Alleviation or Politicization of Poverty in Africa? A Critique of Nigeria’s Social Investments Programs under Buhari-led Administration, 2015-2020
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Published:
Aug 30, 2021
Keywords:
Nigeria, National Development, Politicization, Poverty, Social Investment
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Abstract
The study interrogates the politics of poverty alleviation amidst the prevalence of poverty in Africa, focusing on Nigeria. Nigeria currently ranks among the poor countries in the world. While many studies have examined aspects of poverty mitigation within the national development frameworks, the politics underlying such endeavors have been under-explored. This study narrows this gap by investigating how politicians bastardize social investment programs through tokenish material 'hand-outs' designed to serve immediate political ends. The study is based on textual and contextual analysis of secondary sources, as complemented by corroborated anecdotes. Appropriating Marxian production theory, the study posits that the prevalence of poverty in Africa has been occasioned by macro and micro-level politics. At the macro-level, the balance of trade cum balance of payment asymmetries has reproduced conditions that perpetuate dependency and underdevelopment in the developing countries in general and Nigeria in particular. At the micro-level, local politicians trivialize social investments by exploiting the poverty situation of the populace for electoral gains through ad hoc material 'hand-outs.' This has weakened the social investment policy environment and alienated the citizenry in decision-making concerning wealth creation, distribution, and social investments priorities. The study recommends mainstreaming social investment governance into national development programing for sustainability.
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Anthony Chinedu Ugwu, & Dr. Al Chukwuma Okoli. (2021). Alleviation or Politicization of Poverty in Africa? A Critique of Nigeria’s Social Investments Programs under Buhari-led Administration, 2015-2020. PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development (PJGD), 2(2), 206-231. https://doi.org/10.46404/panjogov.v2i2.3236
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References
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Morel, N, Bruno, P. & Palme, J. (eds.) Towards a Social Investment Welfare State? Bristol: The Policy Press.
Ngwu, E.C. (2012). The state and public policymaking in Nigeria: A study of the formulation
and implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) policy, 2000 – 2011. Unpublished Ph.D Seminar. Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
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Nigeria. Abuja: National Social Investment Office.
Obanya, P. (2010). Planning and Managing Meaningful Access to Education: The Nigerian
Experience. Paper presented at Department of Education Open Seminar Series, 2010 of Centre for International Education University of Sussex on January 25.
Okoli, AC & Orinya, S. (2014). Political opportunism and crisis of governance in Nigeria:
Implications for sustainable statecraft and development. International Journal of Development and Sustainability, 7(4):1477-1487.
Okoli, A. C. & Ugwu, A. C. (2016). Materialism-cum-commodification of delegacy: A political economy of vote aale in 2014 PDP governorship primary in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. FULafia Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(1): 51-68.
Olaf van-Vliet & Chen W. (2015). Social investment and poverty reduction: A comparative
analysis across fifteen European countries. Journal of Social Policy• DOI: 10.1017/S0047279415000070.
Onuba, I. (2019). FG’s social safety program gulps N471bn in three years.
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Development and Change, 35(2): 223–246.
Rawlings, L. B., & Rubio, G. M. (2005). Evaluating the impact of conditional cash transfer
programs. The World Bank Research Observer, 20(1): 29-55.
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(Briefing note for countries on the 2018 Statistical Update [Nigeria]). Geneva: United Nations Development Program.
Vandenbroucke, F. & Vleminckx, K. (2011). Disappointing poverty trends: is the social and
investment state to blame? Journal of European Social Policy 21(5): 450-471.
Yomi, K. (2015). Nigeria has some of the world’s highest paid lawmakers and this start-up wants
to slash their pay. Quartz Africa. https://qz.com/africa/417192/nigeria-has-some-of-the-worlds-highest-paid-lawmakers-and-this-start-up-is-trying-to-slash-their-pay/(retrieved July 3,2021).
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Awotokun, K. (2020). The Nigeria’s presidentialism and the burden of profligacy in an inchoate constitutional democracy. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2(5); DOI: https://doi.org/10.36941/mjss-2020-0053.
Babalola, T. (2018). Poverty tracker: Raising the red flag. Proshare Economy. 1(18): 1-32.
Bardhan, PK & Mookherjee, D. (2000). Capture and governance at local and national
levels. American Economic Review, 90(2): 135–139
Barrera-Osorio, F., Bertrand, M., Linden, L., & Perez-Calle, F. (2009). Improving the design of conditional transfer programs: Evidence from a randomized education experiment in Colombia. Unpublished manuscript.
Bebbington, A. (2006). Social movements and the politicization of chronic poverty policy. CPCR Working Paper 63. London: Institute of Development Policy and Management.
Britto, T. (2005). Recent Trends in the Development Agenda of Latin America: An Analysis of Conditional Cash Transfers. Brazil: Ministry of Social Development.
Busso, S. (2017). The de-politicization of social policy at the time of social investment: Mechanisms and distinctive features. The Open Journal of Socio-political Studies 10(2): 421-447.
Cantillon, B. (2011). The paradox of the social investment state: growth, employment and poverty in the Lisbon era. Journal of European Social Policy, 21(5): 432-449.
Centre for Democracy and Development (2019). An assessment of the effectiveness of government policies and programs on economic growth and development. https://media.africaportal.org/documents/An_assessment_of_the_effectiveness_of_government_policies.pdf (retrieved August 18, 2020).
Corluy, V. &Vandenbroucke, F. (2014). Individual employment, household employment and risk of poverty in the European Union: A decomposition analysis, In Cantillon, B., & F. Vandenbroucke (eds.). Reconciling Work and Poverty Reduction: How Successful Are European Welfare States? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cronert, A. & Palme, J. (2017). Approaches to Social Investment and Their Implications for Poverty in Sweden and the European Union: Global challenges. CROP/UiB Global Working paper series. Axel Cronert/ Uppsala University.
Darmawan, R. (n.d). Elite capture in urban society: Evidence from Indonesia. Draft paper, Department of Economics. University of Goettingen. Germany: Platz der GöttingerSieben.
De Beer, P. (2007). Why work is not a panacea: a decomposition analysis of EU-15 countries. Journal of European Social Policy, 17(4): 375-388.
De la Porte, C. & Jacobsson, K. (2012). Social Investment or recommodification? Assessing the
employment policies of the EU member states, In Morel, N, Bruno, P. & Palme, J. (eds.) Towards a Social Investment Welfare State? Bristol: The Policy Press.
Denrele, A. (2013). Nigerian-lawmakers-are-the-highest-paid-in-the-world. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/nigerian-lawmakers-are-the-highest-paid-in-the-world/ August 25, 2013 (retrieved August 11, 2020).
Development Bank of Nigeria (2017). Assessing the Financing Gap of Nigerian MSMEs and Emerging Corporates. Abuja: Federal Government of Nigeria.
Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning (2017). Economic Recovery & Growth Plan, 2017-2020. Abuja: Federal Government of Nigeria.
Easton, D. (1965). A Systems Analysis of Political Life. New York: Wiley.
Esping-Andersen, G., Gallie, D., Hemerijck, A. & Myles, J. (2002). Why We Need a New
Welfare State. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Filmer, D., & Schady, N. (2009a). Are there diminishing returns to transfer size in conditional
cash transfers? Policy Research Working Paper 4999. Washington DC: World Bank.
Filmer, D., & Schady, N. (2009b). School enrollment, selection and test scores. Policy Research
Working Paper 4998. Washington DC: World Bank.
Fiszbein, A., Schady, N., Ferreira, F., Grosh, M., Kelleher, N., Olinto, P., & Skoufias, E. (2009).
Conditional Cash Transfers: Reducing Present and Future Poverty. Washington DC: World Bank.
Garcia, M. & Moore, C. (2012). Cash Dividend: The Rise of Cash Transfer Programs in Sub-
Saharan Africa. Washington D. C: World Bank.
Giddens, A. (1998). The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy. Cambridge: Polity
Press.
Glewwe, P., & Olinto, P. (2004). Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on
Schooling: An experimental Analysis of Honduras' PRAF Program. Unpublished manuscript.
Harrisson, J. (2007). Bringing politics back into poverty analysis: Why understanding social
relations matters more for policy on chronic poverty than measurement. CPRC Working Paper 77. Vancouver: School for International Studies. Simon Fraser University.
Idyorough, E. A. (2019). Lamentations on the politics of social welfare in Nigeria, In Kida, M. I. & G. A. Genyi (Eds). Delivering Democratic Promises in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges. Makurdi: Gwatex Publishers.
Igwe, O. (2005). Politics and Globe Dictionary. Aba: Eagle Publishers.
Isenyo, G. (2019). There is corruption in N-SIP program –Magu https://punchng.com/there-is-corruption-in-n-sip-program-magu/ (retrieved July 3, 2021).
Jimoh, A. and Olanrewaju A. O. (2009). Nigeria, Capitalism and the Question of Equity. Anthropologist, II (4)
Kazeem, Y. (2018). Nigeria has become the poverty capital of the world. Retrieved from:
https://qz.com/africa/1313380/nigerias-has-the-highest-rate-of-extreme-poverty-globally/ (accessed on: 09/09/2019).
Musgrave, M.K. & Wong, S. (2016). Towards a more nuanced theory of elite capture in
development projects. The importance of context and theories of power. Journal of Sustainable Development, 9(3): 87-103.
Nelson, M. & Stephens, J. D. (2012). Do social investment policies produce better jobs? In
Morel, N, Bruno, P. & Palme, J. (eds.) Towards a Social Investment Welfare State? Bristol: The Policy Press.
Ngwu, E.C. (2012). The state and public policymaking in Nigeria: A study of the formulation
and implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) policy, 2000 – 2011. Unpublished Ph.D Seminar. Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
NSIO (2018). Investing in our people. A brief on the National Social Investment Programs in
Nigeria. Abuja: National Social Investment Office.
Obanya, P. (2010). Planning and Managing Meaningful Access to Education: The Nigerian
Experience. Paper presented at Department of Education Open Seminar Series, 2010 of Centre for International Education University of Sussex on January 25.
Okoli, AC & Orinya, S. (2014). Political opportunism and crisis of governance in Nigeria:
Implications for sustainable statecraft and development. International Journal of Development and Sustainability, 7(4):1477-1487.
Okoli, A. C. & Ugwu, A. C. (2016). Materialism-cum-commodification of delegacy: A political economy of vote aale in 2014 PDP governorship primary in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. FULafia Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(1): 51-68.
Olaf van-Vliet & Chen W. (2015). Social investment and poverty reduction: A comparative
analysis across fifteen European countries. Journal of Social Policy• DOI: 10.1017/S0047279415000070.
Onuba, I. (2019). FG’s social safety program gulps N471bn in three years.
https://punchng.com/fgs-social-safety-program-gulps-n471bn-in-three-years/
(retrieved July 3,2021).
Onah, R. C. & Olise, C. N. (2019). National Social Investment Program (NSIP) and sustainable poverty reduction in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects. Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 24(10): 20-31.
Ozor, C. O (2008). Development administration and the incorporation of less-developed
countries into the global capitalist system, In Obi, E. A. et al. (eds). Readings on Comparative Public Administration. Onitsha: Bookpoint Educational Limited.
Oxfam, (2017). Inequality in Nigeria. https://www-cdn.oxfam.org/s3fs-public/file_attachments/cr-inequality-in-nigeria-170517-en.pdf
Platteau, J. (2004). Monitoring elite capture in community-driven development.
Development and Change, 35(2): 223–246.
Rawlings, L. B., & Rubio, G. M. (2005). Evaluating the impact of conditional cash transfer
programs. The World Bank Research Observer, 20(1): 29-55.
Report, D. F. (2018). Commitment to reducing inequality index. Retrieved February 2, 2020,
from https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/the-commitment-to-reducing-inequality-index-2018/: https://www.oxfamamerica.org
Rosenau, P. V. (2003). The competition paradigm: America's Romance with Conflict, Contest,
and commerce. Lanham/ Maryland/ Oxford/ England: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Samson, M. (2013). Development Co-operation Report. Ending Poverty. OECD.
SparkNotes Editors. (2005). SparkNote on Karl Marx (1818–1883). Retrieved October 23, 2019,
from http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/marx/
UNDP .(2018). Human Development Indices and Indicators: 2018 Statistical Update
(Briefing note for countries on the 2018 Statistical Update [Nigeria]). Geneva: United Nations Development Program.
Vandenbroucke, F. & Vleminckx, K. (2011). Disappointing poverty trends: is the social and
investment state to blame? Journal of European Social Policy 21(5): 450-471.
Yomi, K. (2015). Nigeria has some of the world’s highest paid lawmakers and this start-up wants
to slash their pay. Quartz Africa. https://qz.com/africa/417192/nigeria-has-some-of-the-worlds-highest-paid-lawmakers-and-this-start-up-is-trying-to-slash-their-pay/(retrieved July 3,2021).
World Bank (2018). World Poverty Clock. New York: World Bank.
World Bank (2020). Nigeria releases new report on poverty and inequality in the country.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/lsms/brief/nigeria-releases-new-report-on-poverty-and-inequality-in-country (retrieved July 3, 2021).