URBAN POVERTY IN NIGERIA THE REMEDIAL MEASURES
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the Urban Poverty in Nigeria: The Remedial Measures. Urban poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon, and the poor suffer from various deprivations such as lack of access to employment; adequate housing and services, social protection, lack of access to health, education and personal security. It is often characterized by cumulative deprivations as it is closely related with asset ownership. The study recommended that there should be improving life in rural areas, better urban planning & slum rehabilitation, societal fairness to the citizen by the government.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION ONE
• Urban Poverty In Nigeria
SECTION TWO
• The Concept Of Urban Poverty
• Main Features Of The Urban Health Crises In Nigeria
• The Environment
• Causes Of Urban Poverty
• When Rural Poverty Becomes Urban
• Effects of Urbanization
• Challenges Of Urban Poverty
SECTION THREE
• How to Tackle the Causes of Urban Poverty
SECTION FOUR
• Conclusion
REFERENCES
SECTION ONE
URBAN POVERTY IN NIGERIA
There is no objective definition of poverty and no objective way of measuring how many people are poor. The numbers differ greatly according to different plausible definitions (Stein et al., 1995). The definitions of poverty vary widely among international agencies and countries, the most commonly used working definition for international poverty comparisons, and the poverty line is per capita expenditures of US $1 per person per day (adjusted for differences in purchasing power) (World Bank, 1990). While for some it is defined as US $2 per person per day, others calculate minimum caloric requirement as the poverty line. The United Nations has favored composite indices which take into account access to Education and basic health into the computation of poverty and human development measures.
In the end, the choice of the poverty line is subjective. Most of the poor in the urban areas in Nigeria live in overcrowded, unsanitary slums and squatter settlements and often do not have access to basic infrastructure and services. They are forced to live in illegal and informal settlements because they cannot enter the formal land and housing markets. The fundamental national objective is to achieve development, central to the attainment of improved societal welfare. World Bank (1996) describes Nigeria’s case as a paradox: the country is as rich as its citizens are poor.
Over the last few decades, cities in both developing and developed countries have emerged as the major form of human settlement. By the turn of this century, we will be witness to a ubiquitous scenario where more people will live in and around cities than in rural areas, Nigeria inclusive. In 1800, only 50 million people lived in towns and cities worldwide. By 1975 there were 1.5 billion, also by the year 2000; this will be three billion - more than the entire population on Earth in 1960. Cities have, in effect become a barometer of humankind's "progress" into the 21st century, whether this is an upward trend or downward. Concentration of economic, social, political and administrative organs of a nation or region in cities has made it a magnet for the rich as well as, poor households (Srinivas, 1999). Urban poverty has its roots in the profound inequalities that characterize our societies in a social structure which displays a disdain.
