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

The new development strategy accords with
the tenets of the human development
paradigm in the following ways:
• It promotes local participation in
development management.
• It effectively discontinues the top
down approach of development
management and upholds the bottomup
approach.
• It ensures value for money in service
delivery.
• It makes development peoplecentered,
with people being the means
and end of true development.
The human development paradigm is also
relevant to the Federal Government
strategy because it embodies the following
concerns:
• Development must put people at the
centre.
• The purpose of development isto
enlarge all human choices, not just
income. People must have the
freedom to do what they want to do
and be what they want to be.
• Human development is concerned
with both building human capabilities
through investment in people and
utilizing these capabilities fully for
growth and employment.
• Human development emphasizes
equality, sustainability, productivity
and empowerment. Issues such as
gender inequality, regional inequality,
social and political exclusion,
participation, human rights, the rule
of law and basic freedoms must be
addressed.
• Human development defines the ends
of development and analyses sensible
options for achieving them.
The application of the human development
approach in the Niger Delta could provide
new insights into development planning for
that region. Among other things, by
recognizing that the real wealth of the
Niger Delta is its people, the right
environment will be created for policies that
go beyond sheer economic preoccupations
and gains in order to enrich people's lives.
The section that follows elaborates the
analytical framework of the report, starting
with a description of the practical tools and
approaches of the preparatory process.
METHODOLOGY
Data Collection
The data for this study came from both
primary and secondary sources. It was,
however, difficult to obtain all the data
required through these sources. To resolve
the problems created by this dearth of data,
standard techniques for interpolating
missing data were used, some of which are
presented in the report. Data were collected
from local and state governments.
Secondary Sources
Before data collection began, the report
team carried out an extensive literature
review and search for existing records.
Sources comprised local government
offices, relevant ministries, parastatals and
companies; books on development issues
in the Niger Delta; reports by nongovernmental
and community-based
organizations; annual reports of oil
companies and corporate organizations;
public institutions such as the Independent
National Electoral Commission, state
independent electoral commissions, the
NDDC and the Niger Delta Environmental
Survey (NDES); and the Internet. Other
national human development reports
prepared by UNDP and outputs by various
human rights organizations, including
Human Rights Watch, were consulted as
baseline resource materials.
Following an exhaustive search for existing
secondary data on the indicators of
interest, however, the data gaps were
daunting. For many of the indicators, data
were either not available at all at both the
state and local level, or available at the state
level only. Very few of the indicators had
data at the local level. To solve this
problem, primary sources were utilized.
Primary Sources
Primary data were obtained through
surveys and focus group discussions. One
hundred and fifty questionnaires (50 in
each senatorial district) were administered
in each of the nine states of the Niger
Delta, amounting to 1,350 collected from
the region overall. Specific information
(especially on the perceptions of research
subjects) was obtained from the nine states
of the Niger Delta on issues including
governance, poverty, sustainable
livelihoods, gender relationships, conflicts
18 NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT