The Upsurge of Poverty: Obstacle to the Achievement of the Millenium Development Goals in Nigeria.

Abstract

The paper highlights the upsurge of poverty and the challenges of achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria. A purview of the secondary data reveals that a significant proportion of Nigeria’s population is poor. This is a shocking paradox especially when viewed against its enormous wealth. Situating the discourse within the positive feedback and the culture of poverty framework, the paper maintains that poverty breeds poverty in Nigeria and this metamorphosed in a force of culture which is transmitted from one generation to another. This culture is further reinforced and sustained by bad governance, corruption, unemployment and impotent poverty reduction programmes. Given the rising poverty profile, the Nigerian government keyed into the Millennium Development Goals-a new global partnership to eradicate extreme poverty and its correlates by 2015. It is disheartening to note that, with several years of implementing the Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria, poverty still persists. This no doubt, poses a threat to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. The paper recommends, among others, the formulation and implementation of policies that can overcome the institutional constraints that militate against actualization of the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating poverty in Nigeria within the targeted time frame.

Keywords: Nigeria, Poverty, Development goals, Corruption, Bad governance.