The Lifted and Left-behind: An Analysis of Poverty Dynamics in Nigeria

SINCE the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for transforming the world by 2030 were adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, member-states of the world body, including Nigeria, have initiated various strategic policy interventions to achieve the set goals. In this edition of the SDGs Monitor Journal, we assess Nigeria's implementation of two of the 17 global goals – Zero Poverty (SDG 1) and Gender Equality (SDG 5). After an in-depth assessment of progress towards SDG 1, we find that instead of being on course to attain the zero poverty goal, poverty is rising in the country. Our review shows that despite the measures taken by the Nigerian government to reduce poverty, a large proportion of Nigerians still live below the poverty line. The 2018 World Data Lab report, which indicates that Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the highest number of the extremely poor, has raised fears that SDG 1 which seeks to end extreme poverty by 2030 is unlikely to be met. Therefore, the focus of the first research in this edition is the dynamics of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria, using the 2011 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS4) and 2016 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS5) datasets. The result of a disaggregated analysis of multidimensional poverty shows that compared to the south, poverty is more concentrated among households in the northern part of Nigeria ravaged by the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The study written by our two consultants, Dr. Joseph O. Ogebe of the University of Ibadan and Dr. Adedeji P.Adeniran of the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), recommends that pro-poor programmes aimed at lifting people out of poverty should focus more on deprived households in rural areas, especially those in the laggingbehind geo-political regions in Nigeria. The second research by our consultant on gender, Ms. Maria Glover, project leader of the Impact Investors Foundation, focuses on the journey towards achieving Gender Equality (SDG 5) in Nigeria. Our review finds that although Nigeria has devised several national policies, and has signed and ratified numerous international conventions, treaties and protocols on discrimination against women, the country has failed to live up to either its national or its international commitments. It also finds that there is continuing discrimination against women in its legal system and the survival of critical factors such as patriarchal norms, customs, traditions, and religious belief systems. According to the study, these factors pose a threat to achieving SDG 5. To put Nigeria on the path to attaining SDG 5, the study recommends that the government should increase its efforts to combat the issue from its root causes and by so doing, ensure the full participation of its female populace in the process of nation-building. It is a bumper package. Happy reading