births).Thefiguresare higher in urban areas, presumablydue to improve d service provision and access tofacilities.Maternal nutritionThe nutritional health of children is largelydetermined by the health of the mother, sincebreast milk contains all the nutrients needed bychildren in the early months of their life. The1999 NDHS reported that 97 per cent ofNigerian children were breast-fed. Informationavailable to assess the general nutritional statusof women is generally insufficient and unreliable.NDHS included information about mothers ofchildren under the age of three in its research,calculating their body-mass index (BM I). A BM Iof 18.5 was used as a cut-off figure to determinethinness, and 25.0 was considered obese. Thesurvey found that 16.1 per cent of mothers hada BMI lower tha n the cut-off point. The findingsvaried according to region, age, and level ofeducation. NDHS 1999 was the first survey toincor porate such statistics, and as such the re areno comparable data available.10 7

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Overall social conditions inNigeriaFood insecurityNigeria has in recen t times seen low and at timesnegative growth rates in the annual productionof its staple foods: yam, cassava, maize, rice,sorghum, millet, and beans. Also, there aresubstantial losses in harvested food c rops, due toinadequate storage, processing, and marketingof its food products. It has been estimated thatpost-harvest food losses amount to between20 and 25 per cent of total output. In response,Nigeria is forced to import even basic staplefoods, which in 1999 amounted to 14.38 percent of total imports. This translates into anincrease in food prices to a level that is barelyaffordable for much of the population. Figuresfrom the Federal Office of Statistics reveal that40 per cent of the population of Nigeria facefood insecurity.10 8 The country 's expandingurban population is set to place an even greaterstrain on this inadequacy.Access to safe waterIt has been estimated that 40 per cent ofNigeria's population have no access to eitherpotable water, sanitation, or public-healthservices. Only 54.1 per cent of all Nigerianshave access to 'safe' water ;10 9 70.6 per cent of thepopulation in urban areas are said to haveaccess, compared with only 48 per cent in ruralareas.11 0 The survey reports that only threeStates - Kad una, Lagos and Oyo - have a supplysufficient to cover 80 per cent of the area. Thevast majority of the States experienced a shortag eof supply."1Table 3: Major sources of water supply (1999)

Wells and boreholesSurface water112Public tapHousehold pipeTankers and vendorsOthers

Rural44 per cent38 per cent10 per cent4 per cent2 per cent2 per cent

Urban39 per cent5 per cent25 percent24 per cent4 per cent2 percent

Acc ess to sanitationNigeria has a reasonably good record on theadequacy of sanitation, compared with the restof sub-Saharan Africa. The overall level foraccess to facilities in Nigeria is 52.8 per cent:11 3

75.3 per cent for urban populations and 44.4per cent in rural areas. The statistics varyaccording to States. Some, for example, enjoy70 per cent adequacy, as in Lagos, Edo, Delta,Anambra, Akwa, Ibom, K anuna, K ano, and theFederal Capital Territory, while in Rivers andNiger State the corresp ondin g figure is just30 per cent.11 4 Although the overall prevalenceof guinea worm has decreased, Nigerians withlimited access to safe water and sanitation co ntinueto suffer guinea-worm infection.Sexual healthHIV/AIDSNigeria is experiencing its share of the'pandemic'11 5 of HIV/AIDS which is plaguingmuch of sub-Saharan Africa. A UNICEF/FGNreport described the challenge of the disease inNigeria as threatening to 'plunge the countryinto a multi-faceted development crisis'.11 6Th e first re port ed case of AIDS in Nigeria cameto official attention in 1986. Five years later, in1991, Nigeria made its first attempt under theFedera l Ministry of Health to survey the situationof HIV/AIDS in the country. Th e results showedthat HIV was prevalent among 1.8 per cent ofthe population. Prevalence steadily increased to3.8 per cen t in 1993 and went up to 4.5 per c entin 1998. On the evidence of 1999 statistics,5.4 pe r cent of Nigerians between the ages of 15and 49 years are living with HIV/AIDS. Thismeans that an estimated 2.7 million adults areinfected.11 7 Since there is a period of up to10 years before the HIV virus develops fullyinto AIDS, the num ber of people who are actuallysick from the virus is as yet relatively small,compared with those who are infected.Projections show that by 2009 some five millionNigerians will have developed AIDS. Surveysshow that both rural and urba n areas are affected.Whether inside or outside marriage, Nigerianteenagers become sexually active at an earlyage. This fact is inadequately catered for in theeducation system and has serious implicationsfor Nigeria's growing population in terms ofhigh fertility, maternal and infant mortality,and the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS that issweeping the country.

Statistics indicate that 6.3 pe r cent of antenatal-care patients between the ages of 20 and 24years are infected with HIV, which poses therisk of mother-to-child transmission.11 8 Due tothe large numbers of females of child-bearingage infected with HIV (1.3 million) in Nigeria,coupled with the high rates of fertility, it is

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Rural-urban migrationThe geographic distribution of population inNigeria is uneven and is expected to change asthe migration from the rural areas to the citiesand towns intensifies. The rate of urbanisationis reputed to be among the most rapid in theworld. According to Shelter Rights Initiative,12 6the urban population in Nigeria rose from 20per cent in 1970 to 38 per c ent in 1993. It is fore-casted to increase at an annu al rat e of 7 per c entand is expected to account for 70 per cen t of thecountry's population by 2020. The South Westregion is rep ute d to be the most urban ised, with40 per cent of the nation's 329 urban centres.Already, for example, 13 per cent (11.5 millionpeople) of the popula tion is conce ntrated in jus ttwo States, Kano and Lagos.12 7 Lagos is by thefar the most populate d State in the country. It isprojected to be the third most populous city inthe world by 2015. Large-scale, uncontrolledmigration to urban areas is expected to seriouslyhamper any anti-poverty strategies, as thenumbers of uneducated, unskilled, and low-income earners swell the cities and towns, withno capacity or opportunity for themselves ortheir offspring to escape the cycle of pove rty.12 8The magnitude of the exodus from ruralareas to urban areas has had serious conse-quences in terms of overcrowding, increasedspread of comm unicable diseases, poor sanita-tion, psychological ills, high mortality rates,environmental damage, and food insecurity.According to a study by SRI, 12 9 70 per cent ofresidents of major Nigerian cities live in low-income settlements in various parts of the cities(and satellite towns around the cities). TheWorld Bank indicates that half of this numberhas access to 'safe' water. Conditions in urbanareas in Nigeria dictate living in overcrowdedand sub-standard housing with little or noaccess to water supply, inadequate and poorlymaintained sanitation, a universal deficiency ofsewage-disposal facilities, irregular supply ofelectricity, poor and overcrowded road networks,and chaotic and sometimes fatal systems of masstransit.13 0 Deficient management of the urbaninfrastructure, which includes poor wastemanagement, is adding to the increased levelsof pollution affecting the air, water, and land.

Urban development and ho usingInformation on the adequacy of housing inNigeria is not readily available. There is insuffi-cient accommodation in the urban areas to meet

the demand, costs are high, and overall thequality of available housing is poor. In th e r ura lareas the greatest concern is poor-quality housingand inadequate key infrastructures.13 1 T h emajority of homes in rural areas are mud-bachahouses, which constitute 45.2 per cent of homesin Nigeria, constructed from corrugated-ironroof sheets and poorly ventilated mud walls,with few or no amenities. Few people haveaccess to electricity, safe water, or sanitation.13 2According to the State Governor of Lagos,9 million of the 13 million people living in theState consider themselves to be living in slumsand shanties.13 3 Of the 60 slums identified bythe World Bank, the government is attemptingto transform just 15 of them.Urban pollutionThe poor m anagement of rural-urba n migrationis leading to environmental degradation andpollution problems which are plaguing urbanareas in Nigeria. In 1983 more than 9 milliontonnes of refuse were generated - a figurewhich increased to 13 million in 1995.13 4Statistics show that less than 60 per cent of thewaste gen erate d in Nigerian cities is collected ordisposed. This raises concerns for health andthe environment. T he high moisture content ofthe waste products poses problems of disposal.Refuse such as plastic (a major waste constituentin Nigeria since the mid-1980s) cannot be incin-erated and leaves an acrid smell when burnt,thus contributing to the pollution of the air anda pre ponde rance of unsightly waste besmirchingthe landsc ape. Th er e a re few sanitary landfills inthe country, and open dum ping is the commonme thod of waste disposal, which encourages thesprea d of disease, injury, fire, and pollution.

Extensive environmental damage is anotherby-product of poverty. The increase in migrationto find emp loyme nt in coastal areas in the Southplaces a strain on the natural-resource base.The over-dependency on wood for fuel in ruralareas is a cause for c oncer n, as is the cultivationof fragile land for survival. The findings fromparticipatory research in the 1994 WorldDevelopment Report show that individuals haveobserved a change in the environme nt in termsof poor soil quality, the scarcity of forests andfarmland, and a heavy reliance on cultivatingjust one crop.13 5Nigeria has 72 million hectares of agriculturalland, of which only one thir d is produ ctive. T hemajority is farmed in smallholdings of less than5 hectares and with low yields. These farmers

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are constrained by poor infrastructure, whichmakes marketing difficult, and they are com-pensated with inadequate prices for their efforts.An estimated 87.7 per cent of rur al dw ellers livein extreme poverty. Hence, more and morepeople are being pushed out of the rural areasand pulled into the urban cities and towns insearch of a better life. The migrants from ruralto urban areas are predominantly the mosteconomically active, which leaves women andchildren to farm the land and make a living.

Education in NigeriaTh e level of education of a country's p opula tionis used as an indicator of its socio-economicdevelopment. It is assumed that other matterssuch as health, hygiene, and reproductive healthand behaviour are affected by education.13 6 It isclearly set out in the Nigerian Constitution thateach Nigerian has the right to an education.Various governments have expressed interestin extending universal primary education andthre e years of secondary schooling to all citizens.National goals were set out in the NationalProgramme for Action on the Survival,Protection and Development of the NigerianChild (NPA) in 1992, which aimed to reduceilliteracy among females by half.137 The currentadm inistration has publicised its com mitm ent toeducation during its tenure and beyond.Recognising tha t illiteracy is high, school enro l-ment is low, and school drop-out is increasing,the government committed itself to achieving'Education for all by the year 2000', to the 'totaleradication of illiteracy by 2010', and 100 percent school enrolment by the same target year,and to increasing adult literacy to 70 per c ent by2003.13 8 The government seeks to achieve thisthrough 'creating an enabling environment forteaching/learning comparable to those in themost progressively industrialising countries',and encouraging private-sector participation,curricula im provem ents, and judicial enforce-ment.13 9

Yet despite attempts to reduce Nigeria'sappalling illiteracy statistics, the education systemcontinues to be ham pered by problems such aslack of essential and adequate manpower;incessant strikes by teachers and staff who havenot been paid; inability of supervising agenciesto set and/or enforce standards; poor and uninvitingenvironments; overcrowding; poor provision ofmaterials and resources; poor curricula; and anabsence of infrastructural facilities.

In 2000 the Centra l Bank of Nigeria re por tedan increase in the pupil/teac her r atio from 52 to54 pupils per teacher in primary schools and38 to 41 in secondary schools. Funding for theeducational sector rose by 10.1 per cent toN56.568.1 m illion but acco unted for just 8.7 percent of the Federal Government budgetaryallocation. This allocation was lower than the 25per cent stipulated by the United Nations Educa-tional Scientific Organisation (UNESCO).14 0

LiteracyIn 1999 the government established the UniversalBasic Education (UBE) scheme, which made itcompulsory for every child to be educated freeof charge u p to juni or secondary level, in ord erto meet the nation's need for development.Statistics show, however, that overall literacy inNigeria is still only 57 per cent,14 1 despite theseinitiatives.14 2 A gender analysis reveals that thefigures are worse for women, among whomthere has been a decline of 4 per cent to 41 percent. The most recent NDHS reveals that menin Nigeria receive three years' more educationthan women do, with a median of 4.7 years,com pare d with just 1.7 for females.143

Geograph ical disparities indicate th at illiteracyis higher in rural areas and in north ern parts ofthe country. Sixty-seven per cent of adults inurban areas are literate, compared with 42 percent who live in rur al areas. Th e Literacy GenderDisparity In dex (LGPI) measures N igeria's genderequity in literacy at 0.8, where 1 indicates equalityof literacy among men and women. However,when adjusted to rural/urban analysis, theindex becomes 0.66 among women in ruralareas, compared with 0.78 in urban areas.14 4In N orth West and N orth East Nigeria, statisticsrevealed that literacy rates were 21-22 per centfor females and 40 -42 p er cent for males. In th eSouth West and South East, the statisticsrevealed that female literacy rates were 55 percent and 60 per cent respectively.145It should be noted that there is controversyover the quantification of literacy levels inNigeria, since researchers have not specifiedwhether or not literacy is restricted to English orwhether or not it incorporates literacy inArabic.14 6Primary and secondary school enrolmentAlthough the number of primary and secondaryschools in Nigeria has increased by 2.0 per cent,school enrolm ent continues to be low. Accordingto the Federal Office of Statistics/UNICEF,

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gross school enrolment for primary-schoolchildren in Nigeria (6-11 years) is 80.7 pe r c ent.Of thisfigure,84 per cent are boys and 7.3 per centare girls.14 7 Net primary figures suggest that52.9 per cent are enrolled, and 57.2 per cent ofboys, with a net national primary-school enrol-ment of 55.1 per cent. However, these figuresvary according to region: for example, in Abia,primary-school enrolment is 96.2 per cent,whereas th e figure in Jigawa is jus t 17.1 per cent.Enrolment for secondary education (12-17years) is 72.9 per cent: 74 per cent for boys and71.7 per cent for girls. In Abia, secondaryenrolment rates are 97.3 per cent, while at theopposite end of the scale, enrolm ent at secondaryschools in Katsina was just 20.9 per cent.14 8However, the most recent Central Bank ofNigeria statistics show a very different picture.Statistics quoted from Federal Ministries ofEducation show that the proportion of girlsenrolled in primary schools actually increasedby 0.5 per cent to 49 per cent, and secondaryenrolments increased to 46 per cent from 45.0per cent in the previous year.

However, school-enrolment rates do notprovide an indication of actual school atten danc e.Childre n may well enrol in their local school, yetmay not be able to afford to attend daily classes.UNDP figures14 9 show that the incidence ofschool drop-out is between 15 and 20 per cent.Net primary-school attendance was 55.1 percent of all childre n, of whom 57.2 per cent w eremales and 52.9 per cent were females. Resultsfrom studies in Iseyin and Oyo State show thatchildren stay in school and attend regularly ifthey are able to find some form of supplemen-tary income to support themselves. This in turnaffects educational performance. Due to theincreasing economic pressures on families, thesurvey showed that in States in the South East(Abia, Enug u, Im o, and Ana mbra) families with-drew their male children from school in favourof employment. In the Northern States, girlswere taken from school when pregnant to assistin income generation for the household, or weregiven away in marriage. In some areas of th ecountry, because of the lack of employmentopportunities after education, many parents arewithdrawing their children from schools infavour of Vocational train ing, to work, or to gobegging.Third-level educationWhile the numbers of primary and secondaryschools increase, the num ber of tertiary colleges

remain unchanged at 144. Third-level graduateshave twice the earning potential of secondary-school leavers, a fact which has led to anoverwhelming increase in the number ofstudents aspiring to graduate from third-levelcolleges, thus producing a surplus of unemployedgraduates in the country. According to a UNDPreport, 'Nigerian universities are producingrelatively too many graduates of dubious qualityand relevance'.15 0 A CBN publication revealedthat one in 10 applicants to the Labo ur E xchangeswas a university graduate. Students are obligedto endur e a learning environment which lackssufficient and adequate up-to-date equipmentand resources. Ther e is a shortage of graduatesentering and leaving universities with techno-logical and scientific knowledge. Currentapplications for courses in natural sciences andapplied sciences constitute 35-40 per cent ofenrolments. For Nigeria to comp ete globally interms of labour supply, this figure would needto increase to 60-66 per cent. However, thenational enrolment into Nigerian colleges anduniversities is less than 5 per cent, and manygraduates migrate to other countries in searchof employment.The cost of'free' educationPoverty hinders the enjoyment of a citizen'sconstitutional right to an education. Althoughprimary education in Nigeria is free in theory,in practice this is rarely the case. Federal andState governments are unsuitably resourc ed toimplement this right, which results in schoolsbeing increasingly corn ered into charging leviesfor building maintenance, parent-teacher associa-tions, examinations, etc. Research conducted inLagos State showed that costs to families in urba nareas for primary education averaged N 16,500;the figure for rural public schools was N9250.The average cost per child in a household forpublic secondary education was N25,000. 15 1Costs of attendance at private schools weremuch higher. Relatively few parents in Nigeriacan afford the fees to enrol their children inschool and support them to attend regularly.Inability to afford school fees was cited by 29per cent of children as a reason for leavingschool.15 2 Children are taken out of school tosupplement household income; others maywork to pay for their own education, whichaffects their performance; often children gowithout food in orde r to pay for fees, thus harmingtheir physical and mental development. Othersare removed from school due to the lack of

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employment prospects. With increasing unemploy-ment, school is seen as a waste of time andresources. Employment is favoured over education,which is popularly viewed as bestowing ho nou r,respect, an d wealth. In the South East this view-point is ham pering school attendance in favourof apprenticeship and small business.UnemploymentStatistics for unemplo yment figures a re u nreliableand unrepresentative. The Federal Office ofStatistics claims that as at March 2000 thenational unemployment figure was 3.6 per cent.This figure was up 0.6 per cent from the previousyear. However, the Central Bank cautions thatlow unemployment figures should be 'inter-preted with caution, because of the veryhigh incidence of underemployment in theeconomy'.15 3 Statistics exclude the unemployedpopulation who have not registered with theLabour Exchanges; they therefore do notreflect the underemployment of the informallabour market.

ConclusionA recent UND P report observed that 'It is not anexaggeration to claim that an unreprese ntativepolitical system or lack of democracy is at theroot of poverty in Nigeria.'15 4 Nigeria's povertyhas been linked to mism anagem ent of its macro-economic policy, and to inadequate funding,poor-quality infrastructural facilities, neglect ofsocial-service provision to the population, andpoor management, leading to increasingcorruption. Despite successive governments'poverty-alleviating strategies, such as theDirectorate of Food, Roads and RuralInfrastructure (DFRRI) in 1986, the FamilyEconomic Advancement Programme (FEAP) in1997, the Better Life Programme 1987, andFamily Support Programme in 1994, povertycontinues to prevail in Nigeria. The scenariopresented in this chapter shows that povertycontinues to plague the people of Nigeria,despite the installation of democracy. 'Th e failureto ensure effective implementation of theseprogrammes may be seen as the precursor tomost of the current perpetuation of poverty inNigeria.'15 5

The catalogue of problems confrontingNigerians is intensifying their despondency,

deepening their poverty, and forcing them torely on alternative survival strategies. The stateof the nation's under-funded social sector isdeplorable. As the population continues toincrease, rural-urban migration explodes, andpoverty and inequality flourish. The continuedneglect of the social sector translates intodistressing hea lth-status statistics, particularlyin the case of women and children, who areamong the most vulnerable. Although the newdemocratic leadership is comm itted to affordinga 'high priority ... [to] the health status ofNigerians ' ,15 6 clearly much more needs to bedone , as targets are not being m et.Education is seen by many as the route topoverty alleviation: 'There is no doubt thatmeaningful education is the most potent instru-ment for alleviating and eventually abolishingpoverty. '1 57 Nigeria's education system is ina shambles, with high pupil-to-teacher ratiosand poorly equipped classrooms. The lack ofeducation reflected in the Nigeria's poorperformance in literacy and school-enrolmentindicators is seen by many observers as a primaryobstacle in the development of the poor.Nigerians are generally ignorant of their hum an,civil, and legal rights. Th e p resent administra-tion has made efforts to address the issue ofschool enrolment through the launch of theUniversal Basic Education scheme (UBE) andhas emphasised the management and effectivecontrol of anti-social and often violent cults intertiary institutions. However, there is a longway to go to achieve the target of eradicatingilliteracy and attaining 100 per cent schoolenrolm ent by the year 2010.15 8If the pursuit of poverty alleviation andreduction is the 'first priority of the ObasanjoAdministration', and the Administration iscommitted to ' improving their [Nigerians']quality of life',159 then government expenditureon social services needs to reflect this commit-ment.

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4 Poverty and the po litical system in Nigeria

IntroductionNigeria's political history since independencehas been characterised by a long per iod of coups,resulting in a protracted period of militarydictatorship. The era of military rule saw thecomplete abuse of the rule of law, over-concen-tration of power at the centre, and generaldissatisfaction among the people. Civil society'sclamour for a democratic system of govern-ment,16 0 combined with the diplomatic isolationof the country, added to the mom entum which setin motion the process for democratic elections.At last the new C onstitution was adopted in May1999, and thus ended the military era.

The adoption of the new Constitution raisedhopes and expectations across all sectors of society.People were eager to see a rapid transformationof the economy and improved quality in theprovision of social services. Th ese high expecta-tions, coupled with violent conflict among religiousand ethnic factions in some parts of the countr y,posed a great challenge to the fragile democracy.The situation has been normalised to someextent, bu t the g reatest challenge facing N igeriais how to sustain the present democratic dispen-sation and to use it to transform the economy,with the aim of meeting the needs of the poorand decentralising power such that it allows forpopular participation in the democratic system.

Against this background, we now attempt areview of Nigeria's political history, linking it tothe present political structures and the obliga-tions of government, as outlined in the 1999Constitution. We argue that an arena for po pularparticipation and the practice of good gover-nance has been created, bu t obstacles remain tobe overcome. Th e challenges faced by the presentrepublic must be managed properly if Nigeria'snascent democracy is to be sustained, and theliving conditions of the people are to be improved.

Political historyNigeria achieved independence from Britain in1960, but ther eafter was subject to military rule

for almost thirty years. The period betweenindependence and the current democraticdispensation, which came into force under the1999 Constitution, was characterised by changesin the stru cture of the political landscape whichled to some significant democratic deficits.Nigeria has experienced six violent changes ofgovernment, the greatest number in the entiremodern history of Africa.16 1 Many observersargue that the lack of democracy and popularparticipation is one reason for the prevalence ofpoverty in Africa.

Th e military era in Nigeria was characterisedby abuse of power and the political apparatus,and denial of the rights of the people. This wasalso the period when corruption became sopervasive that people

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Measuring Poverty in Nigeria