ABSTRACT

Several policies and programs have been designed and implemented to tackle the scourge of poverty and hunger in Nigeria over the years. This work is on the assessment of the implementation of poverty eradication programme under the MDGs in Kano State. In Nigeria, from independence in 1960 to date, a series of policies and programs have been designed and implemented to tackle the scourge of poverty and hunger by different regimes. Some of such policies include Green Revolution, National Directorate of Employment, Better Life Programme, Family Support Programme, Family Economic Advancement Programme, Poverty Alleviation Programme, among others. The study use Prebendalism theory as theoretical frame of reference. The administration of questionnaire of 300 sampled respondents and specialized interview as well as secondary sources were used as major methods for data collection. The analysis was presented in tabular forms using frequencies and percentages. Two assumptions were generated and analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods. The study finds that the major factors that militated against the implementation of poverty eradication under the MDGs in Kano State include corruption and mismanagement among government officials, lack of awareness on the part of the public of the programme, shortage of fund from government and donor agencies to support the programme, lack of accurate data of people affected by poverty, poor monitoring and evaluation among other factors. Hence, it is recommended among others that communities and individuals to benefit from a particular project are suppose to be involved in planning, execution and monitoring of such projects. Likewise, peculiarities of different communities need to be taken into account in designing these projects in order to provide poverty eradication programs that will fit different communities. The MDAs, private organizations and civil societies/ organizations must be more committed in providing pro-poor projects. It is also recommended that both federal, states and local governments, private sectors and civil societies should increase their active participation toward achieving the MDGs goals of poverty reduction even beyond 2015. Also, Proper education and enlightenment need to be provided in the study area on the roles and targets of MDGs in poverty eradication.

Keywords: Poverty, Poverty Eradication, MDGs, Development, Implementation.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General Background

One of the realities of the world is that most of the countries suffering from poverty

are underdeveloped ones. More than 1.2 billion people or about 20 percent of the

world‟s population survive on less than US $1 per day. (Shetty,2005). Most of such

people are in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Wealth is concentrated on the hand of

few countries and individuals. The UNDP in its March (2005) report documented that

7 richest people in the world have assets that exceeded the combined Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) of the 41 less developed countries (UNDP, 2005).

In order to address the problems of poverty and other socio-economic challenges

facing the developing nations, the United Nations Organization (UNO) at the dawn of

the new millennium organized the Millennium summit in September, 2000. During

the summit, the world leaders signed the millennium declaration in which they firmly

pledged to free their fellow human beings from abject and dehumanizing conditions

of extreme poverty, illiteracy and diseases. Specifically, the leaders identified eight

(8) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by the year 2015. These

eight goals originated from the Millennium Declaration 2000       which states that;

every individual has dignity, and hence, the right to freedom, equality, and a basic

standard of living that include freedom from hunger and violence. (Human

Development Report, 2003). MDGs serve as common platform of action for the

realization of social, economic, political, cultural and ecological rights for all,

especially the poor and the marginalized segment of the world population namely

women and children.

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In Nigeria, from independence in 1960 to date, the most pathetic feature of Nigerian

society is that majority of its population are living in a state of destitution, while the

remaining relatively insignificant minority are living in affluences. These relatives do

not reflect the geographical spread of resources endowment; rather it is a product of

classical greed, injustice, poor leadership and selfishness, which is beyond any

rational principle.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

Nigeria is a country of paradox with wide spread poverty in the midst of plenty. Long

years of military rule, corruption and poor policies combined with rent seeking culture

have left the country with high levels of poverty and low access to social services. The

country is a mono cultural economy with oil contributing 99 percent of export revenues,

78 percent of government revenues and 39 percent of GDP, (CDD, 2014).

Since independence, the level of poverty in Nigeria has been increasing in astronomical

proportion. According to the Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) now National Bureau of

Statistics (NBS), for example, about 15 percent of the 56 million people in Nigeria were

poor at independence. By 1980 this figure had risen to 28 percent out of the 89 million

populations. By 1985 the extent of poverty was about 48 percent, among 92 million

although it dropped to 43 percent, out of 104 million by 1992. However, by 1996 poverty

incidence in the country was 66 percent or 76.6 millions out of the population of 110

millions. B