Issues, Concepts and Theory of Poverty in Nigeria

Administrators usually prefer to think of themselves as “men of action.†Perhaps they are. But one thing is certain, namely, that every decision arrived at by such men of public affairs is informed by their own “theories†of the phenomenon - to which the policies and measures deriving from it are addressed. And this is so even when the administrators fail to make explicit the theoretical basis of their decisions. It is so even when they themselves are not fully and consciously aware of the theories that they are using. Furthermore, any policy decision is only as good as the theory which informed its formulations; and wrong theories of a problem can produce only wrong “diagnosis†of it and wrong decisions as to how to deal with it. This is true whether the particular problem in question is lung cancer or mass poverty. 1 The most serious social problem undermining progress in the world today is poverty. It has emerged as an important social issue in many developed and developing countries: Yet, it is difficult to say that an end of the war against poverty is in sight. Rowntree and Lavers argued, that the policies of the welfare state—full employment, provision for emergencies and so on—had almost entirely eradicated “primary poverty†in Britain where the war on poverty has gone on longest? It is also true to say that the basic structure of economic and social relations which generates poverty as a byproduct of its normal functioning has remained largely unscathed in the prolonged campaign. This paper will assume three considerations contrary to conventional notions, that (1) a particular power configuration in the past provided the-social setting of the current poverty structure; (2) the present structure of power determines the nature and effectiveness of poverty policies; and (3) that successful elimination depends on the future of power constellations in the country.