Poverty In Nigeria: Causes, Manifestations And Alleviation Strategies

One of the critical concerns in Nigeria is how to alleviate poverty in the country. The general prevalence of poverty in Nigeria is paradoxical because the country is one of the biggest oil-producing countries in the world. A 1999 World Bank report for instance showed that some 70 per cent of the population lives below the bread line - usually considered as living on less than US$1.00 a day. This raises a number of very important questions: What are really responsible for the wide prevalence of poverty in Nigeria in the midst of plenty? How is poverty manifested in the country? What alleviation strategies are in place? How effective are they? And what are the implications of all these for the country's democracy project, political stability, nation-building and development discourse? Contributors to this volume address these questions and provide insights into some of the central issues in the discussion of poverty, including how the poor themselves struggle to cope or adapt to their condition. Using multidisciplinary perspectives, the contributors critique the current alleviation strategies and recommend more viable and better- targeted approaches that will sharply reduce the incidence of poverty in Nigeria. _____________________________________________ * Mustapha C. Duze is a Professor of Sociology at Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. He did his undergraduate studies in Sociology at the University of Ife, Nigeria, and holds a PhD in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Professor Duze also holds a Diploma in Survey Sampling from the Institute of Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Abor, U.S.A He was Head of the Department of Sociology at Bayero University(1994-1999) and the Director of the General Studies Unit of the same University (2002 to 2006). He has published widely in scholarly journals and has co-authored several books. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Bayero University's Journal of interdisciplinary Studies. *Dr. Habu Mohammed holds a PhD in Political Science from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. He is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano-Nigeria. He has published widely in the areas of political economy, political development, peace studies, human rights, civil society and democratization. He is a co-editor of Readings in Social Science Research (2006) and editor of Concepts and Issues in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution (2005). He is a Member of the Editorial Board of the faculty-based Journal of Social and Management Studies (JOSAMS). He was also a Fulbright Fellow at the Programme of African Studies (PAS), Northwestern University, Illinois, U.S.A. * Professor Ibrahim Ahmed Kiyawa did his undergraduate studies at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom and a doctorate degree in Development Economics, from Maxwell School, Syracuse University, New York, USA. Professor Kiyawa was a Dean of the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Bayero University, Kano-Nigeria for a long time, and Head of the Department of Economics, which he founded in 1976. Professor Kiyawa has over 30 years of teaching and research experience. He has published extensively in national and international journals and has edited a number of books, including Management of the Nigerian Economy under Democratic Administration (2000), Accountability, Finance, and Financial Disciplinein Local Government Administration (1999), Topics on the Nigerian Economy (1988), and Export Promotion as a Strategy for Industrialization (1988). Prof. Kiyawa is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Social and Management Studies ( JOSAMS).