GOVERNANCE, POVERTY AND CRISIS IN NIGERIA – A HOUSEHOLD SURVEY

GOVERNANCE, POVERTY AND CRISIS IN NIGERIA – A HOUSEHOLD SURVEY

 

INTRODUCTION

Despite Nigeria’s enormous resources (human and natural Governance (bad) has been known to be the not cause of societal ills. Blessed with resources, leaders in helms of affairs has failed in proper allocation and management of these resources thereby, creating room for inefficiency and ineffectiveness.

This study examines on household levels, how bad governance has paved way for poverty, crisis and other societal ills. The survey shows how and why people indulge in violence, why there’s so much poverty and how governance has impacted lives and citizens. The study also profer solutions to topic under study.

 

KEYWORD: Governance, Poverty, Crisis, Household.

 

Methodology

The approach adopted in collating information was group-works and interview to identify in our various communities the cause, effect and solutions of governance in relation to poverty and crisis. Additional information was gotten from web-based search engines.

 

Understanding governance

According to Wikipedia, governance comprises of all the process of governing, whether undertaken by the government of a state, by market or by a network-over a social system which includes family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a territory or across territories, and whether through laws, norms, power or language of an organized society. It related to the processes of interaction and decision-making among the actors involved in a collective problem that lead to the creation, reinforcement or reproduction of social norms and institutions. In lay terms, it could be described as the political process that exists in and between infrastructures.

• Wikipedia’s account on governance

Governance is an important concept that is relevant to an organization, be it international, corporate, regional, institutional and others.

The World Bank sees governance as a system by which power is exercised in a managing a country’s economic, social and political resources for development purposes. Simply stating, it is making judicious use of a country’s wealth to benefit and enhance the life and living standard of its citizenry.

• World Banks account on governance (1993)

Nigeria seem to practice the opposite wealth of nation is used to enrich themselves (the political class). People now see governance as a trading ground to amass wealth for themselves and their generations to come they run government like their personal business, loot public funds and share among themselves.

International Monetary Fund (IME 2016) see governance from the “economic policies” angle. It describes governance as all aspects of the way a country is governed, its economic policies and regulatory framework. The entirety of governmental actions and activities in decision making and effective realistic economic policies. As we already know, for there to be economic stability and development in a nation, there has to be a sound economic policies in place.

 

ANALYSING POVERTY IN NIGERIA THROUGH THEORETICAL LENSES

Poverty has remained a threat and challenge to humanity in all ramifications. It is complex, multidimensional and multifaceted with manifestations in the economic, social, political, environmental and every realm of human existence. The conceptualization of poverty over the years is changing with emerging perspectives in different contexts. Bhalla and Lapeyre (2016) relate it to the concept of social exclusion as an emerging phenomenon in both developed and developing contexts. Bradshaw and Main (2016) discuss child poverty, addressing how the well-being of children is affected by indices of poverty.

 

Ajakaiye and Adeyeye (2001) give a historical background of these changing perspectives from a focus on income indicators in the 1960s to inclusion of non-monetary indicators in the 1990s and beyond. Poverty is listed as a risk factor in coping with health challenges (Pearson, 2015). Poverty has multiplier effects and linkages such that lack of access to resources can affect health status, life expectancy, security, education and relationships. Efforts are being intensified globally through reforms, interventions and sustainable development goals to tackle poverty and improve living standards. Nations are categorised on the scale of development based on indices that have direct bearing on poverty.

 

The challenges of poverty in Nigeria have attracted the attention of successive administrations. However, it remains a paradox-poverty in the midst of plenty and rising in periods of economic growth (Omoyibo, 2013). This may be true to the extent that Nigeria is endowed with human and natural resources and has had an increasing national income; yet, a larger section of her population languishes in poverty due uneven distribution and allocation of income and wealth. Dauda (2017) notes that poverty in Nigeria differs with the pattern in many other countries given that even with the economic growth recorded, poverty is still on the increase with the North- West and North –East geopolitical zones leading in the poverty indices. This situation is at variance with the experiences of developing countries in Europe, America and Asia where economic growth results in poverty reduction. This lends credence to the long-standing assumption that the relationship between poverty, economic growth and development is not even.

 

Several poverty reduction policies and programmes have been adopted to alleviate or eradicate poverty in Nigeria. Some of these were sectoral interventions but their overarching goal was poverty reduction. Notable poverty reduction programmes pursued in Nigeria by include:

 

-Operation Feed the Nation (Agriculture)

– Free and Compulsory Primary Education (Education)

– Green Revolution (Agriculture) -Low Cost Housing (Housing)

-River Basin Development Authorities (Agriculture)

-Rural Electrification Scheme (Rural Development)

-Rural Banking Programme (Rural development and financial inclusion)

-Family Economic Advancement Programme (Poverty Alleviation)

-Better Life for Rural Women (Women Empowerment)

-Family Support Programme (Poverty Alleviation)

-National Directorate of Employment (Job Creation)

 

Measurement of Poverty

There is no standard parameter for measuring poverty. Generally, quantifying poverty has remained problematic and contentious because of the biases of measurement. Scholars have developed several models for measuring absolute, relative and subjective poverty. It measurement has been classified into two distinct operations; identification of the poor and the aggregation of their poverty characteristics into an overall measure. Absolute Poverty is measured based on the:

Head Count/Incidence of Poverty: This is based on a poverty line(or set of lines) that are established by costing a minimum basket of essential goods for basic human survival, using income, consumption or expenditure data of non- poor households (Lok-Dessallien, 1999). It is usually expressed as the ratio of the number of individuals living below the PL to the total number of people in a given population. It does not indicate the depth or severity of poverty

 

Poverty Gap/Income Shortfall: It measures the difference between the PL and the average income of the poor expressed as a ratio of the PL (Abimiku, 2006) . It captures the degree of income shortfall below the PL and provides a statement on the level of income needed to raise the income of the poor to the PL. In this sense, it measures the depth of poverty but does not indicate its severity by showing the distribution of the standard of living among the poor.

 

Disparity of Income Distribution: It encompasses the use of Lorenz Curve (LC) and Gini Coefficient (GC) to present the distribution of poverty. The LC is a graphical representation of the variance in the extent of income distribution. It shows the cumulative percentage of the poor population on the vertical axis and the cumulative percentage of income of the poor on the horizontal axis. The GC measures income distribution based on the Lorenz Curve. It represents the difference of a country’s actual income distribution from a theoretically equal distribution.

Composite Poverty Measures: This model combines the strengths of the earlier models; the population below the PL and income distribution. Some indices it uses are the Sen Index (S) and the Forster- Geer -Thorbeck Index (FGT). The Index integrates the Head Count Index, Poverty Gap Index and the GC. The poverty headcount, poverty gap, and severity of poverty are the most common indices integrated in the FGT index. A limitation of composite poverty measures is that they are designed to represent and compare living standards across all countries in the world based available data but do not give an in-depth understanding into all relevant indices of development or poverty in the country being studied (De Kruijk & Rutten, 2007).

 

Human Development Index: This combines both income and non-income factors in measuring poverty. It measures the relative degree of deprivation in a country to what is obtained globally. The HDI was developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 1990 has been used for inter-country comparison to bring the relative achievement of countries on the poverty ladder. It focuses on life expectancy, literacy rate and per capita income.

GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA ITS EFFECT ON CITIZENS

Undisputedly, there is a strong correlation between governance and peace, development and stability. We can correctively say that the threat to national peace today is as a result of the method of governance our successive administrators adopted over the years. The mode of governance in Nigeria today, refute all known good governance prescription. Governmental system in Nigeria is a total opposite of global governance norm.

Resulting from the mode of governance in Nigeria is the internal security problems we are facing as a country (book haram insurgency, Niger Delta Military, Banditry e.t.c.), poverty and the social ills.

Managers of the countries’ wealth have used public office for their personal gains. They corner public fund meant for development, creating poverty, unemployment and economic recession.

 

 

Development

Fig 1.2. above describes the exact opposite of good governance. This mode of governance is based on corruption, selfish interest, greed, e.t.c. When there exist the resultant effect is poverty, crisis. The energetic youth are used by politicians for negative activities due to the state of the unemployment in the Nation.

 

Sadly, Fig 1.2. is the mode of governance we run in Nigeria today. On the long run- it will affect the security of lives and property, we already see and hear on news, economic recession, we’ve already experience and other social ills.

 

From figure 1.1 we could deduce

g_x = e + X_m + e_i + I —————- equation 1

Where g = good governance           – Independent Variable

e = employment – Dependent Variable

Xm = wealth – Dependent Variable

ei = booming economy – dependent variable

 

From figure 1.2.

g_y = P + C + E_x —————— equation 2

Where g = bad governance – Independent Variable

p = poverty – Dependent Variable

C = crisis – Dependent Variable

e_i = failed economy – dependent variable

We could see from equation 1 and 2 above, everything in terms of natural development, peace, economic stability e.t.c. depends on the independent variable “GOVERNANCE”.

 

Poverty

Wikipedia defines poverty as not having enough material possession or income for a person’s need. Poverty may include social, economic and political elements. Absolute poverty is the complete lack of the means necessary to meet basic personal needs such as foods, clothing and shelter.

• Wikipedia’s account on poverty

In 2018, Nigeria was named the world’s poverty capital overtaking India. Report has it that every minutes, six Nigerian lives in extreme poverty. At the end of May 2018, it was recorded that eighty-seven (87) million Nigerian lives in extreme poverty compared to India which is seventy-three (73) million. Report from Vanguard June 25, 2018.

The trend is quite alarming and pose huge threat to National Security. When poverty looms, citizens tends to do anything (legal or illegal) to survive as it is a natural phenomenon.

In economics, GINI INDEX is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income wealth distribution of a Nation’s residents, and is the most commonly used measurement in inequality. It was developed by the Italian Statistician and Sociologist CORRADO GINI and published in his 1912 Variability and Mutability.

• Wikipedia’s account on GINI INDEX

As at 2010, the GINI INDEX of Nigeria is rated medium, at 0.43, However, there are more rural poor than urban poor. This unifies the different access to infrastructure and amenities.

As Africa’s giant 86.9 million now living in extreme poverty is estimated to be nearly 50% of 180 million populations. Having massive wealth and huge population to support commerce, plenty of natural resources, it is totally unacceptable having that high rate of poverty.

This exercise wouldn’t be complete if we don’t seek to know directly from bhousehold how and to what extent poverty affect them. Hence, the reason for this survey carried out durig the course of writing this project putting together this work, questions has been raised as to

1. What is poverty?
2. The cause of poverty in various community?
3. Why do youth indulge in violence?
4. The way forward out of poverty?
5. The resultant effect of poverty?
6. Why so much poverty among youths?
7. Things that can be done to alleviate poverty?
8. How poverty brings about crisis?
9. Who suffers when there is crisis?
10. Expectations from government?

Result from the survey shows that 90% of youth who indulge in violence are poor. Because of the state of their poverty, they are provided to indulge in criminalities.

Another observation made was that each community has its peculiar crisis. It was discovered that insecurity in Ikorodu axis ranges from:

• Baddo: The dreaded serial killers.
• Local cultism
• Land dispute
• Drug addition

 

In all of these crime listed above, the common factor is poverty. The perpetrators of these crimes are 90% youth, whom are:

• Unemployed: Probably went to school but saw crime as their last resort.
• Lazy: Refuse to work because of their greedy ambition.
• Drug abusers: they get intoxicated and can do anything to get what they want.
• Greedy: They want to have the whole world not working for it.
• Non-educated: It is discovered that so many of them lacks formal education.
• Failed family: Many are from failed families and marriages, hence lack character molding.
• Lack basic skills – No skills acquired to enhance and add value to themselves.

Governance could have done better to curb the ugly situation by living up to the task of good governance. Although, household contributed to the state of the nation as it where but governance takes a larger percentage of the responsibility.

Basic amenities such as; roads, schools, water, housing, skill acquisition centres e.t.c. helps alleviate poverty especially in rural areas. All of these are government responsibilities to provide, however, when government fails to provide the amenities, the resultant effect is the social ills we face today in the nation.

 

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

The kind of governance we have being practicing in Nigeria is negatively affecting the lives of its citizens and hampering the nation’s development; from poor health care to bad roads, poor water supply, poor electricity supply, bad educational system, e.t.c Nigerina suffers hunger, diseases, violence, loss of loved ones, insurgence, loss of properties, all of the symptoms result from poor governance.

It is therefore, imperative for government to practice good governance as it is the best remedy to salvage and curb the negative effects of bad governance. Good governance manifest in the area of transparency, accountability, rule of law e.t.c. only thus can development be made, peace exist and economic stability be guaranteed.

It is also important as citizen to participate in governance by holding leaders, accountable, ensuring people whom power resides do what is right. Structures should be put in place to remove and/or prosecuting anybody found wanting by the law. This study hereby concludes that only the practice of good governance can drastically reduce or perhaps, eradicate the social problems Nigeria faces today.