National Bureau of Statistics’ recently published Nigerian Living Standards Survey indicates that 40.09 percent of Nigerian are poor. With a staggering population of 205 million people, over 80 million Nigerians live in poverty. Whereas the poverty rate in urban areas is only 18.04 percent, as much as 52.1 percent of rural dwellers are poor.
The report also revealed that northern Nigeria had the most poverty headcount rate. North-East region had the most poverty average while South Western Nigerian had the least. The average poverty headcount rate for North-Central is 42.7 percent, while North-East is 71.86 percent. Likewise, North-West has 64.84 percent rate, South-East, 42.44 percent, South-South, 21.28 percent, and South West (12.12 percent).
On the other hand, Lagos (4.5 percent), Delta (6.02 percent), Osun (8.52 percent), Ogun (9.32 percent), Oyo (9.83 percent), Edo (11.99 percent), Ondo (12.52 percent), Anambra (14.78 percent), Kwara (20.35 percent), and Bayelsa (22.61 percent) had the least poverty rate in the country.
According to the report, over 44 percent of the states in Nigeria have poverty ratio of over 50 percent. by implication, over half of the population in 16 of the 35 states and the FCT live in poverty. The survey excluded Borno State, as some parts of the state were not safe to visit.
Overall, poverty in Nigeria has been connected to poor health standards, limited access to education and deteriorating living standards. While four in every ten Nigerians are poor, quality of life measurements tends towards the negative. Thus, there is bleak hope for the masses.
As Nigeria battles its poverty crises, there is increasing growth in insecurity. With rising levels of poverty, Nigeria’s security may continue to be hampered. Also, poverty hampers human health which in turn limits productivity. It is thus necessary to address the poverty crises in Nigeria.
Strategy for Poverty Reduction
It is important that Nigerian governments rethink their strategy towards reducing poverty. There is room to develop more effective solutions. This will need an understanding that poverty is a structural problem.
The variation in poverty levels across states shows a uniform strategy will not produce desired results. Rather, poverty reduction strategies should have individual state and regional outlook. This would improve effectiveness and ensure that proposed solutions meet specific local needs.
To achieve real changes, there must be a synergy between social and economic sub-systems. For example, deliberate public and private sector partnership are key. Likewise, national and subnational governments must work together to improve the poverty indicators.
