CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Poverty reduction in recent times has become an area of concern to countries around the
globe. This is central to the attainment of a nation‟s development. The idea of improving the
living conditions of the poor worldwide informs concerted efforts made by governments and
other stake holders if not to eliminate, but reduce poverty to the barest minimum.
Consequently, the growing incidence and devastating effects as well as efforts to reduce
poverty have become an issue of great concern to both government and Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs).
In Nigeria, the network of NGOs has been on the increase since the 1980s, and in recent
times, NGOs are networking with national and international agencies, with the aim of meeting
National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. NGOs contribute to national development in the areas
of poverty reduction, primary healthcares, STDs/AIDS, democracy and good governance,
women development and other health related matters, education and functional literacy, the
development of the girl child, environmental issues, conflict resolution, drug abuse and
human rights (Akpanudoedehe, 2006).
The Statistics Brain Research Institute (SBRI 2014), in its Human Development Report
observes that 50% of the world‟s population live below poverty line (i.e $1.50 per day),
while more than one quarter of the world‟s population live below extreme poverty line (i.e.
$1.25 per day). The report, added that poverty to wealth ratio statistics given by the (SBRI),
shows that poverty has been on the increase throughout the last twentieth and twenty first
centuries (SBRI 2014). This shows that poverty has become a growing issue of global
concern. Furthermore, the UNICEF observes that 22,000 children die each day due to poverty,
3805 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat, 1 billion out of 2.2 billion
children of the world live in poverty (UNICEF, 2015).
Agba et al (2009) quoted UNDP (2008) as having corroborates this strongly when it observes
that the wave of poverty, economic backwardness, dearth of infrastructure, health problem
unemployment, and natural disaster in rural and urban areas are currently some of the most
serious problems in the world and that over 1.5 million people of the world‟s population live
below the poverty line of one dollar per day, out of which 250 million people are from SubSaharan Africa. The Federal Office of Statistics report indicates that about 15 per cent of
Nigerians in 1969 were poor, this number increased to 28 percent in 1980 and in 1985, it was
46 percent but dropped to 43 in 1992. The estimated incidence of poverty in 1996 was
66million out of 120 million Nigerians. It was also reported in 2003 that 41.6 percent of
Nigerians are poor, of which majority are in rural communities (Aliyu, 2003).
Accordingly, as hunger, disease, outbreak of wars, incidence of kidnapping, natural disaster
and massive poverty ravage the Nigerian Federation, government, international agencies and
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are leaving no stone unturned in fighting these
social monster (Mohammed, 1991, Akpan udoedehe, 2006; Agba, Agba, Okoro & Agba,
2010). Just as Globalization and international trade affects societies, NGOs have become
increasingly influential in world affairs. They have become major players in the field of
international development. Since the mid-1970s, NGOs in both developed and developing
countries have experienced exponential growth.
The World Bank (2001), Akpan udoedehe (2006), observes that from 1970 to 1985,
development aid disbursed by international NGOs increased by ten-fold. In 1992,
international NGOs channeled over 7.6 billion us dollars of aid to developing countries.
NGOs are also consulted by governments and international organizations like; the United
Nations (UN), which have created associative status with them. NGOs are not directly
affiliated with any government but often have a significant impact on the socio-economic and
political activity of a country or region involved. They are private organizations that pursue
activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of the poor, protect the environment,
provide development programme. NGOs are non-profit organizations that are independent
from government. They are typically value-based organization, which depend in whole or in
part on charitable donations and voluntary services. It was estimated that, the number of
NGOs are somewhere between 6000 and 30,000 in developing countries (World Bank 2001;
Akpan Udoedehe, 2006).
Their quest to pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of the poor, protect
the environment, provide development programme through provision of social amenities,
cannot be overemphasized since they had been regarded as factors of growth and development
particularly in developing economies like Nigeria since independence. To this therefore,
government, felt it was the only organized agent capable of using its machinery to induce,
promote and manage socio-economic development by providing this infrastructure (Anyio,
2014). Therefore, individual community members or groups, who support the community in
areas of felt needs, have become pivotal in influencing government and other development
agencies not only to sitting poverty related projects in their communities but equally through
empowering such communities.
Due to government‟s inability to continually provide social welfare programmes that are
geared towards the reduction of poverty, like electricity, water, health, roads etc, the need to
boost governments efforts becomes inevitable. Omofonmwan and Odia (2009), posits that the
provision of these social amenities can be attained through a number of ways which includes,
the government, Community Development Associations, Non-Governmental
Organizations(NGOs) which are nonprofit making and self-governing, willful volunteers set
out to ameliorate the plight of people in dare need of life sustaining facilities in the society
whose success can only be measured through these organizations‟ efficiency and
effectiveness.
NGO‟s are groupings that are outside the domain of government in the areas of formation,
funding, management and the processes and procedure in which it carries out its sets
objectives geared towards cultural, socio-economic and political transformation of all facets
of the society. NGOs function alongside the government as well as profit- based enterprises
in the delivery of social services for the up liftment and well-being of the society.They are
therefore referred to as the third sector, which evolved from experiences, interests, idea and
innate zeal to respond to or remedy the observed phenomenal desire in the society.
(Ehigiamusoe 1998). NGOs specifically focus in areas of skill acquisition, economic
empowerment, disease control and management: Adult literacy scheme and capacity building
and information driven charity, conflict resolution and peace promotion. Lift Above Poverty
and Girl Power Initiative (GPI) are the areas this study seeks to address in Edo State.
Akpan Udoedehe (2006), observes that NGOs have been active in Nigeria since the 1930s,
but were mostly limited to social clubs and organizations established by various missionary
institutions operating in the country. It went further to state that, they were not officially
classified as NGOs, and the Nationalist Movements were the precursors or contemporary
Community Services Organizations (CSOs) in Nigeria. The Nigerian Network maintained
that the idea of a formalized collaboration between the Federal Government of Nigeria and
NGOs was first muted at a meeting organized by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) for
NGOs active in the Health sector in 1987. And that between 1990 and 1991, the FMOH held
consultative meetings to mobilize NGO‟s to support the Federal Government in the Expanded
Programme on Immunization (EPI), Drug Abuse, and subsequently in the HIV/AIDs
campaign, thus widening the spectrum of CSOs, collaborating with the Federal Government
and in 1992, sixty NGOs with the collaboration of the FMOH established the Nigeria
Network of NGOs
According to Mansuri and Rao (2003) Community Based Development (CBD) and its more
recent variant, Community Driven -Development (CDD), are among the fastest growing
mechanisms for channeling development assistance and have also become crucial, hence the
provision of infrastructural facilities geared towards poverty reduction. It is one of the three
strategies which have been adopted for rural transformation by many developing countries
alongside agricultural extension and integrated rural development, (Williams. 1978). NGOs in
consonance with various communities are utilizing the rural people to develop themselves
through self –help initiative and motivation, with minimum assistance from government. For
example, Akinbode and Laogun (1981) perceived the process of collective action by
community members to fight poverty include participation by the people themselves in efforts
to improve their standard of living through their own initiative and the provision of technical
and social services in ways which encourage initiatives, self-help, and mutual understanding.
Edo State is one of the thirty-six (36) states in Nigeria and in the South-South geo-political
zone with over a hundred (100) NGOs operating in the state (Omofonmwan 2007). These
NGOs are either funded individually or depend largely on donations and funding from
international donors for the execution of their projects and programmes, with the aim of
improving the people‟s welfare various forms of empowerment. Lift Above Povery
Organization (LAPO) and Girls Power Initiative (GPI), are among some of the NGOs to be
examine in Edo state.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
Over the years, poverty reduction in Nigeria has been a serious concern to Government,
International Organizations as well as NGOs. Apart from the traditional role played by
government; numerous institutions and policy frameworks were set up by government in
order to address the situation in the country. These include Family Economic Advancement
Programme (FEAP) of 1997 that targeted households, Universal Basic Education (UBE) of
2004 that is aimed at making basic education free and accessible to all pupils, and National
Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) whose objective is to control the spread of AIDS.
Others are the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) of 2004 aimed at ensuring standard
and accessible health services to all Nigerians at all levels, National Policy on Immunization
that fight the spread of polio among children and other associated diseases in the country
among others. The dismal performance of some of the institutions (and social forms of
empowerment), policies, programmes and projects coupled with increased spade of poverty
incidence in the country over the years necessitated collaboration or partnership between
government and third sector (usually referred to as NGOs) to address the problem of poverty
not only in Nigeria, but Edo state in particular..
To tackle the incidence of poverty, several NGOs came on board in the quest to reduce
poverty generally and or among women. In the case of Edo state, Lift Above Poverty (LAPO)
which is a non-profit organization, as its basic objective, is actively involved in community
programmes and mobilization among women, health and sanitation awareness, child right law
promotion / fight against child labour (particularly the girl child), human trafficking, rescue
and resuscitation of accident victims. Be that as it may, it appears the impact of these
programme is not felt among the citizenry with increasing poverty. For example, human
trafficking has been and will continue to be a recurring decimal in Edo state if care is not
taken (Osakwe, 2015).
Besides, LAPO has within the period 2004-2014 executed and completed one hundred and
thirty (130) micro finance bank projects in Edo South Senatorial District, forty (40) projects
currently in progress as well as eighteen (18) continuous running programmes bothering
health, education, social empowerment and legal aid (LAPO Handbook, 2013). In spite of
this, not so much of the effects is felt, as these programmes have been impinged by low
coverage, funding, inadequate facilities (both health and education) just to mention a few in
Oredo and Esan North-East of Edo South Senatorial District (LAPO Handbook, 2013).
In a Similar vein, the Girl Power Initiative (GPI) from 2004 to 2013 is said to have facilities
in over thirty (30) schools in Edo South Senatorial District, and has equally trained 384
teachers and stakeholders from the district. It has equally re-enrolled 642 dropout girls in
primary and secondary schools, it has also provided scholarship to eighty (80) out of school
girls within and outside the country. Among these figures, eighty (80), fifteen (15) and
eighteen (18) have graduated with National Certificate of Education (NCE), National
Diploma (ND), twenty two (22) and nine (9) graduated with Higher National Diploma
Degrees respectively, sixteen (16) are presently in school. Not withstanding, the desired effect
is yet to be felt particularly in the aforementioned areas as it touches on the girl child
education and poverty reduction in the two local governments under study (GPI‟s Activities
Report, 2015).
Even though LAPO and the GPI seem to enjoy funding, through partnership with both local
and international organizations, the concern of this study is what extent this has been able to
reduce poverty and improve the standard of living of women in Edo-South Senatorial District.
From the above, the following research questions became pertinent.
1.3 Research Questions
i. To what extent have the implementation strategies of Lift Above Poverty (LAPO)
reduced the incidence of poverty among women in Oredo and Esan North-East local
Government Areas of Edo South Senatorial District?
ii. To what extent have the implementation strategies of Girl Power Initiative (GPI)
reduced the incidence of poverty in Oredo and Esan North-East local Government
Areas of Edo South Senatorial District?
iii. To what extent have the funding of NGO Programme (LAPO and GPI) reduced the
incidence of Poverty in Oredo and Esan North-East local Government Areas of Edo
South Senatorial District?