Poverty in Nigeria

Two Nigerian girls © OneWorld TV

Nigeria’s potential to kickstart the sluggish progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in sub-Saharan Africa is as yet unfulfilled. The country continues to languish close to the bottom of the Human Development Index, with 54% of its population surviving on less than the international guideline for extreme poverty of $1 a day. Even by the government’s own benchmark which yields a lower figure of 35%, prospects for achieving the target of 21% for extreme poverty by 2015 appear unpromising. There is widening inequality in Nigeria and considerable regional variation in human development with indicators generally more favourable in the south than in the north.

Failure to register at birth more than a third of Nigeria’s children must be a factor contributing to difficulties in obtaining accurate human development data. Progress in education is one area of uncertainty. Introduced in 2002, the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme has ensured real improvement through its aspiration of free and compulsory education for the first 9 years. Whilst the government’s latest MDG progress report states that net primary enrolment is over 84%, Unicef gives a lower figure of 70%.

Nigeria's poverty reduction strategy for the period 2004-2007 was governed by the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). The performance of NEEDS has been described by the IMF as “generally remarkable” which implies that its benchmarks were not well targeted. A new NEEDS2 claims to be better aligned with the MDGs and each of the 36 states should report against a subsidiary version of the strategy. An unusual government post of Special Adviser to the President on Millennium Development Goals has been established to improve coordination of development plans between the federal and state governments. The holder of the post, Mrs Amina Ibrahim, has estimated that the cost of achieving the Goals in Nigeria exceeds $5 billion pa, a figure far above current resources.

Health and HIV/AIDS in Nigeria

Olayinka Jegede-Ekpe, Nigerian HIV activist © unknown / Prerana (Associate CEDPA)

Budget shortfalls unquestionably contribute to the alarming health statistics. Half of the child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa and a tenth of the world’s maternal mortality occur in Nigeria, the underlying indicators barely improved since the baseline year of 1990. Low immunisation and slow progress in providing access to improved sources of drinking water and safe sanitation are contributory factors, although reliable statistics are hard to find. Nigeria is one of only 4 countries where polio is regarded as endemic. Per capita government spending on health is believed to be the lowest in Africa. Facilities are poor and patients face demands for fees from underpaid staff.

Poor quality of healthcare also slows down progress towards the MDG for HIV/AIDS. Although prevalence has fallen to 4.4% from a peak of 5.8%, Nigeria still has 1.3 million AIDS orphans and nearly four million people living with HIV/AIDS. However the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) has coordinated strategic plans at state level which aspire to provide universal access, care and treatment by 2010. By the end of 2006, over 200 specialist centres provided free anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to 135,000 patients, only about a quarter of those in need but helping to break down the stigma attached to the disease.
Food Security in Nigeria

Until the exploitation of oil reserves began in the 1980s, Nigeria’s economy was largely dependent on agriculture. Although only a tiny proportion of the population benefits from the oil boom, investment in agriculture has been allowed to decline to the extent that its productivity lags behind even some of the poorest countries in the region. Subsistence farmers work on rainfed plots of less than one hectare, restricted to local markets by decaying infrastructure and with little access to credit. The proportion of children aged under 5 who are underweight has fallen from 36% in 1990 only to 29% in 2005.

Nigeria is now substantially dependent on imported staples of rice and wheat, so much so that in 2006 it was the largest customer in the world for US wheat exports. Unlike its neighbours, the country is in a position to pay the higher prices now prevailing but this good fortune does not extend to poor rural households who are faced with massive price increases for inputs to their farms and for food needs beyond their own produce. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that 65% of the population is food insecure and the real test will come whenever inadequate rainfall or flooding impacts the harvest, which falls due towards the end of each year. A major programme of subsidised fertiliser is promised to support the 2009 harvest.
Climate Change in Nigeria

Nigerian wetlands are under threat © WWF-Canon/Meg Gawler / WWF International

A more insidious cause of the decline in agricultural productivity is desertification which has taken hold of 35% of previously cultivable land in the 11 northern states, its cause being a mix of a warming climate and deforestation for wood fuel, the latter accounting for an alarming 400,000 hectares each year.

Climate change is unequivocally behind the threat to Nigeria’s coastal regions posed by rising sea levels. Ironically the Niger Delta is also the location of the oil reserves but this region’s low-lying terrain criss-crossed with waterways makes it extremely vulnerable to flooding. The city of Lagos was cited in a high level report to the Nairobi climate change conference in November 2006, suggesting that as many as 1.3 million people could be affected.

Gas flared from oil wells, Nigeria © Project Underground

Flaring of the natural gas that is emitted as a by-product of oil extraction accounts for 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in sub-Saharan Africa, simultaneously creating a hellfire environment for people living in the oil delta. Nigerian communities have brought a successful legal action against the government, the state petroleum company, and foreign oil corporations--including Shell, Exxon, Chevron, Total, and Agip - for violating environmental regulations and putting local citizens at risk from toxic chemicals in gas flares. Oil companies are resisting the court order but the government is striving to put in place legislation to halt gas flaring from the end of 2008.
The Economy in Nigeria

Violence and theft in the Delta region have cut back oil production by up to 25%, a serious problem for a country so dependent on this source of earnings which accounts for 95% of foreign exchange and 85% of government revenues. The struggle to diversify export markets is a constant refrain in economic plans.

Member of Islamic Sisters Association receives ICT classes © Teachers Without Borders

Apart from the bloated and lethargic civil service which exhausts 10% of GDP, the fundamental obstacle to business development is Nigeria's abysmal electricity supply, now described as a state of emergency by the president. Nigeria's capacity has remained unchanged over the last decade and meets about 5% of estimated demand. The ambitious target now is to quadruple capacity by 2010, perhaps by exploiting the oil companies’ unwanted gas, and doubtless engaging the help of Chinese, Russians and other suitors bidding for shares of Nigeria’s potential wealth. The country also holds vast coal reserves.

Nigeria's economy has been on a sounder footing since the G7 Edinburgh summit of 2005 went out of its way to negotiate a special debt relief package, The country's external debt has as a result reduced from 60% to barely 5% of GDP. The yo-yo behaviour of world oil prices is a mixed blessing; in the wake of the financial crash, the government has been forced to modify its ambitious 2009 budget.



The OneWorld Nigeria Guide was first published in this format in November 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Akande Adebowale.

Help us to include all developing countries
Many countries are missing from our range of Country Briefings. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps as part of our efforts to improve understanding of the issues faced by developing countries. We receive no funding for the production of our educational resources. Every small contribution helps!