The document discusses the role of media in tackling poverty in Nigeria. It notes that poverty in Nigeria is widespread and deep, with over 70% of the population living below the poverty line. It argues that poverty is rooted in unequal power relations and mismanagement of resources. The media can play a crucial role in highlighting the scope and depth of poverty, and ensuring stakeholders comprehensively address it. The document outlines lessons for developing an effective anti-poverty strategy, including the need for conceptual clarity, local empowerment, reconciling economic and social development, problematizing the link between globalization and poverty reduction, and locating poverty reduction within democratic governance. It emphasizes that empowering local communities and decentralizing power is key to ultimately

1. Tackling poverty from the roots – The Role of Media1
By
‘Kayode Fayemi2,
Centre for Democracy & Development
Dear Friends and Colleagues from the Media,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to this Media Training Workshop on Poverty
Eradication in Nigeria. This workshop is part of a series of activities in CDD’s
Programme on Poverty Eradication in Nigeria. It is informed by our belief that the
media has a crucial role to play in highlighting the depth and scope of poverty in our
country, with a view to ensuring that all stakeholders respond comprehensively to the
fear of want experienced by all in the country. It is our view that the media can do a
lot more in this task, but it also needs to enter into partnership with other development
monitors in the country in order to keep the citizenry fully informed and better aware
of the situation.
Poverty in Nigeria is deep, widespread and multifaceted and we are all victims of it in
one way or the other – the rich elite and the poverty stricken masses alike – although
not to the same degree. A cursory look at the available statistics paints a very gloomy
picture of the nature and dynamic of poverty in our country. According to the Human
Development Report 2002, no fewer than seventy percent of the Nigerian population
live below the poverty line,(indeed the UNDP representative in Nigeria, Professor
Mbaya Kakwenda repeated the same figures two days ago in Osogbo, adding that the
country’s poverty situation has deteriorated by 25% since the inception of this
administration in 1999).Compared with the figure of 28.1 percent two decades ago,
this is a very serious situation. Life expectancy in our country is 51.7 years and the
Human Development Index ranking places Nigeria in 148 out of 173 countries in
2002.
I have highlighted these figures just to demonstrate in very graphic terms the nature of
the problem, even though they is a sense in which even these figures underestimate
the crisis, at least in qualitative terms. Although Nigeria remains the sixth largest
producer of oil and more oil is being discovered off shore; although our GNP is in the
region of $40-50 billion and we retain the potential to be the region’s engine for
economic growth and development, the huge resources of this blessed nation have
seldom served the people of our country well.
It is precisely because the resources have failed to deliver to the poor, either in terms
of security and safety, health and education, good governance and development that
we must stress that poverty is not just a statistical issue, horrendous as the figures
above sound. Poverty is about people – ordinary Nigerians standing at the threshold
between death and despair. In our view, poverty is at its root bred by unequal power
1
Being text of the Welcome Address to the Media Training Workshop on Poverty Eradication held at
the FSP Hotel, Ogba, Ikeja, December 18-20, 2002, organized by the Centre for Democracy &
Development, Lagos, Nigeria with support from DFID Nigeria.
2
Director, Centre for Democracy & Development – kfayemi@cddnig.org
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2. relations, the structural and systematic allocation of resources among different groups
in society and their differential access to power and the political process. The
distorted distribution of the nation’s wealth has resulted in the enrichment of a
minority at the expense of an impoverished majority. There is no doubt that the
chronic nature of poverty in Nigeria has a link to historical and continuing
mismanagement of resources and corruption. In short, poor governance has had a
huge role to play in guaranteeing this parlous state of affairs.
The implication of the above is that any attempt to take poverty reduction or
eradication from the ambit of rhetoric to action must recognise the need to locate it
within the governance framework, by bringing back politics into policy making. As
Nigeria seeks to produce its strategy for poverty reduction, the media is one critical
player in ensuring that all Nigerians – in their various communities and constituencies
have a role to play in promoting a clearer understanding of the poverty situation. As
we understand it, framers of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in the international
finance system, intend them as national statements of overall plans to reduce poverty
based on a process of broad consultations with the people. While there remains a
great deal of scepticism about the extent to which PRSP represents a cure, rather than
a panacea for poverty reduction like structural adjustment programs before it, the idea
of subjecting government policy to the yearnings and understanding of the most
affected population is one that we in civil society broadly, but cautiously welcome.
It is important in our view that we first understand what the poor themselves think
poverty is and their own strategies for long-term solutions to the problems of chronic
and persistent poverty. Yet, consulting the poor and seeking their understanding of
poverty is not an end in itself since consultation without participation through
independent means of articulation and enforcement amounts to no consultation
ultimately. There is indeed some evidence to suggest that we already know what the
poor thinks of poverty in Nigeria. The Voices of the Poor investigations conducted by
the World Bank for the World Development Report 2000/1 demonstrate clearly that
the poor have more nuanced perspectives on poverty. The poor, more than any
interlocutor, understand the uncertainty, insecurity, marginalisation and powerlessness
that come with poverty in society.
Across the country, the priority areas for the poor also relate to how best to reduce the
shocks that might upset their security: Lack of potable water; inadequate access to
education; inadequate access to health, lack of rural feeder roads; unavailability of
markets for locally made goods; lack of processing facilities and lack of agricultural
inputs remain on the list of top priority for the poor. The interim poverty reduction
strategy paper prepared in 2001 by the Nigerian government (copies are in your
folder) broadly reflects this view as captured extensively in the Voices of the Poor
consultation of 1999. Ironically, government policy so far, if one takes the efforts of
NAPEP as the central pillar of its poverty eradication work, reflects very little pro-
poor schemes leading to poorly designed money guzzling schemes like ‘Keke
NAPEP’ which can hardly contribute to poverty reduction scheme in the long-term.
This problem of policy not matching the results of the consultation remains a major
criticism of the PRSP approach in countries where they have been undertaken so far.
A common complaint is that the consultations were neither deep nor widespread,
hence the eventual decision on priority areas were also fundamentally flawed. The
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3. greatest challenge that this process faces therefore is the extent to which it
accommodates a process that speaks truth to power and seeks to provide a near
accurate reflection of the diversity and difference of opinions in various communities
and constituencies in our country.
This is where we see the most crucial role for the media. As the most articulate
vehicle for addressing the peoples’ yearnings to their leaders, we see the media as
providing the necessary bridge in articulating the peoples’ views on poverty and
linking up with civil society institutions on bringing this issue to the public domain.
Our own involvement in civil society, especially at the level of our organisation is
informed by our core values of building partnerships and bridging the gap between
government and civil society. It is also a reflection of our role as facilitators and
catalysts for the development of the poor in our community. Whilst we commend
Government’s current effort in placing the poor on the agenda, the policy incoherence
in government also worries us. Indeed, it reinforces some doubts that the eventual
product may not match the hype that has surrounded the process if they are not
addressed.
This incoherence brings to bear on the process a great deal of uncertainty as to what
the policy objective really is. NAPEP - the central organ of government tasked with
the responsibility of addressing the problems of the poor talks constantly about an
agenda for poverty eradication, although its performance to date is anything but
committed to poverty eradication. Other government departments talk of poverty
reduction. Although it may seem in the realm of mere semantics, this terminological
in-exactitude betrays the ideological and political underpinnings of these initiatives.
For hard-headed monetarists who believe that poverty cannot be eradicated, they
concentrate on excessively monetarist and fiscal paradigms which prevent the policy
framework from tackling the real roots of poverty and thereby developing policy
instruments that tackle poverty on a systemic basis. Even those who talk of
eradication in the system only appear to use it as a gimmick to hoodwink people into
believing that their condition will be qualitatively better in due course. It is our
expectation that the eventual product will seek to address the sources of risk that
affect poor people in a co-ordinated and integrated fashion, by breaking out of the
increasingly artificial separation between elimination, eradication and reduction. A
well informed media is needed to help break down this artificial divide whilst taking a
developmental stance on the questions of poverty and its eradication in the country.
Fortunately, the coordinators of the government PRSP process have repeatedly
reassured Nigerians that the production of the Full PRSP is not solely government’s
responsibility, but that of the Nigerian peoples’. The implication of this for us in civil
society is that nothing is cast in stones and that this product will not be based on
received wisdom from outside Nigeria. It means, in our view that we shall not make a
fetish of macro-economic stability, especially when the evidence in Nigeria suggests
that such stabilization policies have not yielded any significant social and economic
benefit to the masses that suffer most from these policies. We hope it is a reassurance
that human resource development will be at the core of the strategy through the
adoption and application of labour standards; promotion of equity through tackling
the problem of low salaries and wages; tax policies that demonstrate commitment to
poverty reduction; spatial distribution of new investments; a gendered understanding
of the impact of poverty and solutions to poverty and capacity building and
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4. empowerment of the poor for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the
eventual product.
Ultimately, democratic and good governance is pivotal to poverty eradication in
Nigeria. Without a doubt, the capacity of governments to govern can make a crucial
difference both to the trajectory of poverty and to its impact on equitable resource
distribution. There is ample evidence in the literature to demonstrate that where
governments of have ceased to exist, acute physical insecurity for ordinary individuals
and communities is exacerbated, and this leads to the loss of basic services like health
and education, destroys physical and social capital and produces widespread poverty
and immiseration.
The greatest assets against shocks and disasters ultimately lie with the development of
human resources, better management of natural resource endowment and respect for
local ownership of the reform agenda whether in determining the role of the State or
in arriving at the most effective poverty reducing mechanisms. It is also useful to
examine and analyse individual situations on their merit, rather than assume a
dogmatic line on privatisation. This is of course not to suggest that market has no role
in reforming states structures. It is to say that there are no universal models of the
market as providing the best assets against shocks and disasters. Consequently,
formulating realistic policies that are not driven by dogma will be central to the
eventual ownership of this process by Nigerians.
Yet, as we focus on how to eradicate poverty in Nigeria, we must also not forget that
we are not an island to ourselves, especially in this age of globalization. Our own
view is that even when we get things right in Nigeria through the design of a political
strategy and policy position that ultimately approximates to what our people want,
this has to be located within a wider global framework.
Conventionally, poverty reduction has been promoted through a lop-sided focus on
macro-economic stability strategies like Structural adjustment reforms, electoral
democracies and support of measures that seek to provide the enabling environment
for foreign direct investment and the global integration of the economy – in short, a
mutual pursuit of political and economic liberalisation. So far, the logic of trickle
down economics has failed to produce an integrated world economy in which all
zones are winners.
This clearly contradicts the core assumption of globalization that wealth would
automatically be created when the free market gains universal acceptance in the
world. By arguing that the best way to build assets against shocks is not via the
creation of local self sufficiency, but for national economies to concentrate on what
they can contribute to the world economy, globalisation ignores the comparative
advantage of the North, locks states of the global South into relative powerlessness by
creating conditions for conflict which further weakens the mediatory role of the states
and extends the poverty frontiers. Instead, it empowers those elites within the state
who can form part of the convoluted network in business and government capable of
acting independently of the juridical state. We have seen that all too well in the last
forty years of Nigeria’s independence.
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5. The fallout of this globalising trend for us is the breakdown of social capital and
networks, privatization of security, proliferation of arms and narcotics, all of which
ultimately undermine food security, environmental security and the security of the
individual. It has also helped in deepening the rural-urban divide, fostered inter-
generational strife occasioned by youth frustration and exacerbated the scourge of
refugees and the internally displaced, all of which have moved the hapless below the
poverty line and moved them closer to violence and conflict. Seeing the kids
responsible for the carnage in Kaduna in the last few weeks, we really don’t need any
further evidence that it is the future of the country that we are endangering with no
strategy to arrest the frustrations of our youths. Joining international anti-poverty
coalition is therefore part of our overall strategy in civil society in our quest for
sustainable development and we hope our friends in the media will see the critical
importance of connecting our local experience to the global experience in highlighting
the dangers of the path we are currently trodding.
In conclusion, let me reiterate our view that we are at a crucial juncture in the effort to
move from a transitional phase of our civilian rule to a consolidated phase of our
democracy. The extent to which we reduce the poverty levels in our country has a
direct correlation to sustainable democracy in Nigeria, and the failure to do so by
implication is also directly correlated to democratic reversals. Yet, we also believe
that it is possible for all of us to be winners in the poverty eradication campaign. In
fact, it is in our interest as members of the elite stratum in society(media and civil
society, all) to ensure that poverty is wiped out in our society and on the face of the
earth. This is not utopian thinking and the first step to take to ensure that this happens
is the empowerment of the people to take control of their lives. Raising awareness
through every medium – radio, television, newspapers, community papers represent a
major way in doing this. But in order to empower, the media must also be
empowered with the appropriate and accurate information on the nature of the
problem and the various solutions possible. Until we move power from the centre to
local communities and constituencies, it would be difficult for us to tackle the root
causes of poverty. The thrust of our own approach therefore is to work with local
communities in defining and articulating a nuanced understanding of poverty and
adequate responses to it.
This said, we are committed to participating in this process but we also want to
underscore the importance of producing alternative frameworks that can help
government sharpen its own findings whilst working in synergy with civil society and
other critical stakeholders.
Based on the above comments, I hope this workshop will help us in tackling some of
the most critical aspects of involving the media in this work. This can only be done,
in my humble opinion, if we take the following lessons derived from my reflection
above to heart, namely:
1. There is a need for conceptual clarity through a comprehensive approach to any
anti-poverty strategies in policy and development circles and the media must help
promote this;
2. Ultimate poverty eradication is only possible in the context of local empowerment
and fiscal decentralisation;
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6. 3. The poverty reduction strategy must recognise the need to reconcile economic and
social development and enhance the input of non-state actors – in policy
formulation to enhance social capital rather than entrench the leverage of donor
agencies on States;
4. The Poverty reduction strategy must problematise the link between globalisation
and poverty reduction, rather than assume that it is always going to be positive in
the promotion of pro-poor growth;
5. The Poverty reduction strategy must locate the poverty agenda within the
democracy and development framework by bringing back accountable politics
into policy making;
6. An empowerment approach to poverty reduction is a process, whose results will
not necessarily be immediate; hence the need for a long term view by interested
stakeholders and anti-poverty strategists.
I thank you for listening and wish you successful deliberations.
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