The Menace of Poverty and the Challenges of Public Policy Making in Nigeria

This study contends that poverty is a global phenomenon and no nation is immune to the scourge it is capable of causing especially when determined and clear policy measures are not put in place to check the menace. The objectives that interrogates the nerves of this discourse is to assess the rate of poverty in Nigeria as well as examine the role of government in poverty eradication. Also, to identify the various initiatives that governments in Nigeria have put in place since the pre; through and the post Structural Adjustment Programme era of the nation. Findings from the study reveals that attitudinal response and approach of both the government and the governed is appalling. Also, there exist a sharp disconnect between the government and the governed which has resulted into policy formulations that fail to meet the yearning, demand and desire of the people. Meanwhile, it was established that political and policy instability, poor targeting mechanism and inadequate coordination among the existing three tiers of government have done harm to programme implementation. The paper makes contribution by providing information and it adopt secondary source of data gathering. It concludes by recommending strengthened relationship/ communication between the governments and the governed to ensure proper and adequate policies that will meet their targets are made as well as enforcement of initiatives of governments directed at reducing poverty.