Leveraging Social Protection Programmes for Poverty Reduction in Nigeria

Abstract

Social protection programme is conceived in Africa to be a magic wand that mitigates all socio-economic maladies countries face. It is this understanding that led to United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and subsequently Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) launched especially to reduce poverty in the global south and the world at large. Poverty is singled out as one of the major drawbacks of development in the global south in general and Nigeria in particular. It is as a result of this that the developed north earmarked 0.7% of their revenue as aids and grants to be sent to the countries of the global south, including Nigeria, for the alleviation of their poverty. However, in spite of such packages, global south countries especially Nigeria, have remained impoverished. Several factors are responsible for the ineffective outcomes of the social protection programmes (SPP); such factors include inept leadership, illiteracy, overpopulation, corruption, social seclusion and environmental scarcity. The latter results from air, land and water pollution, desertification and deforestation; all of these distort food production chain and heighten food insecurity and conflict. There are interconnections between inept leadership, food insecurity, conflict and poverty in Nigeria. This paper concludes that the legions of social protection programmes aimed at reducing poverty in Nigeria would continued to be a mirage until there is a total overhaul of Nigeria’s leadership selection process and the enthronement of genuine people-driven democracy as well as accountability, transparency, and probity in all levels of governance in the country.