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

in terms of this access, the level in the
Niger Delta is high.
While discussing poverty in this region, it is
important to appreciate that price regimes
for goods and services can be different
from those of most other regions. Prices
are often higher in remote oil-producing
communities, where they are tied to the
pricing of services in the oil and gas
industry and the much higher earnings of
oil sector workers. This erodes the
purchasing power of the ordinary person,
heightening inflation in the costs of basic
needs such as housing, transportation,
health care, education and food products.
In the absence of commodities and
services price surveys for various regions
and towns, it is imperative to look at the
gross earnings of people in the region
beyond the nominal statement of mean
income or the proportion of those living
on less than US $1 a day. If tied to
purchasing power, the actual poverty level
could be much higher.
A critical and realistic assessment of
poverty in the Niger Delta region should
focus attention on key considerations such
as access to health care, education, water,
transportation and other basic amenities of
life, as well as the extent to which people
are involved in decisions that affect them.
The facts revealed in chapter one about
water supply, housing and education, for
instance, point to the immense challenges
facing development and the provision of
social amenities as a critical support for
sustainable livelihoods. In addition, the oil
and gas industry has damaged farmlands
and fishing grounds, which has harmed
traditional occupations such as fishing,
farming, lumbering, crafts and small-scale
agro-based activities. But these livelihoods
have also become unattractive because of
weak earnings relative to the oil sector.
There is a need not only to revive the
traditional forms of work, given the
transient nature of the oil industry, but also
to give a wider spectrum of people
opportunities for survival through a more
diverse economy.
Poverty is a cross-cutting issue with numerous
dimensions. While it may be measured
in terms of the income or resources of an
individual, many of the conditions that
NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
perpetuate or alleviate poverty are at the
communal or societal level. Poverty in the
Niger Delta region encompasses the issues
of discrimination, neglect and the lack of
a voice. Another dimension is that the
people of this region have been excluded
from tapping into modern infrastructure,
even as the resources for transforming
other parts of the country have poured
out of the Niger Delta.
While poverty may seem to cause deprivation
and hinder individual development,
it is also the consequence of a number of
social and national factors, such as poor
governance and the exclusion of particular
social groups, including minority ethnic
groups, women and youth, from participation
in decision-making on matters
relating to their welfare. Other issues include
poor environmental quality and high
levels of pollution, conflict and lack of
security, threats to health and well-being
including HIV&AIDS, and unsustainable
livelihoods and unemployment.
THE REVENUE BASE OF HU-
MAN DEVELOPMENT
Oil wealth derived from the Niger Delta
region sustains the Nigerian Federation. Oil
revenues, in the form of crude oil and
gas exports, petroleum profits taxes and
royalties, and domestic crude oil sales accounted
for an average of 79.52 per cent
of the total revenues of the Federation
A realistic assessment
of poverty in the
delta needs to include
access to health care,
education, water and
other basic amenities,
as well as people’s involvement
in the decisions
that affect
their lives.
Poverty in the Niger
Delta region encompasses
the issues of
discrimination,
neglect and the lack
of a voice.
A man scooping water from a shallow well, a typical source of water in the Niger Delta
Oil wealth enriches
Nigeria as a country,
but it has not alleviated
the grinding poverty,
neglect and deprivation
in the region that
produces it.
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