Findings from a recent multidimensional poverty study assessing how individuals escape from or fall back into poverty across six states representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones have revealed alarming trends stemming from ongoing poverty crises in Nigeria, experts say.
Conducted by the Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), with support from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex, and funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the two-year research titled Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) shows an intergenerational trend in poverty.
Executive Director, dRPC, Dr. Judith-Ann Walker, said that the study, which aimed at enhancing social assistance for vulnerable populations in crisis situations, shows chronic poverty in communities understudied, with poverty being passed on to generations.
She stated this while moderating a BASIC panel discussion hosted by the dRPC on the sidelines of the Nigeria Economic Summit (NES) in Abuja.
“We are particularly interested in chronic poverty or generational poverty from one generation to another because there are several communities where this is a phenomenon. Parents are in poverty, children are in poverty, and the next generation is also in poverty,” she said.
Dr. Walker explained that, “The BASIC research programme is designed to inform policy on how to effectively support those affected by recurrent shocks, protracted conflict, and forced displacement. We have been in the field, and we have collected data and developed significant research reports looking at the dimensions of poverty.
“We are tracking the dimensions of poverty using qualitative data analysis approaches and data collection approaches and are coming up with recommendations and research reports that will inform policy.”
Speaking further on the study, Projects Director of the Centre, Dr. Stanley Ukpai, said that the study presents critical findings on the impacts of the rise in the spate of kidnappings, terror attacks, climate change, and internal displacements on vulnerable populations.
On the poverty challenge present in the sample population, he said, “Two years ago, we returned to the same locations to evaluate the life histories of individuals and their poverty trajectories. The findings are concerning.
“While some aspects remain unchanged, we’re witnessing the emergence of new poverty trends linked to communal conflicts and climate change, forcing people to relocate.”
He said the research particularly focused on two states, Borno and Benue, to conduct a crisis trajectory study.
“In Benue, we identified recurring issues such as the farmer-herder conflicts and seasonal flooding. The government’s response appears insufficient to address these ongoing challenges.
“For instance, the shrinking of the Lake Chad Basin has led herders to move southward, often clashing with farmers during harvest,” Dr. Ukpai explained.
He adds that, “Due to displacement, children are increasingly out of school and vulnerable to trafficking as they seek jobs, which can often lead to crime.
“Furthermore, we are seeing troubling incidents of sexual violence and organ harvesting as desperate individuals attempt to survive and escape poverty.”
Using the Delphi methodology, the study highlighted a persistent lack of preparedness among government and civil society regarding these crises.
It further emphasises the dire consequences of these conflicts, with many communities displaced into Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.
Consultant and lecturer with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Dr. Henry Mang, said, “What this study tried to do was to look at people who are within the context of really, really poor. Poverty in itself has an intersectionality, from stealing to violent attacks, to banditry, to communal clashes, to flooding.
“All of these things intersect to create poverty, and until poverty is looked at from the perspective of all of these intersections, we’ll continue to just dole out handouts to people.”
