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

Poverty has become
a way of life due to
economic stagnation,
unemployment,
poor quality of life
due to shortages of
essential goods and
facilities, an unhealthy
environment
and government
insensitivity.
The critical issue in the Niger Delta is not
only the increasing incidence of poverty,
but also the intense feeling among the
people of the region that they ought to do
far better. This is based on the considerable
level of resources in their midst, and
the brazen display and celebration of illgotten
wealth in Nigeria, most of which
derives from crude oil wealth. This to a
large extent explains why there is so much
frustration and indignation in the region.
The poverty rate based on self-assessment
(or a perception index) is much higher than
the data indicate—74.8 per cent in the
South-South zone, for example. The perception
of what poverty means is reflected
by the responses of various participants
in the focus group discussions conducted
for this report (see box 2.1). The World
Bank’s definition of poverty more or less
confirms people’s views (see box 2.2).
Even if poverty is measured as living on
less than US $1 a day, the true levels of
Box 2.1: Definition of Poverty by the People of the Niger Delta
Among the numerous descriptions of poverty offered by discussants
in the focus groups conducted to prepare this report, the following
descriptions are typical:
(a). “The poor person is one who cannot pay school fees for
his children; cannot meet any needs, including food; has
no farm land and cannot farm well; cannot take part in
age-grade activities (responsibilities that are specifically
designated to some age groups in communities); cannot
afford to send his children to school; wears tattered clothes;
is very lean; and has no house to live in. In short, a poor
person is one who has nothing. Consequently, he ‘has no
voice’ in the community.”
(b). “When you wake up hopeless as to where the next meal
is coming from… when you cannot attend certain functions
because you don’t have clothes …when your roof
leaks and you cannot change it…when you cannot travel
because the transport fares are high…and when the school
fees and allied demands are too much to bear…. Then
poverty is the cause.”
Source: ERML fieldwork 2005.
poverty in the region will still be underestimated.
During the preparation of this
report, focus groups maintained that poverty
had become very prevalent in their
localities and gave their opinions on the
reasons behind this trend. One discussion
made clear that poverty has become a way
of life due to economic stagnation; agricultural
underdevelopment from soil infertility;
unemployment; poor quality of
life due to shortages of essential goods,
facilities and money; isolation and poor
communication; government insensitivity;
and an unhealthy environment spreading
disease and malnutrition. Such conditions
influence most members of the affected
communities. It is not only income poverty
that is the problem, therefore, but also
the lack of access to social and physical
infrastructure. When poverty is measured
Box 2.2: Poverty as Defined by a
Multilateral Organization
Poverty is hunger. Poverty is being sick
and not being able to see a doctor.
Poverty is not having access to school
and not knowing how to read. Poverty
is not having a job, is fear for the
future, living one day at a time. Poverty
is losing a child to illness brought
about by unclean water. Poverty is
about powerlessness, lack of representation
in decision making in the
society and lack of freedom to express
oneself.
Poverty has many faces, changing
from place to place and across time,
and has been described in many ways.
Most often, poverty is a situation
people want to escape. So poverty is
a call to action—for the poor and the
wealthy alike—a call to change the
world so that many more may have
enough to eat, adequate shelter, access
to education and health, protection
from violence, and a voice in what
happens in their communities.
Source: The World Bank 2006, Poverty Net (http://
web.worldbank.org/)
2 The outcome of the poverty survey has been seriously debated, with the main thrust of the debate being that the evidence does not reflect
the reality on the ground. Besides, given the enormous resources that have been generated from the region, there was no reason for it to
experience even an iota of poverty.
36 NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT