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Poverty Level in Nigeria on the Increase
From Cletus Akwaya in Abuja

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Despite the numerous poverty reduction programmes initiated by the Obasanjo administration, the country's target to reduce half the rate of poverty and hunger by 2015 maybe unattainable as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report just released says more Nigerians have become poorer since 2000.

Apart from failing on set targets on poverty reduction, Nigeria also failed to achieve other benchmarks in key areas of human development.

The first progress report on the MDG released yesterday in Abuja at a stakeholders' forum, by the National Planning Commission (NPC) was prepared for Nigeria by the Ibadan-based Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER).

The MDGs were adopted by member countries of the UN during the millennium Summit in 2000. It entails set targets in eight arrears of human development including "eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; reduction in child mortality; improvement of maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development."

Nigeria had in 2000 undertaken to work towards reducing by half, the proportion of the people whose income is less than $1 per day and also between 1990 and 2015 to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

However, the NISER report presented by Professor Luka Ajakaiye indicated that in 2015, when the country's population is projected to be 178.5 million, 21.4 per cent or 38.1 million Nigerians would still be poor.

To arrive at this projection, the report took a historical view of the poverty situation from 1980 to 1996 based on the statistics obtained from the Federal Office of Statistics (FOS).

The FOS figures showed that in 1980, the core poor formed 6.2 per cent of the country's population with the figure rising to 21.1 per cent in 1985. The percentage of the core poor rose to 23.9 per cent in 1992 and attained the 29.3 per cent mark in 1996.

"The poverty situation in Nigeria is precarious not only in terms of income poverty but also in terms of food poverty" the report noted. For instance, it said in 1990, the proportion of underweight children (under five years of age), stood at 35. 7 per cent but declined to 28.3 per cent in 1993.

In 1999 however, it rose to 30.7 per cent, the report revealed noted as it said the poverty situation appeared more serious in the rural communities than urban areas.

With respect to the proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption, the report said between 1990 and 2000, about 13 per cent of the population was under-nourished but said the percentage reduced to eight per cent in the 1996-'98 period and seven per cent in the 1998-2000 period.

"If the target to halve the percentage in 2015 is to be met, about 6.5 percent of the estimated population of 178.5 per cent are expected to be undernourished in 2015. By and large, the MDG goals, targets and indicators relating to poverty reduction are quite relevant in the case of Nigeria.

"While the poverty is ravaging the economy at a terrific speed, progress towards curtailing the menace is moving rather too slowly," it noted

The report warned that "unless poverty reduction efforts are intensified with great commitment, transparency and determination both at the local and international arena it is unlikely that the MDG targets will be met," he said.

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It is clear that your president did not come anywhere near his so-called Millenium Development Goals (MGD). With a run-away inflation, plumetting real income, and a population that is growing poorer and poorer, where do you get the gumption to flash a thumps up for the babboon in charge

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Originally posted by Olumide Williams:
The Nigerian economy showed signs of growth.

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