Niger Delta Human Development Report - UNDP Nigeria - United ...

participants, is hard and tedious and wastes
time. Appropriate equipment would make
it easier to produce enough to sustain
people and alleviate poverty. One focus
group participant said:
An example of a local fishing gear in the Niger Delta
“We also need financial assistance to help us set
up companies like palm kernel oil factories, garri,
yam processing companies and rice mill factories.
We produce rice too. These are the things we need
in order to make life worth living in the area.”
On the whole, the importance of
education and continuous functional
training as catalysts for human capital
development and sustainable livelihoods
cannot be overstated. For young people,
computer literacy should be a priority so
that they can compete effectively in this
information age. Technical schools, like
the Petroleum Training Institute in Warri,
should be replicated in many parts of the
Niger Delta, preferably one per state.
Special attention should also be paid to
upgrading the skills of entrepreneurs in
the informal sector, which can multiply
impacts through increased production and
the absorption of labour. If the skills
acquired cannot be used for a better
livelihood, however, such efforts would
be wasted. An important way of ensuring
effective utilization of skills is facilitating
access to capital. The recently launched
Micro-Credit Policy, a partnership
between the Central Bank of Nigeria and
UNDP, could prove to be a major
NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
instrument for achieving this.
Another important human capital asset for
achieving sustainable livelihoods is people’s
motivation to build a better society. A
positive perspective is a strong force for
change and denotes a willingness to put
effort into improving local conditions.
Table 6.4 presents findings on views
concerning the future of the Niger Delta
region. The majority of the respondents
indicated that they believe the future is
bright, including full employment
opportunities, industrialization and
infrastructural development. This is an asset
that can be channeled into working towards
making that vision a reality.
A holistic approach to human capital
development in the Niger Delta should also
involve the oil and gas sector. This is
considered more fully later in this chapter.
Natural Capital
The Niger Delta has an enormously rich
natural endowment in the form of land,
water, forests and fauna. These assets,
however, have been subjected to extreme
degradation due to oil prospecting. For
many people, this loss has been a direct
route into poverty, as natural resources
have traditionally been primary sources of
sustenance. It is not possible therefore to
discuss sustainable livelihoods in the Niger
An important human
capital asset is people’s
motivation to build a
better society. People in
the Niger Delta believe
the future is bright.
A healthy environment
could support many
communities in the
delta, which could
become the food basket
of Nigeria if properly
managed.
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