The Face of Poverty in Nigeria

Description

Until very recently, all international statistical data proclaimed that “Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world”. (It has been overtaken recently by India). It was said that Nigeria has more people living in poverty than any other country in the world. Over 90 million people in Nigeria, nearly 50% of its population, are living in poverty. The Federal Office of Statistics defines poverty as anyone earning less than N137,430 per year or about  N377 per day. But what do these statistics mean in human terms? How do those living in poverty cope with their situation? How do they manage to survive? How do they see their lives? What are their hopes and expectations for the future? And what does this mean for the future of a democratic Nigeria? In this Report we discuss some of the key issues involved in considering the question of poverty. We then present the results of intensive interviews of individuals living in difficult circumstances from all parts of Nigeria, in both rural and urban areas, and hear through their own voices the problems and issues that matter most to them. We attempt to look at poverty through the eyes of those experiencing it and give it a human face