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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Poverty can be viewed as the lack of basic amenities which make life
pleasant. It is a situation where the income of an individual or family cannot
provide for the daily requirements in life. The poor often depend on others for
their well being and this result to a lot of other negative traits like low self
esteem, lack of confidence and feeling of insecurity. Tersoo (2013) viewed
poverty as a state where an individual is not able to cater adequately for his or
her basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. Poverty was defined by Agbi
(2002) as the state of being poor or deficient in money or means of subsistence.
Poverty in its most general sense was seen by Sen (2009) as the lack of
necessities of life such as basic food, shelter, medical care, and safety which are
generally thought necessary based on shared values of human dignity. Olaitan
(2000) defined poverty as the scarcity of human basic needs or the inability of
an individual or society to acquire human basic needs for existence..
For Sumitra and Dukhabandhu (2008), poverty actually requires no definition,
since everyone knows or recognizes who is actually poor. The above authors
were of the view that poverty reflects on the face of the poor which is a constant
companion of the poor and its presence or rather the symbols of its presence,
serve a number of purposes. While Sumitra and Dukhabandhu indicated that
hunger and threat of famine are the most potent symbols of poverty, Mera
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(2004) maintained that poverty is a multi-dimensional reality manifested in
hunger and dependency.
Poverty is characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs,
including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter,
education and information and depends not only on income but also access to
services (Olaitan, Ali, Onyemaechi & Nwackukwu, 2000). Hildebrand (2009)
described poverty as being of two types (a) relative poverty which he said is
measured against the average standard of a particular society which can change
overtime and (b) absolute poverty which is measured against the minimum
necessary to maintain physical efficiency to the extent of being incapable of
protecting human dignity. He maintained that relative poverty is seen as the
difference in economic well being between industrialized countries and the
developing countries and within the developing countries between the region
and social classes. Absolute poverty was seen here as inability to satisfy basic
needs such as adequate housing, hygiene, food, educational opportunities,
protection from and treatment of illness.
While poverty affects many households, there appears to be gender
influence on the manifestations of poverty. Survey carried out by Adeola (2010)
on inequality and poverty in rural Nigeria showed that across the country, 40
percent of male farmers and 72 percent of female farmers cultivate less than one
hectare of land per household. Women play a major role in the production,
processing and marketing of food crops. Despite the integral role women play in
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the agricultural sector, Nwankwo (2010) opined that their contributions are not
valued or recognized, nor are they reflected in the National Accounting Systems
or given prime considerations in agricultural policy processes. Chinsman (2005)
reported that because of the gender division of labour and responsibilities for
household welfare, women bear a disproportionate burden. This burden is in the
attempt to manage household consumption and production under conditions of
increasing scarcity. Women’s poverty may be directly related to the absence of
economic opportunities and autonomy; lack of access to economic resources,
including credit facilities, land ownership and inheritance; lack of access to
education and support services and their minimal participation in the decision
making process.
Participation could operationally be seen as the level of involvement in
the economic opportunities and autonomy; access to economic resources,
including credit facilities, land ownership and inheritance; access to education
and support services and in the decision making process. The level of women
participation in the development agenda is not encouraging. Hence, Nwankwo
(2010) saw the promotion of gender equality as a development strategy for
reducing poverty. Nwankwo revealed that women’s participation in industrial
sector is 11 percent as compared with 30 percent for men. Poverty is therefore,
more pronounced on women since they have to combine the direct impact of
poverty with several cultural restrictions and perceptions that tend to prevent
them from exploring socio- economic opportunities. Poverty to the women
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means lack of income and assets; referring to such assets like physical assets,
natural assets, human assets, social assets and financial assets.
Poverty alleviation has been a central theme of the development discourse
for the past decades. Yet, for Lamidi (2006), there is no clear consensus on the
meaning and connotations of poverty alleviation in the form of a technical
definition.
According to Nnamani (2003) poverty alleviation connotes a
concerted effort made to uplift or reduce the poverty level or situation of
citizens of a particular sector. It could be national, state, local, community and
or a family affair. Poverty alleviation according to Chinecherem (2002:3) ‘is a
concrete arrangement made to change the situation of the poor through skill
acquisition, employment, literacy and equitable distribution of resources’.
Poverty alleviation has to do with any effort towards reducing the level of
poverty. Lamidi is of the view that though poverty in the strict sense is an
individual predicament, it is beyond debate that community action is critical for
reducing the misery arising out of poverty. It is this understanding that has made
poverty alleviation an important agenda in all developing countries.
The earliest efforts at poverty alleviation were made in 1972 by Gen.
Yakubu Gowon, the then Military Head of State, when he established the
National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP), and the Nigerian
Agricultural Co-operative Bank (NACB), which was devoted to funding
agriculture.
Among other programmes aimed at poverty alleviation were
National Directorate of Employment (NDE) established in 1986 and National
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Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) which came into being in 2001 with
the aim of wiping poverty from Nigeria by the year 2010. The National Poverty
Eradication Programme (NAPEP) was designed to fund, co-ordinate and
monitor activities of all agencies involved in combating poverty which includes
NDE. To this end, NDE and NAPEP collaborated in the vocational skills
acquisition training of 25,000 youths.
The salient principle of NAPEP is partnership and participatory
involvement of eradicating absolute poverty. NAPEP thus, has the involvement
of the Federal, State and Local Government, the International donor Agency,
Community Based Organizations and Civil Society Organizations. NAPEP aims
at eradicating absolute poverty among the citizenry. It involves four schemes
which are: Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES), Rural Infrastructural
Development Scheme (RIDS), Social Welfare Services Scheme (SOWESS) and
Natural Resources Development and Conservation Scheme (NRDCS) (NAPEP,
2001). The Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) consists: Capacity Acquisition
Programme (CAP), Mandatory Attachment Programme (MAP) and Credit
Delivery Programme (CDP). CAP for instance, was designed to enable
participants, irrespective of their sex and level of formal education acquire
skills, vocational capabilities and enhancing attributes in their chosen areas of
engagement (FGN, 2001). The concept of CAP is to recruit, retrain and
redeploy the creative capacity of the people to enable them play more
productive and self-fulfilling roles in the emerging economic dispensation. One
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wonders the extent the women in Ebonyi and Enugu States have been involved
in the recruitment, retraining and redeployment activities of the NAPEP’s CAP
to enhance the creative capacity of the women to enable them play more
productive and self-fulfilling roles in the emerging economic dispensation.
In conformity with its mandate of job creation and in effect tackling the
problems of unemployment in Nigeria, the National Directorate of Employment
(NDE) are required to train unemployed youths and retired adult persons for
vocational skills acquisition, entrepreneurship or business development, labour
based works, rural employment promotion and job placement counseling. The
NDE mission is derived from its mandate to design and implement programmes
to combat mass unemployment; articulate policies aimed at developing work
programmes with labour intensive potentials; obtain and maintain a data bank
on unemployment and vacancies in the country with a view to acting as a
clearing house to link job seekers with vacancies in collaboration with other
government agencies; and to implement any other policies as may be laid down
from time to time by the board established under sections of its enabling Act.
However, despite these series of poverty alleviation programmes to
empower people economically, these have not yielded positive impact (Alese,
2013). According to Ursula (2004), Nigeria and most Nigerians still remain in
poverty. Ursula argued that many programmes put up by government to address
poverty situation in the country did not meet up with their objectives because of
some factors like policy discontinuity and lack of sustainability. The Federal
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Government has not been able to create jobs or control unemployment. Alese
(2013) reported that the government skill acquisition centers are inadequate for
the population of unemployed youths and adults. The ones that are in place are
poorly coordinated and monitored. The rate of job creation has been less than
the rate of growth. It is against this background that this study sought to assess
the effect of women’s participation in National Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP) and National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Ebonyi and Enugu
States; since these two programmes seem to have some level of continuity and
sustainability.
To assess the effect of women’s participation in the NAPEP and NDE
poverty alleviation initiatives in Ebonyi and Enugu States, one may consider the
extent the women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has expanded
their asset base, as well as increased their market access, educational
opportunities, economic empowerment and increased their means of supporting
social programmes for community development. Asset is identified as a stock of
financial, human, natural or social resources that can be developed, improved
and transferred across generations (Ford, 2004). Ford insists that looking at the
assets of the poor is essential in understanding upward mobility, and particularly
transitions out of poverty. To enrich the poor, there is need to target the
expansion of their asset base. One wonders the extent women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives has expanded their asset base for community
development in Ebonyi and Enugu States.
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Women and the poor may face differential access to markets. According
to Gammage and Packman (2005), markets for goods and inputs, like most
markets, are frequently regulated. Gammage and Packman (2005) are of the
view that a variety of factors may impede access to good markets or increase the
cost of entry. For example, distance from the market may limit an individual’s
ability to sell or purchase in that market. Women may disproportionately face
mobility constraints that limit their ability to travel or sell in markets at some
distance from their households and communities. The above authors stated that
lack of permission or certification to trade in certain markets will prevent
market entry as small farmers and women are mostly confined to domestic
markets. This is because they do not have the required certification to trade
products internationally and volumes traded in some markets may be too large
for small producers or buyers which effectively preclude their access to large,
centralized, domestic and international markets. Information may not be readily
available about the type of goods sold or the prices at which they are sold or
such information may flow to select groups.
According to the British Council (2012) the right to education is clearly
enshrined and accepted internationally and there is also powerful developmental
case for achieving gender equality. World Bank (2010) states that there is a high
risk of educational under achievement for children who are from low-income
circumstances which often is a process that begins in primary school for some
less fortunate children. The document states further that more and better female
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education has a positive impact on overall labour supply. For example,
women’s’ involvement in agricultural work and education helps to increase
productivity to a significant extent, thereby, adding to household incomes and
reducing poverty. Nigerian women’s access to formal education is still being
constrained due to their unfair workload within the household division of labour
(UNESCO, 2003). To empower the women in Nigeria, enhanced educational
opportunities are considered expedient. The finding of this study would indicate
the extent women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased
their educational opportunities for community development.
Eradication of poverty was argued by Dike (2000) not to be achieved by
giving out small loan to the poor. Dike gave an example with the case of
poverty in which the specific individual’s inadequacy which precludes such an
individual from participating in the loan programme has not been eliminated.
He reasoned that because of the self or environmental factors, the target groups
could not be reached. Ugo and Ukpere (2009) opined that by increasing female
participation in the labour force, women are able to contribute more effectively
to economic growth and income distribution; since having a source of income
elevates their financial and social status.
Another area of interest is the extent women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has increased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development. Social development is the greater
capacity of the social system (social structure, institutions, services, and policy)
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to utilize resources to generate changes in levels of living, interpreted in the
broad sense as related to accepted social values and a better distribution of
income, wealth and opportunities (Okunlola, 2002). However, the presence of
poverty as a way of life for the vulnerable may continue unless mitigating
measures are accelerated (Okunlola, 2010). The vulnerable groups particularly
the women need to be empowered to access social services through existing
health, education, social welfare, housing and other programmes that are stimuli
for sustainable development. Interventions of this nature must ensure the
provision of skills and the development of the capabilities and capacity of
vulnerable groups that will strengthen their economic value.
The empowerment of women could be momentous when the situation on
ground regarding women participation in poverty alleviation in Ebonyi and
Enugu States is clearly acknowledged. This can be done through assessment
which is the systematic collection, review and use of information about
programmes (Martha, Stassen & Doherty, 2011). Such assessment will help
programmers to focus on what is on ground, what can be done, and what can be
the benefit or the collective impact at the end of the programme. Such
assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of learning as
multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance over time. Against
this background, this study is interested in assessing women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives for community development in Ebonyi and Enugu
States.
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Statement of the Problem
Poverty is the scarcity of human basic needs or the inability of an
individual or society to acquire human basic needs for existence. Successive
administrations in Nigeria have set up programmes such as National Poverty
Eradication Programme and National Directorate of Employment which were
geared toward reducing unemployment, improving healthcare, providing land
for low-cost housing, increasing food productions among others. However,
despite these series of poverty alleviation programmes to empower people
economically, many people still complain about scarcity of human basic needs.
Literature evidence tends to suggest that the Federal Government has not been
able to create enough jobs or control unemployment. The rate of job creation
has been less than the rate of growth. One becomes more worried that the effect
of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in Ebonyi and Enugu
States has not been adequately determined especially with regards to expanding
their asset base, increasing their market access, their educational opportunities,
economic empowerment and their means of supporting social programmes for
community development.
It is against this background that this study sought to assess the effect of
women’s participation in the poverty alleviation initiatives of National Poverty
Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and National Directorate of Employment
(NDE) for community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States.
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Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which women
are participating in poverty alleviation initiatives of National Poverty
Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and National Directorate of Employment
(NDE) for community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States. Specifically
the study sought to:
1)
Determine the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE has expanded their asset base
for community development.
2)
Find out the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has increased the market access of the women for
community development.
3)
Determine the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has increased their educational opportunities for
community development.
4)
Find out the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has improved their economic empowerment for
community development.
5)
Determine the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has increased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development.
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Significance of the Study
The significance of this study is derived from the theoretical and practical
basis of assessment of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of
National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and National Directorate of
Employment (NDE) for community development. Theoretically, the findings of
this study will advance the theory of individual deficiencies. This theory is a large
and multifaceted set of explanations that focus on the individuals as responsible for
their poverty situation. Typically, politically conservative theoreticians blame
individuals in poverty for creating their own problems, and argue that with harder
work and better choices the poor could have avoided (and now can remedy) their
problems.
In practical terms, the findings of this study will be significant to women,
community development agents, government policy makers, adult educators, and
Federal Ministry of Education curriculum planners when published. The findings
of this study will empower women by making them to be more confident, articulate
and unafraid to make their needs and demands known. They will be encouraged
through the research findings to act as better resource managers through capacity
building and educational opportunities. To some extent the study is expected to
strengthen women’s organizations as well as support them to network on
development issues.
The findings of this study will also assist community development agents in
providing assistance to women in rural areas on measures to be employed in
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dealing with poverty situation within their environment. Many of the women folk
may have the opportunity of coming in contact with measures for alleviating
poverty but utilization of such measures without proper guidance will not yield
positive outcome. This could be improved by the agents of community
development by utilizing the knowledge gained in this study to prepare and equip
the female folks.
Finally, the Federal Ministry of Education especially the curriculum
development unit will use the findings from this study as a springboard in
formulating curriculum content for adult educators which could be used to train
adults to empower them educationally and increase the women’s participation in
taking decisions on issues that affect them. It will help them generate new
knowledge useful to other education planners in the line ministries, Non
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other people interested in promoting
gender issues and poverty alleviation at household level.
Scope of the Study
This study is delimited to assessment of the effect of women’s participation
in poverty alleviation initiatives of National Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP) and National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for community
development in Ebonyi and Enugu States. The content scope focused on the extent
the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and
NDE has expanded their asset base, as well as increased their market access,
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educational opportunities, economic empowerment and increased their means of
supporting social programmes for community development.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the study.
1. To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for
community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States?
2. What is the extent women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
increased the market access of the women for community development?
3. To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased their educational opportunities for
community development?
4. To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives improved their economic empowerment for
community development?
5. What is the extent women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
increased their means of supporting social programmes for community
development?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 levels
of significance.
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1.
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on extent the effect of their participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded the women’s asset
base for community development.
2.
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives has increased the market access of the
women for community development.
3.
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives increased their educational opportunities for
community development.
4.
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives improved their economic empowerment for
community development.
5.
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives has increased their means of supporting
social programmes for community development.
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CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Review of literature was organized under conceptual framework,
theoretical framework, empirical studies and summary of reviewed literature.
1)
Conceptual Framework
-
Concept of poverty
-
Concept of Poverty Alleviation
-
Concept of Poverty Alleviation Initiatives by Nigerian Governments
-
Concept of Assessment
-
Concept of Participation
-
Concept of Community Development
-
Relationship among poverty, poverty alleviation, assessment,
participation, community development and poverty alleviation initiatives
by Nigerian governments
2)
Theoretical Framework
-
Theory of individual deficiencies
-
Theory of cumulative and cyclical inter-dependencies
-
Culture of poverty theory
3)
Review of Empirical Studies
• Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for
community development.
• Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased the market access of the women for
community development.
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• Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives have increased their educational opportunities for
community development.
• Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives improved their economic empowerment for
community development.
• Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development.
Summary of Reviewed Literature
Conceptual Framework
Concepts of poverty
Poverty in its most general sense is the lack of necessities of life such as
basic food, shelter, medical care, and safety which is generally thought
necessary based on shared values of human dignity. However, what is a
necessity to one person is not uniformly a necessity to others. Needs may be
relative to what is possible and are based on social definition and past
experience (Sen, 2009). Poverty in the words of Aboyade (2005) is like an
elephant that is more easily recognized than defined. For him, poverty is not
just an economic condition; it is a human condition as it keeps the poor in a
state of destitution. A lot of elements like good health, adequate education,
access to land, credit, or other productive resources, supportive families and
communities, justice, freedom from discrimination are some of the things often
missing from the lives of the poor.
Beyond income and basic services,
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individuals and societies are also poor, and tend to remain so, if they are not
empowered to participate in making the decisions that shape their lives.
As stated in the recent World Development Report (2013: 9), “to be poor
is to be hungry, to lack shelter and clothing, to be sick and not cared for, to be
illiterate and not schooled”. But for poor people, living in poverty is more than
this. Poor people are particularly vulnerable to adverse events outside their
control. They are often treated badly by the institutions of state and society and
excluded from voice and power in these institutions.
Poverty can be located within the context of contradiction between the
resources available to an individual and the demand and condition of his/her
environment. For Sumitra and Dukhabandhu (2008), poverty actually requires
no definition, since everyone knows or recognizes who is actually poor. The
above authors were of the view that poverty reflects on the face of the poor and
its presence or rather the symbols of its presence, serve a number of purposes.
Hunger and threat of famine are the most potent symbols of poverty.
According to Ayo (2004), poverty is a dreaded condition of absence of
capacity to maintain at least basic level of decent living and a hydra headed
condition which tends to restrict people. As a complex and multi dimensional
phenomenon, poverty goes beyond condition of lack of resources; it extends to
social inequality, insecurity, illiteracy, poor health, restricted or total lack of
opportunity for personal growth and self realization. Onibokun and Kumuyi
(2006) made the point when they defined poverty as a way of life characterized
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by low calorie intake, inaccessibility to adequate health facilities, low quality
education, inaccessibility to various housing and societal facilities.
The most common “objective” definition of poverty is the statistical
measure established by the Federal government as the annual income needed for
a family to survive. The “poverty line” was created in 2013 at the Department of
Agriculture based on three times her estimate of what a family would have to
spend for an adequate but far from lavish diet (FGN, 2013). According to Darby
(2007), the very definition of poverty was political and aimed at benchmarking
the progress of poverty programmes for the war on poverty. Most poverty
scholars identify many problems with this definition as related to concept of
farming, cash income, and payment of taxes, special work related expenses or
regional differences in the cost of living (Blank, 2007& Quigley, 2003).
Regardless of how we look at the “science” of poverty, or what O’ Connor
(2001) calls the “Knowledge of poverty”, it is essential to retain focus on the
fact that the definition of poverty and the policies addressing it are all shaped by
political biases and values. O’ Connor (2001) further opined that:
It is this disparity of status and interest that make
poverty research an inescapably political act. It is
an exercise of power, in this case of an educated
elite to categorize, stigmatize, but above all they
neutralize the poor and disadvantaged through,
analysis that obscures the political nature of social
and economic inequality (p.12).
Poverty was defined by Beck (2004) as a situation when the resources of
individuals or families are inadequate to provide a socially acceptable standard
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of living. Apart from being the absence of daily necessities of water, food,
shelter or clothing, it is the absence of the capabilities and opportunities to
change those conditions. Olaitan (2000) defined poverty as the scarcity of
human basic needs or the inability of an individual or society to acquire human
basic needs for existence.
As noted by Simanga (2010) poverty is relative. Its measurement
according to him presents technical, social and political problem and could be
defined by the number of people living below an imaginary international
poverty line. He insists that the standards and costs of living vary from country
to country but the major criterion which could be used to determine the level of
poverty in any country is the standard of living, the level of basic needs and the
standard of household consumption.
Poverty according to Ekundayo (2002) is the inability to provide basic
material goods and infrastructure, sufficient medical services and adequate
educational facilities. It is multi-dimensional and manifested in such phenomena
as social exclusion, shortage of income, deprivation in knowledge, low life
expectancy, poor quality of life and lack of material means.
Poverty was seen by Jalingo (2000) as the number of people living below
a specific minimum level of income and imaginary international poverty line
which recognizes neither national boundaries or level of nation per-capita
income. Okeke (2000) defined poverty as inequalities in the distribution of five
resources, including income, capital assets, occupational fringed benefits,
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current public services and current private services. Ozigbo (2001) defined
poverty as a process with many dimensions and complexities usually
deprivation, vulnerability and powerlessness as its characteristics impair
people’s sense of well-being. Stromquist (2009:23) refers to poverty as “what
the poor lack”, but said that this lack may be as a result of a condition created or
at best uncorrected by the upper and middle classes. He talked of extreme
poverty which he described as “irreducible core of absolute deprivation”
comprising starvation, malnutrition and visible hardship. He believed that
education can be crucial in reducing poverty through four broad areas of
occupational education, community improvement education, general or basic
education and family improvement education. Nwaida (2003) saw poverty as
the lack of certain capabilities such as being able to participate with dignity in
society.
Poverty is a denial of choices and opportunity and a violation of human
dignity (Gordon, 2008). Poverty for him means lack of basic capacity to
participate effectively in society. Gordon also saw poverty as not having enough
to feed and clothe a family; not having school or clinic to go to; not having the
land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn a living; and not having
access to credit. He further viewed poverty from the perspective of being
insecure, powerless, excluded and susceptible to violence; living on marginal or
fragile environments, without access to clean water.
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Poverty is the lack of multiple resources that lead to hunger and physical
deprivation (Oyemomi, 2003). The author sees poverty as lack of voice, power
and independence that subjects people to exploitation. Mustier (2005) pointed
out that poverty is of different levels and it is the poverty lines that separate the
poor from the non poor. Those whose income/expenditures fall below the
poverty line are poor; those above the line are non poor. Olaitan et al. (2000)
agreed with this statement when he stated that poverty is a state of perpetual
want or one not possessing the basic and essential means of survival. Olaitan et
al., is of the view that means of survival and proper sustenance require material
wealth, investment, opportunities, saleable production skills, money, security,
peace, decent housing and food, mobility and information technology. For
Bevan (2000), the poor are those who have certain social characteristics related
to low economic status and poor relationship in which they are entrapped. The
poor for him are those who without fundamental freedom of action and choice,
are easily exposed to external and uncontrollable events such as violence, bad
weather, illness, economic shocks and natural disaster.
In support of the above view, Johnson (2004) indicated that the poor are
often the ones who face extreme uncertainty and vulnerability to ill-health, and
are also the ones to bear the brunt of economic and geographical dislocation.
Moreover, the poor are often exposed to ill-treatment by institutions of the state
and society and are powerless to influence decisions affecting their lives.
Ebirim (2008) saw the poor as those who do not enjoy the minimum standard of
24
living consistent with human dignity. She insisted that those families whose
total earnings are insufficient to meet minimum necessities for the maintenance
of mere physical efficiency should be categorized as poor people.
Poverty is pain according to Jaiyeoba (2008). The author opined that poor
people experience physical and psychological pain that come with too little food
and long hours of work; emotional pain stemming from the daily humiliations
and dependency and lack of power and the moral pain of being forced to make
choices. Lawal (2008) categorized poverty into three namely: Absolute poverty
which he said has to do with the level of living index; relative poverty which
has to do with the living standard according to the prevailing social conditions;
and subjective poverty which according to the author is related to relative
poverty since victims of poverty themselves feel that they are poor due to the
situation they find themselves.
To a large extent, Fasokun (2008) shared the same views with Lawal who
sees poverty as a problem with many faces. The author submits that one face of
poverty may show the material conditions which involve the absence or lack of
goods and services for the people. Another he says may depict the economic
position of the people which involve certain situations where a person or a
group of persons have low income with limited resources. The other face of
poverty for him is social, which offers the poor exclusion, lack of entitlement
and being too dependent on others in order to live. Preece (2005) like Fasokun,
opined that there are different types of poverty. She listed four major types
25
which according to her includes income poverty, capability poverty,
participatory poverty and consequential poverty. Based on the views of scholars
above, poverty has to do with lack of one thing or the other which does not
really benefit man.
Causes of poverty in Nigeria
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) world face book July (2012)
showed that the estimated population of the country hit 170,123,740 million and
the United Nations (2011) gave the estimated population as 162,471,000. No
wonder, Nigeria continues to feature in the league of world most densely
populated nations. According to the report, the Gross National Income (GNI)
for the country was $38.7 billion, while child mortality rate dropped from 190
per 1000 in 1990 to 183 per 1000 in 2001 and then to 142.90 per 1000 (World
Bank, 2012).
Omoh (2012) quoting the poverty data released by the National Bureau of
statistics revealed that 112 million Nigerians representing 70 percent live below
one dollar a day and British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC (2012) agreed with
this when it quoted poverty data at 112.47 million; stating that absolute poverty
is measured by those who can afford only the bare essentials. Omoh is of the
view that Nigeria appears to be in a poverty trap; a vicious circle that takes hard
work and massive investment to break. According to Omoh, the population is
rising faster than the economy can cater for, which is breeding poverty in
Nigeria. The fact that Nigeria is the seventh largest exporter of oil in the world
26
(and the largest in Africa) notwithstanding, the cash income of average
Nigerians remains insufficient to provide for their minimum requirement for
food, water, fuel, shelter, medical care and basic education (Achor, 2001). This
situation presents a nation wallowing in want in the midst of plenty human and
material resources.
In as much as it is only the poor who knows what it actually means to be
poor, the effect of poverty from the ongoing, manifests in powerlessness against
overbearing, vulnerability to sickness. Poverty is however, more pronounced on
women since they have to combine the direct impact of poverty with several
cultural restrictions and perceptions that tend to prevent them from exploring
socio- economic opportunities. Poverty to the women means lack of income and
assets referring to such assets like physical assets, natural assets, human assets,
social assets and financial assets.
High cost of living, unemployment, failure on the part of government to
provide basic social amenities, lack of adequate education/illiteracy, early
marriage, ill health, lack of good feeder roads, insufficient farm lands, faulty
irrigation system, lack of storage facilities, subsistent farming with nothing to
sell for cash, frustration from life’s ambition and reckless spending at social
functions and local festivities were seen by Odumosu, Ajala, Nelson, Obioha,
Alonge and Babatimahin (2003) as some major causes of poverty. Olaitan et al.
(2000) listed lack of access to income-earning opportunities, covetousness,
family system, material inheritance, lack of pragmatism in national education
27
and usage, rural-urban drift, marrying down, poor policy statement, conflict,
delinquency and school dropout as causes of poverty. Ebirim (2008) identified
causes of poverty as colonial/political, economic, social stratification,
biological/health factors.
In Nigeria, the claim is often made that development policy must be
directed at three fundamental objectives of economic growth and development,
price stability and social equity. It is important to note that the overriding
purpose of Nigerian National Development Plans (NDP) is bringing about an
improvement in the real income of the average citizen; an equitable distribution
of income and a reduction in the level of unemployment and underemployment.
Such a policy stance should doubtless have implications for poverty alleviation
(Oladeji & Abiola, 2000).
However, disproportionate attention has been accorded to economic
growth in both policy design and implementation. Evaluation of the plans has
often emphasized the growth criterion with limited consideration for social
equity in general and the poverty issue in particular. In fact, in the context of the
Structural Adjustment Programme implemented since 1986 in Nigeria, social
questions appear not to have been addressed properly. The emphasis of the
adjustment programme has thus far been the pursuit of non-inflationary
economic growth and the achievement of a short to medium term fiscal and
balance of payment policy.
28
Concept of Poverty Alleviation
Poverty alleviation has to do with any effort towards reducing the level of
poverty. According to Nnamani (2003) poverty alleviation connotes a concerted
effort made to uplift or reduce the poverty level or situation of citizens of a
particular sector. It could be national, state, local, community and or a family
affair. Poverty alleviation according to Chinecherem (2002:3) ‘is a concrete
arrangement made to change the situation of the poor through skill acquisition,
employment, literacy and equitable distribution of resources’. He suggested the
following as steps towards poverty alleviation:
-
Control of arbitrary and interruptive human population growth
-
Skill training provision
-
Job creation
-
Provision of affordable services
-
Improvement of the environment
According to Bruno, Michael and Martin (2005) poverty alleviation has
to do with policies designed to foster economic growth significantly enough to
reduce poverty. They further noted that programmes that provide credit and
build human capital try to eliminate the causes of poverty and such programmes
can have a short-term or long-term effect. They noted that poverty alleviation
has an essential requirement for sustainable development which means there is
the need to arrest the increase in poverty. Ebuara, Ozurumba and Udida (2006)
opined that poverty alleviation is the minimizing or removal of the factors
which contribute to poverty. According to them, providing citizens with those
29
congenial opportunities that would enable them provide basic essential means of
achieving socio-economic independence is poverty alleviation.
Discussing the concept of poverty alleviation, Ursula (2004) believes that
to tackle poverty problems, it is necessary to take comprehensive action and to
rely on effective cooperation of everybody to channel resources in such a way
that they make it easier to build human capacities to promote endogenous
development processes and the possibility of full participation in the all
inclusive and democratic development of the nation. This means that in trying to
reduce poverty, individuals are targeted. The main feature of the specific
dimensions of poverty in the indigenous communities is the historical situation
that deprives them of several resources necessary to ensure physical survival
and the right to socio-cultural development of their own. His views are
therefore,
that
this
prevailing
social
discrimination
has
yielded
to
submissiveness, lack of self esteem and shortage of technological knowledge
and intercultural education tools. The absence of these factors for him makes it
difficult for a large part of the indigenous population to escape by their own
effort from the poverty in which they live. The fight against poverty or all
poverty reduction initiatives must surely bear the above in mind and note all the
other factors leading to poverty if it needs to change the life of the people.
Poverty alleviation is the process of creating overall economic growth in
which some of the benefits would trickle-down to the poor (Dike, 2000).
Unfortunately, this poverty reduction is often insignificant compared to the
30
overall growth. Moreover, in areas where the inequality between the poor and
the affluent is greatest, the benefit to the poor of overall economic growth is
often negligible (Lopez, 2004). Discussing poverty reduction plans, Ian (2010)
listed extending property rights protection to the poor and securing property
rights to land as most important poverty reduction programmes. He referred to
poverty alleviation as the substantive reduction of any of the aspects of poverty.
This position supports and expands on to the major poverty reduction land
marks, the millennium Development Goals and the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines on poverty reduction. As
noted by Oladeji and Abiola (2000) poverty alleviation is a cesspit of tackling
poverty through a broad-based growth process with an explicit orientation to
employment generation, supplemented by massive investments in enriching the
poor.
To enrich the poor, there is need to target the expansion of their asset
base, increase their market access, provide them with educational opportunities,
and enlarge their scope socially and economically; to reduce control of markets
by government in order to enhance women’s use of assets. Generally, asset is
identified as a stock of financial, human, natural or social resources that can be
developed, improved and transferred across generations (Ford, 2004). Ford
insists that looking at the assets of the poor is essential in understanding upward
mobility and particularly transitions out of poverty. Ford then came up with five
most widely known assets which are:
31
1. Human capital: investments in education, health and nutrition of individuals.
For example health determines people’s capacity to work while skills and
education determine the returns from their labour. Human capital, in the
form of education, is even a more important determinant of economic growth
than physical capital.
2. Social capital: an intangible asset which is seen as the rules, norms,
obligations and trust embedded in social relations, social structures and
society’s institutional arrangements.
3. Natural capital: the stock of environmentally provided assets such as soil,
atmosphere, forest and mineral. In rural communities, land is a critical
productive asset for the poor, while in urban areas; land for shelter is also a
critical productive asset.
4. Physical capital: the stock of plant, equipment, infrastructure and other
productive resources owned by individuals, the business sector or the
community itself. Extending property rights protection to the poor is one of
the most important poverty reduction strategies a nation can implement.
Securing property rights to land, the largest asset for most societies, is vital
to their economic freedom. The World Bank concludes that increasing land
rights is ‘the key to reducing poverty’; citing that land rights greatly increase
poor people’s wealth; in some cases doubling it.
5. Financial capital assets: these are the financial resources available to people
(savings, loans, credit).
32
Women and the poor may face differential access to markets as according
to Gammage and Packman (2005), markets for goods and inputs, like most
markets, are frequently regulated. Gammage and Packman (2005) are of the
view that a variety of factors may impede access to good markets or increase the
cost of entry. For example, distance from the market may limit an individual’s
ability to sell or purchase in that market. Women may disproportionately face
mobility constraints that limit their ability to travel or sell in markets at some
distance from their households and communities. The above authors stated that
lack of permission or certification to trade in certain markets will prevent
market entry as small farmers and women are mostly confined to domestic
markets. This is because they do not have the required certification to trade
products internationally and volumes traded in some markets may be too large
for small producers or buyers; effectively precluding their access to large,
centralized, domestic and international markets. Information may not be readily
available about the type of goods sold or the prices at which they are sold; or
such information may flow to select groups. Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2006) opined that collusive activity on
the part of buyers or sellers may squeeze out competitors and prevent outsiders
from gaining access to certain goods markets. These types of collusive and
restrictive practices according to OECD may disproportionately affect women
and small producers as gender-related barriers to goods markets affect both
earnings and efficiency which costs unequal access and have implications for
33
producers as well as households. OECD concludes that working on policy,
institutional or social changes that address structural impediments to women’s
access to financial services can improve their ability to access markets. Among
such projects according to OECD are those that improve women’s inheritance
rights and their access to collateral resources such as land and other productive
assets.
According to the British Council (2012) the right to education is clearly
enshrined and accepted internationally and there is also powerful developmental
case for achieving gender equality. World Bank (2010) states that there is a high
risk of educational under achievement for children who are from low-income
housing circumstances which often is a process that begins in primary school
for some less fortunate children. The document states further that more and
better female education has a positive impact on overall labour supply. For
example, women involvement in agricultural work and education helps to
increase productivity to a significant extent, thereby, adding to household
incomes and reducing poverty. The document insists that education also
nourishes citizenship, by giving the girls the knowledge to influence the nature
and direction of society, and to engage in political life as adults; concluding that
investing more in education of female gender drastically increases personal and
social well-being which is the end objective of all development activity.
Supporting the above, Terhemba (2010) stated that education is the most
important instrument to enhance human capabilities and to achieve the desired
34
objectives of social and economic development. Terhemba is of the view that
education enables individuals to make informed choices, broaden their horizons
and opportunities and also to have a voice in public decision-making; affirming
that in Nigeria, lack of access to education stands in the way of realization of
the development promises education holds. Terhemba however acknowledges
the fact that in recent years, there has been remarkable progress in Nigeria
towards these promises; but growing evidence according to him, indicates that
the conventional education remains ill-positioned to respond to this challenge.
He concludes that it is even worrisome when we consider the intricate link
between accessible education, poverty and empowerment of the marginalized
groups.
Nigerian women’s access to formal education is still being constrained
due to their unfair workload within the household division of labour (UNESCO,
2003). Consequently, the realization of the MDG 3’s ‘gender equality and
women empowerment’ targets is being impeded. To empower the women in
Nigeria, enhanced educational opportunities are considered expedient.
Consequently, UNESCO (2003) has indicated that the following suggestions
would be relevant in the process:
• The primary instrument to achieve socio-economic empowerment i.e.
education mainstreaming should be used in a more effective and practical
way so as to make real progress towards the attainment of the MDGs’
education for all’s goal by 2015 realizable
35
• The secondary instrument i.e. specific, targeted actions such as abolition
of school fees, free school uniforms, free feeding etc. should be utilized
as a compliment of mainstreaming strategies
• Imperialist male-gender privilege, biased traditional and religious myths
impeding women’s education should be de-emphasized in Nigerian
society
• An empowering educational approach, incorporating women as
invaluable partners for social development should be encouraged;
• Skills, capabilities and achievements should henceforth take preeminence over obnoxious gender stereotypes in classifying and rewarding
people in Nigeria.
The empowerment of women has relatively, recently become a significant
area of discussion with respect to development and economics. However, it is
often regarded as a topic that only addresses and primarily deals with gender
inequality (Gbolahan, 2010). Gbolahan is of the view that women and men
experience poverty differently. Therefore, they hold dissimilar poverty
reduction priorities and are affected differently by development interventions
and poverty reduction strategies. In response to the socialized phenomenon
known as the ‘feminization of poverty’ according to him, policies aimed to
reduce poverty have begun to address poor women separately from poor men. In
addition to engender poverty and poverty interventions, a correlation between
greater gender equality and greater poverty reduction and economic growth has
36
been illustrated by research through the World Bank (1994); suggesting that
promoting gender equality through empowerment of women is a qualitatively
significant poverty reduction strategy.
British Council (2012) reveals that encouraging more economic and
political participation by women increases financial independence from and
social investment in the government, both of which are critical to pulling society
out of poverty. The report further stated that addressing gender equality and
empowering women are necessary steps in overcoming poverty and furthering
development. This can also be supported by the human development and
capabilities approach and the Millennium Development Goals especially as
disparities in the areas of education, mortality rates, health and other social and
economic indicators impose large costs on well-being and health of the poor,
which diminishes productivity and the potential to reduce poverty.
Gender mainstreaming which is the concept of placing gender issues into
the mainstream of society was established by the United Nations Fourth World
Conference on Women as a global strategy for promoting gender equality (Ugo
& Ukpere, 2009). The UN conference emphasized the necessity to ensure that
gender equality is a primary goal in all areas of social and economic
development, which includes the discussion of poverty and its reduction.
Correspondingly, the World Bank (1999) also created objectives to address
poverty with respect to the different effects on women. One important goal for
the World Bank group was the revision of laws and administrative practices to
37
ensure women’s equal rights and access to economic resources. Ugo and
Ukpere (2009) concurs that gender mainstreaming strengthens women’s active
involvement in poverty alleviation through linking women’s capabilities and
contributions with macro-economic issues.
The underlying purpose of both the UN and World Bank policies is the
use of discussion of gender issues in the promotion of gender equality for
economic empowerment and reduction of poverty. Women’s economic
empowerment, or ensuring that women and men have equal opportunities to
generate and manage income, is an important step to enhancing their
development within the household and in society as a whole (Ugo et al., 2009).
They added that women play an important economic role in addressing poverty
experienced by children.
Ugo and Ukpere opined that by increasing female participation in the
labour force, women are able to contribute more effectively to economic growth
and income distribution since having a source of income elevates their financial
and social status. However, he argued that women’s entry into the paid labour
force does not necessarily equate to reduction of poverty; the creation of decent
employment opportunities and movement of women from the informal work
sector to the formal labour market for them are vital to poverty reduction. Other
ways to encourage female participation in the workforce to reduce poverty
according to Gbolahan include providing childcare services, increasing
38
educational quality and opportunities, and furthering entrepreneurship for
women.
Protection of property rights is a key element in economically
empowering women and fostering economic growth for both genders. With
legitimate claims to land, women gain bargaining power, which can be applied
to their lives outside of and within the household. The ability and opportunity
for women to lawfully own land also decreases the asset gap that exists between
women and men, which promotes gender equality.
Social development is the greater capacity of the social system (social
structure, institutions, services, and policy) to utilize resources to generate
changes in levels of living, interpreted in the broad sense as related to accepted
social values and a better distribution of income, wealth and opportunities
(Okunlola, 2002). Gbolahan (2010) listed the broad national goals of social
development policy in Nigeria as:
-
The continuous improvement of the quality of life of the entire citizens
of the country, as groups and individuals.
-
The promotion and continuous improvement of initiatives and
programmes aimed at improving the welfare of the society’s most
vulnerable and disadvantaged groups; notably the disabled, the poor and
destitute, the aged, children, youth, rural populations and women.
-
The development and mobilization of human and social capacity; in
particular, the strengthening of the capacity of various institutions,
39
communities and target groups to cope creatively and effectively with
the challenges of change.
-
The anticipation, control and minimization of social problems.
-
The maintenance of high moral standard of the nation as a well as
alertness and responsive action against policies and trends both foreign
and local that militate against such standard.
-
The maximization of the contribution of the social development sector
towards the attainment of the country’s socio-economic integration and
human development objectives
-
The promotion of policy orientations likely to strengthen the observance
and protection of human rights, to advance social justice and human
dignity and enhance the status of people in the scheme of national
development.
Looking at this from the area of decentralization Subrahmanyam (2008)
said that it improves equity.
For him, if local government for example
effectively provides services, the poor stand to benefit as they are more likely to
use local services. However, state government must consciously invest in
building up basic human capabilities in form of basic education, basic
healthcare, social mobilization, safe drinking water, tackling malnutrition of
children and provision of family welfare services. World Bank (2004) observed
that investment in the social sector and consequent improvements in the
40
provision of social services not only alleviate the consequences of poverty but
also attack some of the major causes of poverty.
The multidimensional nature of poverty implies that people become
vulnerable in many different ways and at different times during their lives. It is
necessary to ensure that such vulnerable people, be accorded the means to deal
with the situations that exacerbate their poor social and economic conditions.
This according to Subrahmanyam (2008) necessitates an understanding of, and
acting on, the causes of what makes people vulnerable to poverty. He therefore,
indicated that there is need to understand that certain groups by virtue of their
gender, age, health status, or disability and geographic location are more
susceptible to vulnerability and suggested that government has a moral and
constitutional obligation to alleviate their plight. Women and children are under
constant threat; homeless individuals especially children, female farm dwellers,
single mothers and increasingly, orphaned children are amongst the most
vulnerable in our society who should be provided with social support to better
their lives.
The frequency of natural and man-made disasters and its effect on
vulnerable groups is also another problem. The presence of chronic poverty as a
way of life for the vulnerable will continue unless mitigating measures are
accelerated as explained by Okunlola (2010). The vulnerable groups particularly
the women need to be empowered to access social services through existing
health, education, social welfare, housing and other programmes; which are
41
programmes that are stimuli for sustainable development. Interventions of this
nature must ensure the provision of skills and the development of the
capabilities and capacity of vulnerable groups that will strengthen their
economic value.
This approach blends growth-promotion policies with poverty focused
strategies, aiming deliberately at mainstreaming the poor in the country’s
development process. The basic characteristics of the strategy are:
-
It is unnecessary to make a choice between growth and poverty.
-
The pursuit of growth does not mean any kind of growth, but a growth
process that increases the incomes of the average citizen, including the
poor.
-
The pursuit of employment-generating growth, supplemented by specific
programmes must be aimed at increasing the earning capability of certain
target groups, notably the poor and there is mounting evidence in support
of the complementarities between growth and poverty reduction (Fields
& Jackson, 2003; Morley, 2004 & Ranis, 2005). The strategy brings to
the fore the necessity of tackling poverty through a broadly-based growth
process with an explicit orientation to employment generation,
supplemented by massive investments in human capital of the poor
(Oladeji & Abiola 2000). Oladeji et al. suggest that poverty alleviation in
contemporary Nigeria requires both economic policy and educational
reforms; concluding that to enhance the human capital of the poor in
42
particular, the priorities for educational reforms should be in the areas of
basic education, vocational education and training.
This approach has its focus on improvement in education and training;
health and nutrition. All these areas reinforce each other and collectively
influence the pace of a growth process and could either break or sustain the
vicious circle of poverty. There are, therefore, strong complementarities among
growth, poverty reduction and developing human capital. In the seamless web
of interrelations among the components of human capital, education plays the
central role (The World bank, 2000). However, to enhance the human capital of
the poor in particular, priorities for educational reforms should be in the areas of
basic education, vocational training, water and sanitation, health care delivery,
agriculture and housing for all.
It is important to recognize that human poverty does not have a uniform
manifestation, as the differences in the economic and social life of the people in
any country are deep seated, involving historical, economic, social and political
dimensions. World Bank continued by stating that even though poverty lines are
routinely determined in every country, the poor comprise a very large number of
varied groups, difficult to be treated under one label such as those living below
the poverty line. The poverty status of individuals or groups of people may be
directly related to their geographical location; to the vulnerability arising out of
their belonging to particular ethnic or linguistic minorities; or to gender-based
and other culturally dependent discriminatory practices. Thus, social structure
43
characterizing the society to which the poor belong is one of the most powerful
factors intrinsically correlated with their economic status, as the gross inequality
of assets often persists because of entrenched social power hierarchies and
vested interest groups.
In tackling poverty problems, Ursula (2004) believes that it is necessary
to take comprehensive action and to rely on effective cooperation of different
sorts that channels resources in such a way that they make it easier to build
human capacities to promote endogenous development processes and the
possibility of fully participating in the all inclusive and democratic development
of the nation. The main feature of the specific dimensions of poverty in the
indigenous communities is the historical situation that deprives them of several
resources necessary to ensure physical survival and the right to socio cultural
development of their own. His views are therefore that this prevailing social
discrimination has yielded to submissiveness, lack of self esteem and shortage
of technological knowledge and intercultural education tools. The absence of
these factors for him makes it difficult for a large part of the indigenous
population to escape by their own effort, from the poverty in which they live.
Concept of Poverty Alleviation Initiatives by Nigerian Governments
Since the 1970s, successive development plans in Nigeria have attempted
to reduce poverty through setting up of programmes geared towards reducing
unemployment, improving healthcare, provision of affordable education,
providing land for low-cost housing, increasing food production. The conscious
44
policy effort by government towards poverty alleviation seems to have begun
with the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). The period was proceeded
with severe economic crisis that worsened the quality of life in Nigeria. The
government through the assistance of the World Bank/IMF introduced SAP to
assist in checking the crisis. However, the further implementation of the
programme according to Ugo (2009) worsened the living standard of many
Nigerians especially the poor people. In quick reaction to tackle the crisis Ugo
suggested that the government designed and implemented many poverty
alleviation programmes under the guided deregulation of the economy. Among
such worthy attempts made by government are National Directorate of
Employment (NDE) in 1986 and National Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP) which came into being in 2001 with the aim of wiping poverty from
Nigeria by the year 2010.
National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP)
With the general recognition that poverty is multi-dimensional and multisectoral, the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) as approved by
the Federal Executive Council in 2001 has the major mandate of multisectorally monitoring and coordinating all poverty eradication efforts in Nigeria
with a view to harmonizing these efforts and bringing about the focus and
complementation required at all levels to ensure better delivery, maximum
impact, effective utilization of resources and easy review (FGN, 2001). NAPEP
45
also periodically intervenes directly on sectors requiring special or intensified
attention.
Stake-holders who extend interventions on poverty are wide and varied.
They include governments, non-governments, partners, philanthropists,
community and individuals, all of who can either be local, international or both.
For effective monitoring, all relevant efforts are sectorised and programmed into
clusters mainly to ease identification, quantification and assessment. Locating
and mapping of efforts have completely been strategized to follow existing
administrative structures and nomenclature. Log books and indices for
monitoring, data collection and analysis are carefully designed and selected on
the basis of ease of use and quantification. An elaborate data recording system
is adopted alongside a well-structured databank and management information
Service to ease data capture, analysis, storage and retrieval.
1. Monitoring Structures
A four level monitoring structure is adopted. These are:
i.
Existing national administrative structures and nomenclature to ease
information mapping;
ii.
The NAPEP implementation network.
iii.
Clustered multi-sectoral schemes to facilitate project capture and ease
assessment; and
Specific implementers profile and identity to maintain focus.
iv.
46
(a)
The National Administrative Structures and Nomenclature
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is composed of 36 States and the FCT.
Each State is further subdivided into a number of Local Government Areas
(LGAs). In each LGA, there are a number of wards within which are
Villages/Communities. It is along these structures that information shall be
collected, collated, analyzed, stored and maintained.
(b)
NAPEP implementation network
To effectively maintain focus and ensure appropriate and timely flow of
standardized information, NAPEP maintains realistic implementation structures
which also adequately provide accommodation for relevant shades of opinions
and interests in the communities at all levels of Government.
i.
At the Local Government level, there are 774 Local Government
Monitoring Committees (LGMCs), one in each LGA, charged with the
responsibility of facilitating the physical engagement in monitoring and
mopping up of all information and raw data on all efforts from the Wards
and Communities for collation and compilation. The LGMCs shall
regularly forward all data to the State Coordination Committees (SCCs).
ii.
At the State level, there are 37 State Coordination Committees, one in
each State and the FCT. The SCC shall collate all information from the
LGMCs, then refine, review and standardize the data to ensure harmony.
It shall identify all areas of duplication, isolate areas of future focus and
47
priority,
recommend sectors for NAPEP interventions, conduct
impact/target analysis and compile appropriate and detailed sectoral
reports. The SCC shall regularly forward all data, information, reports
and recommendations to the National Coordination Committee (NCC).
iii.
The
National
Coordination
Committee
is
the
Apex
technical
clearinghouse that shall conduct final coordination, analysis and national
impact review. It also shall set future national targets, make
recommendations on national focus and prepare appropriate sectoral
reports for the NAPEC.
iv.
The National Poverty Eradication Council (NAPEC) shall use the NCC
reports on all efforts to review the policies and government direction on
Poverty Eradication rolling plans and annual budgetary requirements.
v.
In addition, the State Poverty Eradication Councils (SPECs) have been
established in every State of the Federation to facilitate the
complementation and coordination mandate of NAPEP. This structure
provides a formal channel through which information shall flow in both
directions on all relevant efforts of the Federal Government on one hand
and all other relevant efforts including those of the States and Local
Governments and other partners on the other hand.
48
(c)
Clustered multi-sectoral Schemes
To ease data collection and ensure multidimensional analysis, NAPEP
activities have been condensed into four Schemes with programmes as
follows:
i.
The Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES). This has been sub-divided into
three programmes to specifically capture all efforts related to skill
acquisition and employment generation. The three programmes are:
• The Capacity Acquisition Programme (CAP);
• The Mandatory Attachment Programm (MAP); and
• The Credit Delivery Programme (CDP).
ii.
The Rural Infrastructure Development Scheme (RIDS). This has been
programmed into four to capture all efforts related to the provision of
infrastructure particularly in rural areas. The programmes are:
• The Rural Transport Programme (RTP);
• The Rural Energy Programme (REP);
• The Rural Water Programme (RWP); and
• The Rural Communication Programme (RCP).
iii.
The Social Welfare Services Scheme (SOWESS). This has been
programmed into four to capture all efforts related to the provision of
Social Services. These programmes are:
• The Special Education Programme (SEP);
49
• The Primary Healthcare Programme (PHP);
• The Farmers Empowerment Programme (FEP); and
• Other Social Services Programme (OSSP).
iv.
The Natural Resources Development and Conservation Scheme
(NRDCS). This has been programmed into four to capture all efforts
related to the effective exploitation and development of natural resources
with a view to maximizing participation and benefits by rural dwellers
and also sustaining the resources while protecting the environment. The
programmes are:
• The Agricultural Resources Programme (ARP);
• The Water Resources Programme (WRP);
• The Solid Minerals Resources Programme (SMRP); and
• Environment Protection Programme (EPP).
Based on these multi-sectoral schemes and programmes, all efforts relevant to
poverty eradication in the country shall be appropriately classified, coded,
monitored and their impacts assessed.
(d)
Specific implementers profile and projects identity
Conceptually, NAPEC is not an implementing outfit. The statutory
implementation role of the Ministries, Agencies, Parastatals and Partners at all
levels shall be maintained while recognizing the occasional intervention role of
NAPEC. Also, it shall be noted that while all relevant efforts as extended by the
50
Federal Government shall be monitored for both implementation and
performance, projects extended under other categories shall be monitored
mainly for coordination. The following shall guide the process of project
identification and monitoring:
i.
Federal Government efforts through the Ministries, Parastatals and
Agencies
Budgeted efforts for implementation by the Federal Ministries,
Parastatals and Agencies in the States and Local Governments shall be extracted
yearly from the main budget ledger. Details of these along with their
implementation schedules shall regularly be obtained via the NCC and/or the
SCCs. Ideally these details shall partly form the basis of monitoring schedules
on the relevant efforts of the Federal Government in the States through the
LGMCs.
ii.
NAPEP Intervention efforts
NAPEP has also been mandated to extend scaled intervention
programmes and projects on stressed, critical and sensitive sectors of the
economy periodically to supplement and provide relief in the sector with a view
to enhancing the efforts of the statutory implementing Ministries, Agencies and
Parastatals.
Details
of
these
intervention
projects
along
with
their
implementation timetables shall regularly be obtained through the NCC, SCC
and the LGMC for monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment.
51
iii.
State Governments efforts
Details on relevant efforts of the State Governments through the specially
created poverty alleviation/eradication agencies and the relevant State
Ministries and Parastatals shall be provided and monitored through the
instruments of SPEC and SCC. Hence information on efforts in the area of
water supply, primary healthcare, education, etc. shall be provided along with
the details of implementation in reports presented to SPEC and the SCC by the
relevant State Ministries/Agencies representatives. These shall accordingly form
the monitoring basis of such projects.
iv.
LGA efforts
Detailed reports presented at the LGMC meetings on Programmes and
projects embarked upon by the various Local Governments that have poverty
eradication contents shall form the basis for monitoring such through the Local
Government Monitoring Committees. The submissions and reports shall
highlight details on project location, budgets and actual implementation
schedules and status of the projects.
v.
Efforts/Interventions by IDAs and Partners
Details on foreign aids and assistance given by International donor
Agencies (IDAs) to the critical sectors of the economy prone to poverty shall be
provided to form the basis of monitoring such projects. The representatives of
the donor agencies and partners on the LGMC shall provide the relevant
detailed information in this regard.
52
vi.
Efforts by the NGOs, CBOs, Missionaries, Individuals, the
Community etc.
Details of all sundry efforts by these bodies meant to complement other
efforts in reducing the incidence of poverty in communities shall be provided to
form the basis for monitoring such projects. The details shall be obtained
through the representatives of these bodies on the LGMC.
2. Monitoring Strategies and Guidelines
The NAPEP monitoring philosophy and bottoms-up approach hinges on
physical inspection and monitoring of all relevant efforts periodically to
identify project location, confirm project implementation as per plans
provided. This is to ensure the status of project delivery; note functionality of
facilities; assess impacts on livelihood of communities; ensure equitable
distribution and fair spread of basic necessities of life through coordination;
and review the actual poverty status of communities with a view to setting
further targets for total eradication of absolute poverty in Nigeria. To achieve
all of the above, the field monitoring strategies of NAPEP shall involve
participatory functional teams’ formation, careful and sensitive team member
selection and composition, and logical field monitoring methods and
operations. The details are as follows:
(a)
Functional Teams
i.
Field projects Monitoring Team members (Projects by Federal, State, LG,
IDAs, NGOs, CBOs etc): All physical projects as implemented by the
53
Federal, State, Local Governments, IDAs, NGOs, CBOs etc shall be
pooled, sectorized and schemed under YES, RIDS, SOWESS and
NRDCS, and identified in the Local Government Areas for monitoring by
specifically and carefully selected team members who are experienced,
professionally relevant, and have wide knowledge of the areas.
ii.
Intervention Projects Monitoring Teams (CAP, MAP, CDP and SSP
projects): All intervention projects of NAPEP shall naturally be specific
and strategically located. Special teams shall be composed to undertake
the monitoring of these projects at set regular periods.
iii.
Financial Monitoring Teams: To ensure financial compliance on the
projects as stated in (i) and (ii) above, financial monitoring members shall
be included in the teams to carryout detailed quantitative evaluation of
the projects extended.
iv.
Development Monitoring Teams (Impact assessment and attainment of
targets): In order to ensure the monitoring of the collective efforts of all
projects on the rate and level of poverty eradication, specialized teams
shall be composed to regularly assess the impacts of interventions on the
benefiting communities.
v.
Technical assessment and project recommendation teams (for priority
intervention and social services projects): For projects that are highly
technical in nature, specialized teams shall be made to specifically
monitor the projects. Also the teams shall conduct assessment work on
54
areas of needs of communities for priority projects and other social
services projects.
(b)
Teams Composition
As much as practicable, monitoring teams shall generally be composed
using the following resources:
i.
NAPEP secretariats staff for team facilitation, guidance, support and
supervision (NCC, SCC and LGMC)
ii.
Private Resource Persons/ Consultants from enlisted and recommended
pool at all levels, data of which is primarily regularly updated and
maintained at the NAPEP headquarters;
iii.
NGOs, CBOs and Community Heads from lists of registered and
accredited at the Local Government level whose pooled data are regularly
updated and maintained at the NAPEP headquarters
(c)
Monitoring Methodology
i.
Determination of set targets for each relevant sector;
ii.
Teams formation relevant to the functions as listed in (a) above to be
regularly articulated as the need arises by the NCC with relevant inputs
from the SCC and the LGMC.
iii.
Development of standard relevant logbooks by carefully selected resource
persons closely facilitated by NCC.
iv.
Field work scheduling and execution to be articulated by the NCC with
contributions and facilitation by the SCC.
55
v.
Data compilation and collation to be conducted at all levels but most
particularly at the SCC and the LGMC.
vi.
Information/data harmonization by the SCC and the NCC.
vii.
Data analysis, target attainment assessment and evaluation by the SCC
and the NCC.
viii. Impact assessment reports by the LGMC, SCC and the NCC. and
ix.
Review structures by the NCC.
Using the structures and methods outlined above, the NAPEP agenda of
the Federal Government shall execute its major mandate using carefully
selected indices. Logbooks shall be developed to capture these indices in the
form that is easy to record, assess and quantify. The indices of monitoring shall
be extracted from broad performance block including:
i.
Quality;
ii.
Project objective and target achievement;
iii.
Scheduled completion;
iv.
Financial prudence;
v.
Maximized impacts / multiplier effects.
If one focuses attention on Capacity Acquisition Programme (CAP) of
National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) for instance, it would be
seen that CAP was designed to enable participants, irrespective of their sex and
level of formal education, acquire skills, vocational capabilities and enhanced
attributes in their chosen areas of engagement (FGN, 2001). The concept of
56
CAP is to recruit, retrain and redeploy the creative capacity of the people to
enable them play more productive and self-fulfilling roles in the emerging
economic dispensation.
The Capacity Acquisition Programme (CAP) has the following
objectives:
a. To improve on the basic knowledge and experience of participants;
b. encourage the jobless school leavers to choose practical fields of
livelihood;
c. equip school drop outs with vocational skill to partly make for academic
deficiencies and enable them channel a more fulfilling course of
livelihood;
d. improve the quality and technological content of technicians and artisans’
trades
and practice;
e. introduce participants to basic management concepts to enable them fit
into related jobs in big industrial set ups;
f. enable participants understand industrial operation to make them fit into
related jobs in industrial set ups;
g. enhance and upgrade training facilities of the various training centers in
the count
h. improve the quality of entrants into various levels of labour markets;
i. encourage the establishment of small
scale workshops, trade and
business in areas of acquired training/apprenticeship; and
57
j. take advantage of the benefits of the socio-economic effect of reduction
in the level of unemployment at all levels (FGN, 2001:13). To achieve
these, over 2000 training centers for skill acquisition were mounted
nationwide at the inception of NAPEP with selected entrepreneurial
skills.
The need therefore to enhance networking of NAPEP structure with all
other stakeholders cannot be emphasized. The finding of this study would reveal
the extent of participation of women in the poverty alleviation initiatives of
National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and National Directorate of
Employment (NDE) in Ebonyi and Enugu States. The finding of this study
would therefore be an excellent guide for NAPEP and indeed the Federal
Government to consolidate its strategies in the attempts to properly eradicate
poverty among its good people with women as partners in this noble cause.
National Directorate of Employment (NDE)
In conformity with its mandate of job creation and in effect tackling the
problems of unemployment in Nigeria, the National Directorate of Employment
(NDE) trains unemployed youths and adult retired persons for vocational skills
acquisition, entrepreneurship or business development, labour based works,
rural employment promotion and job placement counseling (FGN, 2009). The
NDE charter is to ensure that NDE is committed to the employment generation,
poverty reduction, wealth creation and attitudinal change to enable Nigerian
58
youths to be self-employed and contribute to the economic growth and
development of the nation.
The NDE mission is derived from its mandate to design and implement
programmes to combat mass unemployment; articulate policies aimed at
developing work programmes with labour intensive potentials; obtain and
maintain a data bank on unemployment and vacancies in the country with a
view to acting as a clearing house to link job seekers with vacancies in
collaboration with other government agencies; and to implement any other
policies as may be laid down from time to time by the board established under
sections of its enabling Act.
The vision of NDE is job for all. To create pool of artisans and
entrepreneurs among the unemployed through skills acquisition of youths who
will promote economic development of the nation. NDE customers are school
leavers, school drop outs, youths with little or no education, artisans, graduates
of tertiary institutions, retired public/private workers (mature persons) and
women groups.
The service provision of NDE shows that unemployed Nigerian youths or
retired persons who require the services of the NDE are assured of at least being
trained in their chosen vocations. However, due to financial constraints only
very few of them would benefit from NDE resettlement packages for them to
start their own micro business. Under the vocational skills development
programmes, the NDE will train 1,000 unemployed youths per state every year
59
for the next five years. Under the small scale enterprises through Start Your
Own Business (SYOB), 500 graduates will be trained every year for the next
five years. Also, 500 unemployed youths will be recruited under Rural
Employment Promotion and Special Public Work every year for five years
respectively. However, due to fund constraint, between 1% and 4% of those
trained will be resettled with tools and cash to start their own business (Micro
Credit).
The service delivery of the NDE customers would be well equipped with
marketable skills that would enable them to be self-employed (i.e.) to establish
their own business or get wage employment if need be. This will involve:
recruitment, selection, posting/attachment, counseling, training, assistance to
prepare feasibility studies, graduation and linkage to financial institutions.
The NDE training programmes and projects sponsored would be
monitored periodically at least once in three months (3 months) to ensure good
performance. The activities would involve: monitoring; verification; inspection
and reports prepared and submitted for management consideration; and all
observations and clientele complaints would be taken note of and prompt action
initiated for management attention.
The customer complains to inspection officers who will channel the
complaints to complaint designated officer. The complaint can also be one on
one basis. Written complaints will also be sent through the complaint desk
officer to the NODAL Officer and the Chief Executive for prompt action. It is
60
expected that within 48 hours action must be taken. The complainant will be
informed officially of the action taken either in writing or invited personally
through his/her address or telephone.
With regards to obligations/expectations, members of the NDE staff and
management at all times should be:
i.
Polite, attentive and friendly to customers;
ii.
Recognize the need to preserve the privacy and dignity of customers;
iii.
Staff should treat customers with sensitivity; and
iv.
Consideration should be given to the actual need of customers rather than
staff convenience and routine.
v.
No office of any staff should be classified as out of bound to customers.
vi.
Information on NDE should be made available to customers without
prohibition.
The existing limitations of NDE include:
i.
Macro-Economic Policy Problem. The unstable macro-economic
environment in Nigeria has made the business of employment generation
a more difficult task. For instance, various policies of government on
exchange rate, deregulation of the economy, globalization and
commercialization have had impact directly or indirectly on the labour
market.
ii.
Large number of unemployed persons: The number of unemployed
persons in the labour market is rising astronomically every year due to a
61
combination of factors which include the large turn-out from school
system and some economic policies like right-sizing, down-sizing,
commercialization and privatization. The number to be catered for
apparently out-weights resource support.
iii.
Attitudinal change: NDE Job Creation programmes principally focus on
the informal sector for self–employment creation. However, poverty and
other social factors are responsible for lukewarm attitude of unemployed
school leavers and graduates in particular to embrace skill acquisition
training for self-employment. Some are still insisting on wage
employment to meet their immediate needs.
NDE Collaboration with Stakeholders
The NDE collaborate with some stakeholders like: United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and International Labour Organization
(ILO); German Government through its agency GTZ; Nigerian Agriculture
Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB); National Poverty
Eradication Programme (NAPEP) among others. This study focused on
NDE/NAPEP collaboration.
The National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) was designed to
fund, co-ordinate and monitor activities of all agencies involved in combating
poverty which includes NDE. To this end, NDE and NAPEP collaborated in the
vocational skills acquisition training of 25,000 youths. The finding of this study
62
would reveal the extent of participation of women in the poverty alleviation
initiatives of National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and National
Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Ebonyi and Enugu States.
Concept of Assessment
Assessment as a concept has been differently defined by different
authors. Okunrotifa (2007) defined assessment as the provision of information
involving selection of criteria, collection of data and analysis for the sake of
facilitating decision making. In line with this opinion, Ohuche and Akeju,
(2007) stated that assessment undertakes the specification of objectives of some
aspects of education and the appraisal of the extent to which the said objectives
have been achieved. The authors stated that it strives to give a sound value
judgement based on the objectives and criteria as well as informed evidence.
The authors outlined the four main objectives of assessment to be:
a)
Giving account of how far the objectives of programmes have been
achieved
b)
Giving guidance as to what step to be taken next.
c)
Making educational decision and
63
d)
Making value judgement.
Boykin in Ali and Ndubuisi (2006), is of a different view and described
the characteristics of effective assessment pointing out that assessment is not
merely testing a programme or a synonym for measurement or an administrative
device for assessing teaching or instruction; rather, it is a comprehensive cooperatively developed, continuous process of study to be defined and interpreted
in terms of its functions and purposes. Other writers including Ragan and Rivlin
still in Ali and Ndubuisi (2006) were in general agreement that assessment can
be defined as a process, global in scope, concerned with determination of the
value of behaviour changes that education seeks to accomplish. They went
further to say that assessment is a technique for collecting multiple evidences to
indicate the value of a process, the extent of progress towards stated goals and
the use of evidence to influence future action.
For Stufflebeam in Idoko (2001) assessment is the process of delineating,
obtaining and providing useful information for judging alternatives. The author
has been reported to include information for accountability.
According to Idoko:
64
•
Assessment is performed in the service of decision-making and
accountability; hence it should provide information which is useful to
decision-making as well as being accountable for the public money
invested in programme.
•
Assessment is a cyclic, continuous process and therefore must be
implemented through a systematic programme.
•
Assessment process includes the three main steps of delineating,
obtaining and providing
•
The delineation and providing steps in the assessment process are
interface activities requiring collaboration between evaluator and
decision-maker while the obtaining step is largely a technical activity
which is executed mainly by the evaluator.
An assessment of the extent the effect of women’s are participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives of National Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP) and National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for community
development has improved their well being in Ebonyi and Enugu States, is
necessary. The assessment becomes necessary since Taiwo, Arikpo and Eze
65
(2006) reported that poverty alleviation and their benefits were rather enjoyed
by the rich and powerful individuals in the society rather than the poor masses
for which they were meant. According to them, things were done haphazardly
without proper consideration to the community needs and this led to their
collapse. Okere (2006) revealed that poverty is more acute in the rural areas and
that some geo-political zones are particularly harder hit than the others by this
phenomenon. To further cushion the effect of poverty on Nigerians, the Federal
Government according to Taiwo et al. (2006) is currently focusing on micro
financing as a way of helping those who are not financially stable or the poor
who are not traditionally served by the conventional institutions to get access to
financial institutions.
An assessment of the poverty situation and alleviation in Nigeria by
Okere (2006) also shows that Nigeria as a developing nation is characteristically
identified by low levels of living. In Nigeria, like most third world countries,
poverty is one of the most viable problems militating against sustainable
development. Nigeria is blessed with mineral resources and rich in crude oil.
Ironically, the citizens are hungry and poor in the abundance of plenty, observed
66
Ugo (2009). Ugo, quoting UNDP classified the country as 141 poorest nations
on human development index (HDI) and considered Nigeria as one of the 20th
poorest countries in the world with 70 percent of the population classified as
poor and 54.4 percent living in absolute poverty. Ugo affirms that poverty has
been a serious problem confronting the Nigerian nation since independence
because instead of advancing, the country has degenerated into one of the
poorest countries of the world with more and more people becoming poorer
every day. The long-standing threat of poverty to the progress and well-being of
the Nigerian citizenry; the enormous problem it creates and the fact that poverty
is a serious obstacle to the country’s development; made the Federal
Government of Nigeria embark on a number of programmes and schemes to
alleviate it (Ugo, 2009). The finding of the present assessment study would
reveal the extent to which women are participating in poverty alleviation
initiatives of National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and National
Directorate of Employment (NDE) for community development in Ebonyi and
Enugu States.
67
Concept of Participation
The concept of participation has variously been defined. Schaeffer (2012)
stated that to participate literally means being part of something and opined that
there are various ways and degrees of being part of or ‘taking part in’. Quoting
Covaggro, Schaeffer (2012) indicated that the argument had been made that
participation issue is not much of the problem of degree or quantity but rather of
the quality of such participation. He therefore concluded that participation is not
only an agreement to follow but an active decision to assume responsibility in
considering the rationale, implications and potential outcomes of any particular
process. In the opinion of Schaeffer therefore, participation may be understood
as empowerment and formative experience which enables people to gain
knowledge, awareness and democratic experience, as well as self confidence,
self-reliance, pride and autonomy; taking action to solve their own problems
and gaining control of their own lives as well acquiring social and political
power.
Participation was looked at from the point of view of social mobilization
by Ling and Hewett (2009) which they said was a broad-scale movement to
68
engage large numbers of people in action for achieving a specific development
goal through self-reliant efforts. Ling et al opined that participation was a
planned process seeking to facilitate change and development, taking into
account the felt needs of the people; embracing the critical principle of
community involvement with a view to empowering individuals for action.
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF, 2008) saw participation as
an expression of the overall development strategy of recognizing the critical role
of people’s collective action in the broad range of political, social and economic
arenas. Mark (2009) commenting on participation preferred the word
partnership. He showed that in many contexts, the word partnership implies
more or less equal sharing but may also not imply so in other contexts. In his
study, he said that communities are the dominant partners in some cases and in
others, they are subordinate partners. In different settings and different points in
time, Mark opined that the nature of partnership varies. Mark had other terms
related to partnership as involvement and participation which he thinks are weak
forms of activity. The reason for the preference lies in his opinion that
partnership is a more active and committed involvement as partners share
responsibility for a joint activity, whereas participants may merely cooperate in
someone else’s activity. Participation for Metiboba (2012) is the involvement of
members of a particular community in formulating of public policy or its
69
implementation and usage. Metiboba saw participation as a process which has
widely been recognized and accepted as both a basic right of people and of
crucial importance to the success of development efforts.
Participation was viewed by Nwachukwu and Eze (2005) as the active
involvement of communities in needs assessment, determination of priorities,
planning and execution of projects. According to Nwachukwu et al.,
participation also refers to the contribution of potential beneficiaries to the
realization of a project for their own development. They described community based participatory approach to development as an umbrella term for anti poverty programmes that involve the beneficiaries in their design and
management. The key factor in participation is the incorporation of local
knowledge into projects’ decision-making process. For Nwachukwu et al.,
participation is fruitful for sustainable change as an active process by which
beneficiaries or client groups influence the direction and execution of
development projects in order to enhance their well - being in terms of income,
personal growth, self - reliance and other cherished values. Anyanwu (2009)
views it as deeply inherent in community development as whatever to be done
to improve or uplift any community must endeavour to elicit the enthusiasm and
wholehearted participation of such a people. Anyanwu continued by stating that
the idea of participation as it applies to community development strongly
implies that success is assured where the effort of a local community is
supplemented or aroused by the direction of government authorities with the
70
local people taking part in planning, execution, utilization and assessment of the
social amenities designed to improve their welfare.
Participation was defined by World Bank (2005) as the process through
which stakeholders influence and share control over priority setting, policy
making, resource allocation and access to public goods and services. The World
bank group identified ways to increase participation as through institutional
mapping or whereby local people are asked to identify community groups by
drawing circles of different sizes- the larger the circle, which is the more
important and influential institution it represents. The extent of shared decision
making among group can be represented by how circles are placed in relation to
one another; the closer the circles, the more overlapping and the greater the
degree of interaction between the represented groups.
Eze (2006) quoting
Bamberger identified and described three kinds of participation thus:
-
Community participation in which the beneficiary is involved in the
planning and implementation of externally initiated projects.
-
Indigenous local participation in which spontaneous activities of local
organization have not resulted from external assistance (for example,
ethnic, town, village or community improvement or development union).
-
Local organizational participation in which local organizations are
created or strengthened by external help, but without references to a
particular project.
71
Adekola (2008) discussing participation listed its elements as follows:
taking part in the mobilization of resources and planning of projects to be
undertaken; taking part in the activities to put the project in place and taking
part in monitoring and evaluation of projects. Participation according to ARKS
Keys to participation – Scotland (2000) suggests that it has to do with some
degree of involvement in an activity or an organization. The document stated
that there are different levels of involvement with some people being at the
center of activity and decision making whilst most take more of a back seat, or
passive role. The document also stressed another important issue which looks at
how much power one actually exerts; commenting that for too long, decisions
have been made for and imposed on ordinary people, denying them a say on
matters which affect their everyday lives. It adapted the following diagram to
buttress its point.
Position of power
Delegated power
Partnership
Consultation
Level 1
Informing
Level 2
Passive involvement
Manipulation
Level 3
(Source: homepage.ed.ac.uk/./Introduction .pdf retrieved 27/4/2012)
Level 1 of ARKS (2000) document suggests that people are in positions
of influence, that they have a say in decision making and that their opinions are
72
taken into account and acted upon. Level 2 suggests that people have some
involvement in an organization or community, but other people make important
decisions and inform members about new policy or what action to take while
Level 3 is really non-participation because although people may be members of
an organization or community, they have no real say or influence on how it
operates. Members here are expected to go along with decisions made by others
and are powerless to make changes themselves. ARKS (2000) concluding,
suggests ways of increasing participation as: raising awareness on issues that are
important to one; developing one’s interests; getting one’s voice heard; and
taking action to do something about the situation. Schaeffer also devised a
different ladder for analysis of participation which has seven rings as shown
below in order of priority:
• Participation in real decision making at every stage of -problemidentification;
• feasibility study, planning, implementation and evaluation
• Participation as implementers of delegated powers;
• Participation in delivery of service, often as a partner with other actors;
• Involvement through consultation/or feedback on particular issues;
• Involvement through contribution (or extraction) of resources, materials and
labour;
73
• Involvement through attendance and the receipt of information, implying
passive acceptance and;
• The mere use of quality service such as a school.
Bray (1999) gave some ideas on how to elicit the participation of a group
or community as follows:
• Promote public awareness of goals and rationales: For obvious reasons,
government personnel will be much more likely to work with communities
and communities will be more likely to work with government if a clear
statement of goals and rationale has been disseminated and agreed upon.
This requires extensive and sustained commitment through discussions,
dramatization, television, radio, public speeches etc.
• Employ Community Development Officers and similar personnel:
Community Development Officers may be employed to play the role of
liaison officers between schools, homes, communities and this is by creating
a sense of community where it is lacking
• Form associations like women association and cooperatives who will
provide linkages in community awareness efforts.
• Provide matching grants, contracts and other resource inputs: matching
grants have stimulated interests and partnership. Such grant may be equally
balanced or geared in which case, to elicit participation of the group;
government decides to pay much more than what group has contributed.
74
• Provide training: Almost all innovations need capacity development of
various kinds which therefore means that there is need for training to fill this
gap. The above pictures painted by the different scholars suggest that a lot is
still needed to be done to actually get the women participate in community
development initiatives of which poverty alleviation is one.
Relationship among poverty, assessment, participation, poverty alleviation
initiatives by Nigerian governments
Poverty in its most general sense is the lack of necessities of life such as
basic food, shelter, medical care, and safety which is generally thought
necessary based on shared values of human dignity. However, what is a
necessity to one person is not uniformly a necessity to others. Needs may be
relative to what is possible and are based on social definition and past
experience. Poverty alleviation has to do with any effort towards reducing the
level of poverty. An assessment of the poverty situation and alleviation in
Nigeria shows that Nigeria as a developing nation is characteristically identified
by low levels of living. In Nigeria, like most third world countries, poverty is
one of the most viable problems militating against sustainable development.
Participation is the active involvement of communities in needs assessment,
determination of priorities, planning and execution of projects. Participation
also refers to the contribution of potential beneficiaries to the realization of a
project for their own development. Community - based participatory approach
to development is an umbrella term for anti - poverty programmes that involve
75
the beneficiaries in their design and management. Since the 1970s, successive
development plans in Nigeria have attempted to reduce poverty through setting
up of programmes geared towards reducing unemployment, improving
healthcare, provision of affordable education, providing land for low-cost
housing, increasing food production. Among such worthy attempts made by
government are National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in 1986 and
National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) which came into being in
2001 with the aim of wiping poverty from Nigeria by the year 2010. However,
despite these series of poverty alleviation programmes to empower people
economically, these have not yielded positive impact. Nigeria and most
Nigerians still remain in poverty. Many programmes put up by government to
address poverty situation in the country appear not to have met up with their
objectives because of some factors like policy discontinuity and lack of
sustainability. The Federal Government has not been able to create jobs or
control
unemployment.
The
relationship
among
poverty,
assessment,
participation, and poverty alleviation initiatives by Nigerian governments can be
represented in a schematic diagram as in figure 1 below.
76
POVERTY
ASSESSMENT
PARTICIPATION
POVERTY
ALLEVIATION
Figure 1:
Schematic diagram of the relationship among poverty, poverty alleviation,
assessment, participation, and poverty alleviation initiatives by Nigerian
governments
Theoretical Framework
This section focuses on theories and it will look at the following:
individual deficiencies, cumulative and cyclical interdependencies, and culture
of poverty.
1.
Theory of Individual Deficiencies
This theory is a large and multifaceted set of explanations that focus on
the individuals as responsible for their poverty situation. Typically, politically
conservative theoreticians blame individuals in poverty for creating their own
problems, and argue that with harder work and better choices the poor could
have avoided (and now can remedy) their problems. Other variations of the
individual theory of poverty ascribe poverty to lack of genetic qualities such as
intelligence that are not so easily reserved.
The belief that poverty stems from individual deficiencies is old.
Religious doctrine that equated wealth with the favour of God was central to the
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protest art reformation (Weber, 2001) and blind, crippled, or deformed people
were believed to be punished by God for their own or their parents’ sins. With
the emergence of the concept of inherited intelligence in the 19th century, the
eugenics movement went so far as to rationalize poverty and even sterilization
for those who appeared to have limited abilities.
Books like Herrnstein and
Murray’s “The Bell Curve” (2009) are modern uses of this explanation.
Rainwater (2007:16) critically discusses individualistic theories of poverty as a
“moralizing perspective” and notes that the poor are “afflicted with the mark of
Cain. They are meant to suffer, indeed must suffer, because of their moral
failings. They live in a deserved hell on earth”. Rainwater goes on to say that it
is difficult to overestimate the extent to which this perspective (incorrectly)
under-girds our visions of poverty, including the perspective of the disinherited
themselves.
There is a less widely critiqued version of the individualistic theory of
poverty and it comes from American values of individualism-the Horatio Alger
Myth that ‘any individual can succeed by skills and hard work, and that
motivation and persistence are all that are required to achieve success’ (Asen,
2012:29-34). Self-help literature reinforces the belief that individuals fail
because they do not try hard enough.
This work can be anchored on this theory because community
development practice, embedded in decades of welfare and social policy,
frequently deals with programmes aiming to remedy poverty based on
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individual deficiency theories. Explicitly or implicitly, individual deficiencies
have been an easy policy approach not always carefully explored as they get
implemented. The key initiatives today are to push poor into work as primary
goal, what Maskovsky calls the “workist consensus”. Indeed this move is
accompanied by an increasing emphasis on “self-help” strategies for the poor to
pull themselves from poverty, strategies encouraged by the elimination of other
forms of assistance (Maskovsky, 2011: 472).
2.
Theory of Cumulative and Cyclical interdependencies
This theory looks at the individual and their community as caught in a
spiral of opportunity and problems, and that once problems dominate they close
other opportunities and create a cumulative set of problems that make any
effective response nearly impossible (Bradshaw, 2000). The cyclical
interdependencies explicitly look at individual situations and community
resources as mutually dependent, with a faltering economy, for example,
creating individuals who lack resources to participate in the economy, which
makes economic survival even harder for the community since people pay fewer
taxes.
This theory has its origins in economics in the work of Myrdal (2007:23)
who developed a theory of “interlocking, circular, interdependence within a
process
of
cumulative
causation”
underdevelopment and development.
that
helps
explain
economic
Myrdal notes that personal and
community well being are closely linked in a cascade of negative consequences,
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and that closure of a factory or other crisis can lead to a cascade of personal and
community problems including migration of people from a community. Thus
the interdependence of factors creating poverty actually accelerates once a cycle
of decline is started.
One place where the cycle of poverty is clearly defined is in a book on
rural education by Jonathan Sher (2007) in which a focus is on the cycle by
which education and employment at the community and individual level interact
to create a spiral of disinvestments and decline, while in advancing communities
the same factors contribute to growth and well being.
For example, at the
community level, a lack of employment opportunities leads to out migration,
closing retail stores, and declining local tax revenues, which leads to
deterioration of the schools, which leads to poorly trained workers, leading
firms not to be able to utilize cutting edge technology and to the inability to
recruit new firms to the area, which leads back to a greater lack of employment.
The complexity of the cycle of poverty means that solutions need to be
equally complex. Poverty is not just one cause but many, while our antipoverty
efforts seem to focus on only part of the solution. Community developers are
specialists in appreciating the interdependence of different parts of the
community and their solution is to try to address issues like poverty from a
multifaceted approach. This then makes this theory imperative in a study of this
nature that focuses on assessing women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives. The finding of this study may help to explain whether the women in
80
Ebonyi and Enugu States are still caught in a spiral of opportunity and problems
even after participating in the poverty alleviation programmes.
3.
Culture of Poverty Theory
This theory is sometimes linked with the individual theory of poverty but
it recently has become so widely discussed that its special features should not be
minimized. This theory suggests that poverty is created by the transmission over
generations of a set of beliefs, values, and skills that are socially generated but
individually held. Individuals are not necessarily to blame because they are
victims of their dysfunctional subculture or culture (Oscar, 2009).
Oscar was one of the main writers to define the culture of poverty as a set
of beliefs and values passed from generation to generation. Scientific American,
quoted in Ryan (2006) indicated that:
Once the culture of poverty has come into
existence it tends to perpetuate itself. By the
time slum children are six or seven they have
usually absorbed the basic attitudes and values
of their subculture. Thereafter they are
psychologically unready to take full advantage
of changing conditions or improving
opportunities that may develop in their lifetime
(p.120).
Culture is socialized and learned, and one of the tenets of learning theory
is that rewards follow for those who learn what is intended. The culture of
poverty theory explains how government antipoverty programs reward people
who manipulated the policy and stay on welfare. The underlying argument of
conservatives such as Charles Murray is losing ground in that governments’
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welfare perpetuated poverty, by permitting a cycle of “welfare dependency”
where poor families develop and pass on to others the skills needed to work the
system rather than to gain paying employment. The net result of this theory of
poverty is summed by Asen’s (2012:48) perspectives phrase, “from the war of
poverty to the war on welfare”. From a community development perspective, if
the theoretical reason for poverty lies in values and beliefs, transmitted and
reinforced in subcultures of disadvantaged persons which includes the women,
then local antipoverty efforts need to intervene to help change the culture. The
finding of the study may reveal whether the culture of poverty has been
maintained or broken as a result of the effect of their participation in the poverty
alleviation programmes.
Needs Assessment by Within (1977)
a)
Definition: Needs assessment could be components of several evaluation
models. Data gathering and analysis process, technique for providing
information for curriculum modification and programme evaluation.
b)
Purpose: To identify the areas in which educational process or system is
ineffective so that remedial measures could be taken.
c)
Key Emphasis: Identifying different types of needs served by a particular
educational system.
d)
Relationship to objectives: Examination of the resources and the standard
by which needs will be identified. Design and assign priorities to need.
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e)
Relationship to decision-making: In needs assessment, the evaluation
staff collects information and uses the result to improve the existing
programme.
Needs assessment is used to identify the needs of women, determine
weaknesses in women’s participation poverty in alleviation initiatives. Needs
assessment can help to determine the extent the effect of women’s participation
in poverty alleviation initiatives of National Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP) and National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for community
development has improved their well being in Ebonyi and Enugu States. It also
determines the needs of NAPEP and NDE and future needs of poverty
alleviation initiatives. Here, experts are required to design the needs assessment
procedures, assign priorities to need, and use the result to improve the existing
poverty alleviation initiatives.
Empirical Studies
Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has expanded their asset base for community
development
Slack (2007) also carried out a study on work, welfare and the informal
economy: toward an understanding of household livelihood strategies. Drawing
on data from a survey of family households in non metropolitan Pennysylvania,
the study examined how households construct livelihood strategies through
participation in the formal labour market, government assistance programmes,
and informal work (for cash, barter and savings/self-provisioning). Throughout,
83
special attention is paid to influence household income. The results show that
participation in a varied livelihood strategy is common. Greater formal labour
force participation is shown among higher income households and greater
participation in assistance programmes is shown among lower-income
households. Engagement in the informal economy, however; is shown to differ
little by household income. Multivariate models were used to explore key
correlates of participation in various livelihood strategies.
The findings of the present study would reveal the extent women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has expanded their asset base for
community development. Ursula (2004) and Damkor (2006) in different studies
believe that it is necessary to take comprehensive action and to rely on effective
co-operation of different sorts that channel resources in such a way that they
make it easier to build human capacities to promote endogenous development
process and the possibility of fully participating in all the inclusive and
democratic development of the nation.
The finding of Ezeafulu (2006) was that a number of programmes for
poverty alleviation through human capital advocated by the government have
failed most especially because of political and social interference. It is observed
as noted by the author in the case of political instability and lack of continuity,
where every government in power will like to introduce its own project thereby
discarding the previous one, hiring their relations and friends to implement the
projects whether or not they are experts in the area of focus.
84
Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has increased the market access of the women for
community development
A study was carried out by Maduagwu (2010) on poverty alleviation
initiatives and increased the market access of the women for community
development in Imo State. The study was aimed at determining the various
programmes of the directorate and assessing the level of its success with respect
to female increased the market access. The explanatory-survey method was
utilized for data collection through questionnaire administered on two hundred
and nineteen (219) respondents selected from beneficiaries and key officials of
NAPEP in six (6) local government areas of Imo State. Maduagwu found that
the alleviation of Poverty may not be accomplished through poverty alleviation
programmes alone but will require democratic participation and changes in
economic structures in order to ensure access for all women to resources,
opportunities and public services.
Another study was conducted by Nwankwo (2010) on poverty alleviation
and access of women to economic opportunities. The survey research design
was utilized for data collection through questionnaire administered on one
hundred and sixty eight (168) respondents selected from beneficiaries and key
officials of NAPEP and EDE in four (4) local government areas of Kaduna
State. The analysis of data was done using mean scores and standard deviation
for the research questions and t- test statistic for testing the hypotheses.
Nwankwo (2010) found that women’s poverty may be directly related to the
85
absence of economic opportunities and autonomy, lack of access to economic
resources, including credit land ownership and inheritance, lack of access to
education and support services and their minimal participation in decision
making process. Poverty alleviation to be provided then has to do with
providing an increased access in the areas listed.
Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has increased their educational opportunities for
community development
The seriousness and gravity of the issue of female graduate employment
in Nigeria informed a study by Ogunlela (2012) which was to appraise the
impact of the activities of the National Directorate of Employment on graduate
employment and job creation in Kaduna State. The study was aimed at
determining the various programmes of the directorate and assessing the level of
its success with respect to female graduate employment creation in Kaduna
State. Secondary data were collected as well as oral interview of personnel in
the course of study. The explanatory-survey method was utilized for data
collection through questionnaire administered on one hundred and nine (129)
respondents selected from beneficiaries and key officials of NAPEP in six (6)
local government areas of Kaduna State. It was found that the impact of the
NDE on graduate employment in Kaduna State has been particularly positive
but that of female graduate employment in Kaduna State has not been
encouraging and much still needs to be done. Only modest achievement in the
area of generation of graduate employment has so far been recorded but very
86
little has been done with regards to female graduate employment. A thorough
re-appraisal of its programme in order to overhaul the system is desired. The
finding of the present study would reveal the extent women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives
has
increased their educational opportunities
for community development
The World Bank (2008) opined that poverty alleviation through human
capital which has its focus on improvement in education and training among
others has been seen as measures that will enhance poverty alleviation
indicating that there are strong complementarities among growth, poverty
reduction and developing human capital.
In the seamless web of interrelations among the components of human
capital, education plays the central role. Unfortunately, Ngwu (2006) saw the
mobilization of women for development as difficult because of the
complications resulting from high illiteracy among them. The author opined that
women’s education will lead to the creation of an enlightened community which
will have a sufficiently high level of self - reliance and a comparatively high
standard of living especially because the women acquire knowledge and skills
for immediate application.
Women of all status, rural, urban, market etc should be sensitized to be
aware of the facts of their position as to be armed with information which can
only be enhanced through improved education. This will enable them feel the
burden and impact of their disadvantaged position as to react positively.
87
Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has improved their economic empowerment for
community development
A study was conducted by Kasali and Sowun (2013) to examine the
effect of NAPEP loan on socio-economic development of Ogun State.
Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from small scale and medium
scale entrepreneurs that operate within markets in the study area. Differences of
means and probability analyses were used to analyze the data collected. The
result revealed that there is no significant difference in the business worth of the
loan beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries (p>0.05). The average expenditure on
the dependants was significantly higher for the loan beneficiaries. The
probability that a small or medium scale entrepreneur obtain NAPEP loan is
positively influenced by age, years of experience and educational status. The
probability of being a loan beneficiary was 0.74.
A study by Ako-nai, Ologunde and Adekola (2010) on Global
integration, household survival and economic empowerment of women in Osun
state Nigeria examined how women in Osun state recorded relative means of
success by competently combining household responsibilities with the
challenges of social employment. The data which was used to find out how
informal trading activities resulted in the empowerment of women was derived
from primary and secondary sources.
This study posits that as a result of globalization, which has increased
the intensity of poverty, women who are usually the disadvantaged in the
88
society, were compelled to look for survival strategies that could change their
lives for the better. Globalization has been a threat to the growth of developing
countries. It introduced them to changes that were sudden, drastic and
disruptive, making the struggle for survival inevitable. The study showed that
77 percent of the women surveyed had joined one form of informal trading
network or the other for the purpose of survival; the remaining 23 percent were
involved in multiple modes of livelihoods. That is, they are engaged in more
than one informal economic activity to supplement their income from formal
government. The study revealed that, either by default or design, the
involvement of women has greatly and positively enhanced household welfare
and survival and through the increased earnings of these women, they were able
to augment their household upkeep vote; they became pillars of support for
husbands.
Equally, Osalor (2012) listed the following as issues that government
could explore to leverage women’s economic potential-reforms guaranteeing
equal rights of women to ownership: property and financial control; social
reforms to enforce humane treatment of women and their worthwhile
participation in the development of their families and communities as well as
development of special entrepreneurial initiatives that focus on unbiased
participation of women in gainful enterprises.
89
Studies on the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has
increased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development
In a study by Ward and Turner (2007) on work and welfare strategies
among single mothers in rural New England: the role of social networks and
social support the work examined how community, social and interpersonal
network are associated with reliance on work or welfare among rural single
mothers. The instrument for data collection was telephone interviews. Based on
the telephone interviews with single mothers in rural northern New England, the
data were used to measure the effects of demographic characteristics,
community context, informal and formal social employment of Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and other service use. The results
among others indicate that demographic factors were related to work and
welfare as expected, with education having a particularly important effect on
mother’s likelihood of being employed. Also informal networks were more
important than formal networks, for both TANF receipt and reliance on other
types of assistance.
A study was carried out by Tersoo (2013) to examine the current
strategies adopted by the Federal Government of Nigeria through National
Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and the impact it has on the
beneficiaries in Benue State. The explanatory-survey method was utilized for
data collection through questionnaire administered on one hundred and nine
(109) respondents selected from beneficiaries and key officials of NAPEP in six
90
(6) local government areas of Benue State. The findings suggest that the
strategies employed by NAPEP have not made significant impact in improving
the lives of beneficiaries in Benue State. Structural defects were observed in
implementation strategies adopted by NAPEP. More so, corruption, poor
funding and untimely release of funds, weak monitoring
and impact
assessment plan, bad governance are major problems constraining the
successful implementation of poverty reduction programme in Nigeria.
Another study was conducted by Alese (2013) on an empirical
assessment of Capacity Acquisition Pro
gramme (CAP) in Ibadan North
Local Government Area of Oyo State, Ibadan, Nigeria. The purpose of the study
was to find out the extent women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives of NAPEP Capacity Acquisition Programme (CAP) in Ibadan
improved their economic empowerment for community development.
The
study adopted the descriptive survey design of ex-post facto type. Stratified and
simple random sampling techniques were used to select 256 women who
participated in NAPEP Capacity Acquisition Programme in the year 2008.
Women empowerment scale (r = 0.87) was used for data collection. These were
complimented with 4 sessions of Focus Group Discussion (FGDs). Two
hypotheses were tested at 0.01 levels of significance. Data were analyzed using
multiple regressions. NAPEP’s empowerment programme influenced women’s
socio-economic empowerment (r = -195 N = 250, P < .01) and (r = 267** N =
250, P < .01). However, national poverty eradication capacity acquisition
91
programme influenced women’s economic empowerment negatively because
NAPEP did not credit facilities to the beneficiaries. The finding of the present
study would reveal extent women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives has
increased their means of supporting social programmes for
community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States.
The finding of the present study would indicate the extent women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased their means of
supporting social programmes for community development. Ikpa (2011) noted
that in spite of Nigeria’s stupendous wealth, empowerment of women is still
moving at a slow speed. Ikpa views women as indispensable group in the
development of Nigeria and partner in progress who need to be empowered.
Ikpa further argued that social functions of the women folk will provide a good
opportunity for empowering them. It is important to note that when they are
empowered, they can serve as a vehicle for transforming their areas which are
most often characterized by poverty and lack of social amenities.
Summary of Reviewed Literature
The literature reviewed x-rayed conceptual issues that relate to poverty
and poverty alleviation. From the review, Poverty has to do with lack of one
thing or the other which does not benefit man. It has to do with not having
enough to feed, clothe, and provide for the family; not having access to land;
powerlessness and insecurity; and depends not only on income but access to
services. Evidence of poverty is everywhere in Nigeria. Every day, more and
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more people wake up in dilapidated homes without portable water, without
enough money to buy food and basic necessities, and without access to medical
facilities. The poverty alleviation programmes serve as the basis for a direct
attack on poverty as they essentially aim at generating incremental incomes for
the poor and direct transfer of additional purchasing power into the hands of
people living below the poverty line. Unless all citizens, especially the women,
have certain basic minimum services like literacy, education, primary health
care, portable water and nutritional security, their living conditions cannot
improve.
Three theories are relevant to this study. They are Theory of individual
deficiencies; Theory of cumulative and cyclical inter-dependencies and Culture
of poverty theory. The study is however anchored on the theory of individual
deficiencies. This theory is a large and multifaceted set of explanations that
focus on the individuals as responsible for their poverty situation. Typically,
politically conservative theoreticians blame individuals in poverty for creating
their own problems, and argue that with harder work and better choices the poor
could have avoided (and now can remedy) their problems. Culture of poverty
theory suggests that poverty is created by the transmission over generations of a
set of beliefs, values, and skills that are socially generated but individually held.
Individuals are not necessarily to blame because they are victims of their
dysfunctional subculture or culture. The finding of the study may reveal
93
whether the culture of poverty has been maintained or broken as a result of the
effect of their participation in the poverty alleviation programmes.
Attention was paid to studies related to extent the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE has expanded
their asset base for community development; extent the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased the market access of
the women for community development; extent the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased their educational
opportunities for community development; extent the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has improved their economic
empowerment for community development as well as the extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased their
means of supporting social programmes for community development.
Finally, whatever its definition, poverty is an unacceptable human
condition that could and must be reduced through appropriate public policy and
action. Efforts to link education with poverty alleviation constitute one of the
important components of this initiative; and that is what development is all
about. It is about creating an environment where people can develop their full
potential and lead productive, creative lives in accordance with their needs and
interests. The promotion of women to participate in poverty alleviation
initiatives should not be the women’s projects conceived by men but learning
and organization processes from the so-called grassroots up to the national
94
coordinating level which have been initiated by women. In the process of
learning and organizing, jointly defined problems are solved and thus individual
areas of life improved; increases in income are facilitated; self-confidence
boosted; and community development promoted. Women have however,
remained at the background of the efforts for poverty alleviation for national
development due to many problems confronting them which brings the gap
which the present study intends to fill.
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CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODS
This chapter presents the procedure that guided the conduct of this
research. The chapter explains the design of the study, area of the study,
population of the study, sample and sampling technique, instruments for data
collection, validation of the instruments, reliability of the instruments, method
of data collection and method of data analysis.
Design of the Study
The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. A descriptive
survey research refers to a specification of procedures for studying a large
number of items by collecting and analyzing data from only a few of them (Ali,
2006). A descriptive survey studies a group of people or items by collecting and
analyzing data from only a few people or items considered to be representatives
of the entire group. Descriptive survey also aims at a systematic description of
the characteristics and facts about a group of people, items or areas.
The descriptive survey design was considered most suitable for the study
because it permits the collection of original data from the women themselves.
The description of the conditions of participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives in Ebonyi and Enugu states as they exist in their natural settings was
made possible by the descriptive survey design.
95
96
Area of the Study
The study was carried out in Ebonyi and Enugu States of Nigeria. Ebonyi
and Enugu States are ‘Wawa’ Igbo speaking States of South East geo-political
zone of Nigeria. Ebonyi state was created out from Abia and Enugu states in
1996 while Enugu state was carved out of Anambra in 1991. The South East
geo-political zone where Ebonyi and Enugu States fall consists of five states
namely: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. Enugu State is situated on
much of the highlands of Awgu, Udi, Nsukka, and the rolling lowlands of
Idodo-river basin to the east, Oji-river basin to the west. Enugu State is made up
of 17 Local Government Areas and three senatorial zones namely: Enugu West,
Enugu East, and Enugu North. The State is bounded by five other states with
which it shares boundaries. It spreads southwards to the border with Abia State,
Anambra State to the west, Ebonyi State to the east and Northwards to Benue
and Kogi States. Enugu State has a land mass of approximately 8,727.1 square
kilometers with a population of over 3.2 million people (National Population
Commission, NPC, 2006). Ebonyi state was created on October 1st 1996. It is
made up of 13 Local Government Areas. It was carved out of the former Abia
and Enugu states. Ebonyi state is bounded to the North by Benue state, to the
west by Enugu state, to the east by Cross River state and to the south by Abia
state.
Ebonyi state has a land mass of about 5,935sq Km with a population
estimate of about 4,339,139 (NPC, 2006). The choice of the area is because in
97
the present five year cycle of UNICEF’s intervention to uplift women and
children, Ebonyi and Enugu States were dropped because the state planning
commission in the two states claimed that they were already empowered even
when the poverty level is still high in the two states.
Population of the Study
The population of the study was 8,604 respondents comprising women
from various women organizations in the thirteen and seventeen Local
government councils of Ebonyi and Enugu states respectively. The women from
Enugu State were 6,763 from 53 registered women groups while women from
Ebonyi were 1,841 from 11 registered women groups. (Source: Ministries of
Women Affairs 2010 for Ebonyi and Enugu States).
Sample and Sampling Technique
The sample for the study was made up of 860 women (676 from Enugu
and 184 from Ebonyi States respectively drawn through multistage sampling
technique. Initially, the women organizations were stratified into Ebonyi and
Enugu States. The women organizations were further stratified into groups of
those women who had participated in poverty alleviation programmes and those
who had not within Ebonyi and Enugu States. A simple random sampling
techniques using balloting without replacement was adopted was applied to
draw 10 percent of the women from each of the groups from the two states. This
gave a total of 676 women from Enugu and 184 women from Ebonyi States
respectively. For the Focus Group Discussion (FGDs), simple random sampling
98
technique was also used to recruit 20 participants involving ten women leaders
from each of the two states.
Instruments for Data Collection
Two instruments were used for data collection. They are: Assessment
of Women’s Participation in Poverty Alleviation Initiatives Questionnaire
(AWPPAIQ) and Focus group discussion (FGD). The ‘Assessment of Women’s
Participation in Poverty Alleviation Initiatives Questionnaire (AWPPAIQ) has
two sections. Section A was designed to elicit personal information about each
of the respondents such as State, Marital Status, and Location etc. while section
B has five clusters. Cluster A discusses the extent women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE has expanded their asset base
for community development. Cluster B is focused on the extent women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased the market access of
the women for community development. Cluster C is on the extent women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased their educational
opportunities for community development. Cluster D is on the extent women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has improved their economic
empowerment for community development. Cluster E looked at the extent
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased their
means of supporting social programmes for community development.
AWPPAIQ is a 30 item structured instrument which consists of two sections;
Section A and Section B. Section A was designed to elicit personal information
99
about each of the respondents such as State, Status, and Location etc. While
Section B which is in five clusters, is a thirty item questionnaire dealing with
the variables like expansion of asset base, increased market asset, improved
educational opportunity, etc under study.
The Clusters A – E have response options of Very Great Extent (VGE),
Great Extent (GE), Low Extent (LE) and Very Low Extent (VLE), with
assigned weights of 4, 3, 2, and 1 respectively. The response format utilized in
the study was a four-point Likert rating scale for indicating the degree and
intensity of feelings. In other words, the higher the aggregate scores in the scale,
the more positive the responses of the subjects and the lower the scores, the
more negative the responses of the subjects. Any item with a mean of 2.50 and
above was regarded as having agreed to the item while any item with a mean
value below 2.50 was regarded as not agreeing to the item.
The Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as a second instrument for data
collection enabled the researcher to get first hand information on women’s level
of participation. The Focus Group Discussion had five items which were
derived from the research questions of the study. The items of the instruments
were developed from the information acquired through the review of relevant
literature (For the FGD, see Appendix B page-----)
Validation of the Instrument
To ascertain the face Validity of the instruments Assessing Women’s
Participation in Poverty Alleviation Initiatives Questionnaire and the Focus
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Group Discussion, the researcher gave the initial draft of the instruments to
experts in Adult Education, Community Development and Measurement and
Evaluation respectively from Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka for critiquing and editing. They were to examine the instruments with
regard to the suitability of language, non ambiguity of language and the extent
to which the instrument properly measure the variables under study. After the
validation, some items were modified (especially in the suitability of language
of the instrument and the number of hypotheses) while others were removed,
replaced or corrected, making the questionnaire valid for use for the study (See
Appendix A page-------) for their comments and modifications.
Reliability of the Instrument
To determine the reliability of the instrument, the researcher trial tested
the instrument on a representative sample of 20 women from five registered
community based women organizations in Anambra State which is outside the
study area. Anambra state was used because it is part of the geographical zone
(the South-East) with the areas of study and share to some extent some
characteristics with regards to women participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives. Cronbach alpha method was used to estimate the reliability
coefficient of the instrument (AWPPAIQ). The rationale for the use of
Cronbach alpha method was informed by the fact that the items had no right or
wrong answers as they were not dichotomously scored. Again it was considered
appropriate as it ensured the homogeneity of items on the cluster. A reliability
101
estimate of .87 was got for cluster A, while .82, .61, .65 and .80 were got for
clusters B, C, D, and E, with an overall reliability estimate of .83 respectively.
These were high enough to consider the instrument reliable for the study. (See
Appendix C page ----------).
Method of Data Collection
860 copies of the questionnaire were administered directly to the
respondents during their regular meetings in Ebonyi and Enugu using eight
trained research assistants. The essence of on the spot collection was to ensure
that the entire questionnaire administered and completed were collected. In
order to increase the quality of the research, the researcher had a three-hour
consultative meeting with research assistants to train them on the purpose of the
study as well as how to administer the questionnaire. They were also trained on
how to take note during the Focus Group Discussion. The instrument for data
collection was discussed with the research assistants who got acquainted with
the modality of administering the instrument in appropriate and effective ways.
The use of these research assistants helped to ensure that the actual respondents
i.e. the members of the registered women organizations in the rural and urban
areas of Ebonyi and Enugu states were those who completed them. It also
helped them to make clarification on items wherever the need arose as well as
reduced likely errors that came up while responding to the different items. The
administration and retrieval of the instruments including the Focus group
102
discussion took two months. A total of 838 copies of the questionnaire were
returned; giving a 97 percent return rate.
Method of Data Analysis
The data collected was analyzed using Mean score and Standard
Deviations in order to provide answers to the five research questions. The
researcher employed the weights attached to the four-point rating scale to
interpret the mean scores for the items of the questionnaire. A mean score of
3.50 – 4.00 was accepted as Very Great Extent, 2.50 – 3.49 was accepted as
Great Extent, while 1.50 – 2.49 was Low Extent and 0.00 – 1.49 was accepted
as Very Low Extent.
In testing the null hypotheses, t-test statistics was used at P < 0.05 level of
significance. The hypothesis of no significant difference was not rejected if the
t-calculated value is less than the t-table value at 0.05 level of significance and
appropriate degree of freedom and rejected if otherwise.
The data from the Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) was analyzed using
qualitative analytical parameter known as content analysis. The focus group
discussions (FGDs) were tape recorded and the tape recordings was transcribed
verbatim after discussion. The researcher took care to ensure adequate
interpretation of the participants’ statements.
103
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
This chapter presents the data analysis and results of the study. The
analysis and results of the study are presented in line with the research questions
and hypotheses that guided the study.
Research Question 1
To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for
community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States?
Table 1: Mean rating ( ) and standard deviaton (SD) on the extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE
expanded their asset base for community development in Ebonyi and Enugu
States
S/No
Item Statement: Expansion of Asset-base of the poor
for community development
1
Becoming a member of cooperative society helped
women to access available resources
Expanding the asset base of the women helped them to
participate in decisions affecting the women
Provision of welfare scheme through women
organizations in the local communities helped women to
expand their asset base
Reduced control of markets enhanced women’s use of
assets by government
Providing insurance opportunities helped women to
improve their living condition
Diversified farm inputs helped women to expand their
asset base
Regular demand for farm products by the market unions
helped women to expand their asset base
Cluster Mean
2
3
4
5
6
7
Ebonyi
n = 313
- SD Dec
X
Enugu
n = 525
- SD
X
Dec
Total
N = 838
X SD
Dec
3.34 .87
GE
3.49 .73 GE
3.43 .79
GE
3.02 1.19 GE
3.25 .84 GE
3.16 .99
GE
3.21 .96 GE
3.27 .77 GE
3.25 .85
GE
2.45 1.23 LE
2.97 1.11 GE
3.18 .97 GE
3.30 .80 GE
2.90 1.13
3.18 .94
GE
GE
2.82 1.21 GE
3.22 .88 GE
3.07 1.03
GE
2.76 1.20 GE
2.94 .63 GE
3.26 .82 GE
3.28 .49 GE
3.07 1.01 GE
3.15 .57 GE
Data in Table 1 show that the respondents from both Ebonyi and Enugu
States rated six out of the seven items on the extent the effect of women’s
103
104
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded
their asset base for community development to a great extent as indicated by
items 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7. For instance, the respondents from both states indicated
that: becoming member of cooperative society helped women to access
available resources; expanding the asset base of the women helped them to
participate in decisions affecting the women; provision of welfare scheme
through women organizations in the
local communities helped women to
expand their asset base; providing insurance opportunities helped women to
improve their living condition; diversified farm inputs helped women to expand
their asset base; and regular demand for farm products by the market unions
helped women to expand their asset base to a great extent. The cluster means of
2.94 and 3.28 also showed that women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for community
development to a great extent. However, while the respondents from Ebonyi
State indicated that reduced control of markets enhanced women’s use of assets
to only a low extent, those from Enugu State maintained that the enhancement
to their asset base was to a great extent as indicated by item 4.
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations .87, 1.19, .96, 1.23, 1.11, 1.21, 1.20 and .63. However, the standard
deviations showed closeness and that there was not really much difference in
105
the variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu State respondents. This was an
indication of homogeneity in the responses of the two groups.
A corresponding hypothesis formulated to further address the research question
is:
Hypothesis One
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on extent the effect of their participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded the women’s asset base for
community development.
Table 2:
Results of t-test Analysis for Equality of Means on the extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE
expanded their asset base for community development in Ebonyi and
Enugu States
t-test for Equality of Means
T
1. Becoming a member of cooperative
society helped women to access available
resources
2. Expanding the asset base of the women
helped them to participate in decisions
affecting the women
3. Provision of welfare scheme through
women organizations in the
local
communities helped women to expand their
asset base
4. Reduced control of markets enhanced
women’s use of assets
5. Providing insurance opportunities helped
women to improve their living condition
6. Diversified farm inputs helped women to
expand their asset base
7. Regular demand for farm products by the
market unions helped women to expand their
asset base
Expansion of Asset-base of the poor for
community development
df
-2.671
836
Sig.
(2-tailed)
.008
Means
Difference
-.15025
RMK
-3.276
836
.001.000
-.22974
S
-1.067
836
.286.000
-.06471
NS
-9.508
836
.000
-.72986
S
-4.953
836
.000
-.32842
S
-5.513
836
.000
-.39925
S
-7. 147
836
.000
-.50057
S
-8. 816
836
.000
-.34326
S
S
106
Data in Table 2 show that there was significant difference in the mean
ratings of respondents from Ebonyi and Enugu State women on extent the effect
of their participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE
expanded the women’s asset base for community development. This is shown
by the cluster t- value of -8.816 which has a probability value of .000 and
therefore significant at 0.05 levels. The calculated t-value of six out of the seven
items were also significant at 0.05 levels as shown by items1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
The only item that had no significant difference was item 3 where the two
groups shared similar views on whether provision of welfare scheme through
women organizations in the local communities helped women to expand their
asset base. Therefore, the null hypothesis which states that there is no
significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and Enugu State
women on extent the effect of their participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded the women’s asset base for
community development is rejected. This is because the mean scores were
statistically significant in most items.
Research Question
What is the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased the market access of the women for community
development?
107
Table 3: Mean rating ( ) and Standard deviation (SD) on the extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased the
market access of the women for community development
S/No
8
9
10
11
12
13
Item Statement: Increased Market Access for Ebonyi
community development
n = 313
X SD Dec
Improved transport system in the rural areas helped
women to increase their market access
3.13
1.16
GE
Increased marketing opportunities for selling of
products has been provided
3.11
1.05
GE
Removal of market levies enhanced women’s
productivity.
2.87
1.13
GE
Creating more market opportunities for the women
gave them direct access to wholesalers
3.12
1.04
GE
Enabling market environment aided women to 3.18
1.03
market their products
GE
Reduced unnecessary cohesion in the marketing 3.09
.99
system helped women to market their products.
GE
Cluster Mean
3.08
.69
GE
Enugu
n = 525
X SD Dec
Total
N = 838
X SD Dec
3.57
VGE
.63 3.41 .89
GE
3.43
GE
.67 3.31 .85
GE
3.26
GE
.92 3.12 .81
GE
3.34
GE
3.35
GE
3.27
GE
3.37
GE
.76 3.26 .88
GE
.73 3.28 .86
GE
.81 3.21 .89
GE
.42 3.26 .55
GE
Data in Table 3 show that the respondents from both Ebonyi and Enugu
States rated five out of the six items on the extent the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased the market access of the
women for community development to a great extent as indicated by items 9,
10, 11, 12 and 13. For instance, the respondents from both states indicated that:
increased marketing opportunities for selling of products has been provided;
removal of market levies enhanced women’s productivity; creating more market
opportunities for the women gave them direct access to wholesalers; enabling
market environment aided women to market their products; and reduced
unnecessary cohesion in the marketing system helped women to market their
products to a great extent. The cluster means of 3.08 and 3.37 also showed that
108
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased the market
access of the women for community development to a great extent. However,
while the respondents from Ebonyi State indicated that improved transport
system in the rural areas helped women to increase their market access to a
great extent, those from Enugu State stated that the increase to their market
access was to a very great extent as indicated by item 8.
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations 1.16, 1.05, 1.13, 1.04, 1.03, .99 and .69. However, the standard
deviations showed closeness and that there was not really much difference in
the variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu State respondents. This was an
indication of homogeneity in the responses of the two groups.
A corresponding hypothesis formulated to further address the research
question is:
Hypothesis Two
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives
community development.
has increased the market access of the women for
109
Table 4: Results of t-test Analysis for Equality of Means on the extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased the
market access of the women for community development
t-test for Equality of Means
T
8. Improved transport system in the rural
areas helped women to increase their market
access
9. Increased marketing opportunities for
selling of products has been provided
10. Removal of market levies enhanced
women’s productivity.
11. Creating more market opportunities for
the women gave them direct access to
wholesalers
12. Enabling market environment aided
women to market their products
13. Reduced unnecessary cohesion in the
marketing system helped women to market
their products.
Increased Market Access for community
development
df
-7.041
836
Sig.
(2-tailed)
.000
Means
Difference
-.43343
RMK
-5.432
836
.000
-.32314
S
-5.558
836
.000
-.39895
S
-3.534
836
.000
-.22084
S
-2.837
836
.005
-.17285
S
-2.853
836
.004
-.17973
S
-7.540
836
.000
-.28816
S
S
Data in Table 4 show that there is significant difference in the mean
ratings of Ebonyi State and Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased the market access of
the women for community development. This is shown by the cluster t- value of
-7.540 which has a probability value of .000 and therefore significant at 0.05
levels. The calculated t-value of all the six items were also significant at 0.05
levels as shown by items 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. Therefore, the null hypothesis
which states that there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi
State and Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives has increased the market access of the women for
110
community development is rejected. This is because the mean scores were
statistically significant in all the items.
Research question 3
To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased their educational opportunities for community
development?
Table 5: Mean rating ( ) and standard deviation on extent the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased their educational
opportunities for community development
S/No
14
15
16
17
18
Item
Statement:
Improved
educational Ebonyi
opportunities for community development
n- = 313
X SD
Educational opportunities for women improved
their skills for self employment.
3.45
GE
Access to education improved economic activities
of women
3.17
GE
Women acquired new and useful information when
they continuously learned
3.06
GE
Supporting exchange visits to other successful
women groups empowered them to act positively
2.81
GE
Training women in specific vocational skills for 3.08
poverty alleviation improved their educational GE
opportunities
Cluster Mean
3.11
GE
Dec
Enugu
n = 525
X SD Dec
Total
N = 838
X SD Dec
.88 3.59
VGE
.59 3.54
VGE
.72
.91 3.39
GE
.71 3.31 .80
GE
1.12 3.37
GE
.89 3.25 .99
GE
1.18 3.24
GE
1.20 3.37
GE
.82 3.08 .99
GE
.79 3.26 .97
GE
.71 3.39
GE
.46 3.29 .58
GE
Data in Table 5 indicate that the respondents from both Ebonyi and
Enugu States rated four out of the five items on the extent the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased their educational
opportunities for community development to a great extent as indicated by items
15, 16, 17, and 18. The respondents from both states indicated that: access to
111
education improved economic activities of women; Women acquired new and
useful information when they continuously learned; supporting exchange visits
to other successful women groups empowered them to act positively; and
training women in specific vocational skills for poverty alleviation improved
their educational opportunities to a great extent.
The cluster means of 3.11 and 3.39 also showed that the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased their
educational opportunities for community development to a great extent.
However, while the respondents from Ebonyi State indicated that educational
opportunities for women improved their skills for self employment to a great
extent; those from Enugu State stated that the improvement in their skills for
self employment was to a very great extent as indicated by item 14.
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations .88, .91, 1.12, 1.18, 1.20 and .71. However, the standard deviations
showed closeness and that there was not really much difference in the
variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu State respondents. This was an
indication of homogeneity in the responses of the two groups.
A corresponding hypothesis formulated to further address the research
question is:
112
Hypothesis Three
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State
and Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased their educational opportunities for community
development.
Table 6: Results of t-test Analysis for Equality of Means on extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased
their
educational opportunities for community development
t-test for Equality of Means
T
14. Educational opportunities for women
improved their skills for self employment.
15. Access to education improved economic
activities of women
16. Women acquired new and useful
information when they continuously learned
17. Supporting exchange visits to other
successful women groups empowered them
to act positively
18. Training women in specific vocational
skills for poverty alleviation improved their
educational opportunities
Improved educational opportunities for
community development
df
-2.853
836
Sig.
(2-tailed)
.004
Means
Difference
-.14510
RMK
-3.816
836
.000
-.21605
S
-4.452
836
.000
-.331202
S
-6.206
836
.000
-.42850
S
-4.196
836
.000
-.28836
S
-6.894
836
.000
-.27800
S
S
Data in Table 6 indicate that there is significant difference in the mean
ratings of Ebonyi State and Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their
participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives increased their educational
opportunities for community development. This is shown by the cluster t- value
of -6.894 which has a probability value of .000 and therefore significant at 0.05
levels. The calculated t-value of all the five items was also significant at 0.05
levels as shown by items 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. Therefore, the null hypothesis
which states that there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi
113
State and Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives increased their educational opportunities for
community development is rejected. This is because the mean scores were
statistically significant in all the items.
Research Question 4
To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives improved their economic empowerment for community
development?
Table 7:
S/No
19
20
21
22
23
24
Mean rating ( ) and stanndard deviation on the extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives improved their
economic empowerment for community development
Item Statement: Economic Empowerment for Ebonyi
community development
n = 313
X SD Dec
Poverty was reduced when women participated
actively in the economic activities of cooperative 3.35
1.00
societies
GE
Women’s borrowing capacity from cooperatives
and related organizations were enhanced when rigid 3.04
.98
requirements were removed
GE
Government encouraged women to take agricultural
loans by paying part of it
3.20
1.02
GE
Empowerment of women through skills acquisition
and loan opportunities improved their income and 3.30
.94
invariably their poverty level
GE
Providing adequate access of financial institution’s 2.73
1.08
funds set aside for the public for alleviating poverty GE
empowered women economically
Government continued collaboration with donor 3.24
.92
agencies like UNICEF, UNFPA in income GE
generating projects helped to alleviate women’s
poverty
Cluster Mean
3.14
.63
GE
Enugu
n = 525
X SD Dec
Total
N = 838
X SD Dec
3.33
GE
.77 3.34 .87 GE
3.32
GE
.80 3.21 .88
GE
3.33
GE
.91 3.28 .95
GE
3.39
GE
3.13
GE
.83 3.36 .87
GE
3.34
GE
.84 3.30 .87
GE
3.31 .58 GE 3.24 .61
GE
.94 2.98 1.01 GE
Data in Table 7 show that the respondents from both Ebonyi and Enugu
States rated all the six items on the extent the effect of women’s participation in
114
poverty alleviation initiatives
improved their economic empowerment for
community development to a great extent as indicated by items 19, 20, 21, 22,
23 and 24. The respondents from both states indicated that: poverty was reduced
when women participated actively in the economic activities of cooperative
societies; women’s borrowing capacity from cooperatives and related
organizations were enhanced when rigid requirements were removed;
government encouraged women to take agricultural loans by paying part of it;
empowerment of women through skills acquisition and loan opportunities
improved their income and invariably their poverty level; providing adequate
access of financial institution’s funds set aside for the public for alleviating
poverty empowered women economically; and government continued
collaboration with donor agencies like UNICEF, UNFPA in income generating
projects helped to alleviate women’s poverty to a great extent. The cluster
means of 3.14 and 3.31 also showed that women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives improved their economic empowerment for community
development to a great extent.
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations 1.00, .98, 1.02, .94, 1.08, .92 and .63. However, the standard
deviations showed closeness and that there was not really much difference in
the variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu State respondents. This was an
indication of homogeneity in the responses of the two groups.
115
A corresponding hypothesis formulated to further address the research
question is:
Hypothesis Four
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives improved their economic empowerment for community
development.
Table 8:
Results of t-test Analysis for Equality of Means on the extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives improved their
economic empowerment for community development
t-test for Equality of Means
T
19. Poverty was reduced when women
participated actively in the economic
activities of cooperative societies
20. Women’s borrowing capacity from
cooperatives and related organizations were
enhanced when rigid requirements were
removed
21. Government encouraged women to take
agricultural loans by paying part of it
22. Empowerment of women through skills
acquisition and loan opportunities improved
their income and invariably their poverty
level
23. Providing adequate access of financial
institution’s funds set aside for the public for
alleviating poverty empowered women
economically
24. Government continued collaboration with
donor agencies like UNICEF, UNFPA in
income generating projects helped to
alleviate women’s poverty
Economic Empowerment for community
development
Df
.241
836
Sig.
(2-tailed)
.810
Means
Difference
.11615
RMK
-4.570
836
.000
-.11715
S
-1.881
836
.000
.05408
S
-1.338
836
.181
.14165
NS
-5.709
836
.000
.28993
S
-1.587
836
.113
.10780
NS
-3.812
836
.000
.05709
S
NS
Data in Table 8 show that there is significant difference in the mean
ratings of Ebonyi State and Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives improved their economic
116
empowerment for community development. This is shown by the cluster tvalue of -3.812 which has a probability value of .000 and therefore significant at
0.05 levels. The calculated t-value of three out of the six items was also
significant at 0.05 levels as shown by items 20, 21, and 23; while the calculated
t-value of three out of the six items was however not significant at 0.05 levels as
shown by items 19, 22 and 24. Since the calculated t-value of three out of the
six items with the cluster t-value was significant at 0.05 levels, the null
hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference in the mean
ratings of Ebonyi State and Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives improved their economic
empowerment for community development is therefore rejected. This is because
the mean scores were statistically significant in more of the items.
Research Question 5
What is the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased their means of supporting social programmes for
community development?
117
Table 9:
Mean rating ( ) and standard deviation on extent the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased their means of
supporting social programmes for community development
S/No
Item Statement: Targeting the poor through Social
support Programmes for community development
25
Sustaining social programme that provide economic
opportunities improved women’s welfare
Social programmes and amenities that
enhance
economic empowerment alleviated women’s poverty
Using effective reform programmes such that focus on
improving living condition helped to reduce women’s
poverty
Monitoring the extent of implementation of poverty
alleviation programmes helped to remove distractions in
achieving the objectives
A programme channeled towards raising the economic
standards of the poor helped in women’s poverty
alleviation.
Government programmes that help in equipping the rural
masses with skills for self reliance helped to reduce
women’s poverty.
Cluster Mean
26
27
28
29
30
Ebonyi
n = 313
- SD Dec
X
Enugu
n = 525
- SD Dec
X
Total
N = 838
- SD Dec
X
3.16 1.07 GE
3.34 .88 GE
3.27 .96
GE
2.91 1.11 GE
3.19 .90 GE
3.09 .99
GE
2.94 1.17 GE
3.18 .97 GE
3.09 1.05
GE
3.05 1.10 GE
3.21 .90 GE
3.15 .98
GE
3.01 1.10 GE
3.23 .88 GE
3.15 .97
GE
3.08 1.18 GE
3.30 .85 GE
3.21 .99 GE
3.02 .86 GE
3.24 .69 GE
3.16 .707 GE
Data in Table 9 show that the respondents from both Ebonyi and Enugu
States rated all the six items on the extent the effect of women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiativesincreased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development to a great extent as indicated by items
25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30. The respondents from both states indicated that:
sustaining social programme that provide economic opportunities improved
women’s welfare; social programmes and amenities that enhance economic
empowerment alleviated women’s poverty; using effective reform programmes
such that focus on improving living condition helped to reduce women’s
poverty; monitoring the extent of implementation of poverty alleviation
programmes helped to remove distractions in achieving the objectives; a
programme channeled towards raising the economic standards of the poor
118
helped in women’s poverty alleviation; and government programmes that help
in equipping the rural masses with skills for self reliance helped to reduce
women’s poverty to a great extent. The cluster means of 3.02 and 3.24 also
showed that women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
increased
their means of supporting social programmes for community development to a
great extent.
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations 1.07, 1.11, 1.17, 1.10, 1.10, 1.18 and .86. However, the standard
deviations showed closeness and that there was not really much difference in
the variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu State respondents. This was an
indication of homogeneity in the responses of the two groups.
A corresponding hypothesis formulated to further address the research
question is:
Hypothesis Five
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and
Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives has increased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development.
119
Table 10:
Results of t-test Analysis for Equality of Means on extent the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased
their
means of supporting social programmes for community development
t-test for Equality of Means
25. Sustaining social programme that provide
economic opportunities improved women’s
welfare
26. Social programmes and amenities that
enhance economic empowerment alleviated
women’s poverty
27. Using effective reform programmes such
that focus on improving living condition
helped to reduce women’s poverty
28. Monitoring the extent of implementation
of poverty alleviation programmes helped to
remove distractions in achieving the
objectives
29. A programme channeled towards raising
the economic standards of the poor helped in
women’s poverty alleviation.
30. Government programmes that help in
equipping the rural masses with skills for self
reliance helped to reduce women’s poverty.
Targeting the poor through Social support
Programmes for community development
T
df
Means
Difference
-.17611
RMK
836
Sig.
(2-tailed)
.010
-2.579
-4.047
836
.000
-.28374
S
-3.219
836
.001
-.24104
S
-2.312
836
.021
-.16160
S
-3.202
836
.001
-.22089
S
-3.071
836
.002
-.21537
S
-3.987
836
.000
-.21646
S
S
Data in Table 10 show that there is significant difference in the mean
ratings of Ebonyi State and Enugu State women on the extent the effect of their
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased their means of
supporting social programmes for community development. This is shown by
the cluster t- value of -3.987 which has a probability value of .000 and therefore
significant at 0.05 levels. The calculated t-value of all the six items were also
significant at 0.05 levels as shown by items 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30.
Therefore, the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference
in the mean ratings of Ebonyi State and Enugu State women on the extent the
effect of their participation in poverty alleviation initiatives has increased their
120
means of supporting social programmes for community development is rejected.
This is because the mean scores were statistically significant in all the items.
Summary of Major Findings
1. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of
NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for community development in
Ebonyi and Enugu States to a great extent but there was however significant
difference in the mean ratings of respondents from Ebonyi and Enugu State
women on extent their participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of
NAPEP and NDE expanded the
women’s asset base for community
development.
2. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
increased the market access of the women for community development to a
great extent but significant difference existed in the extent of increase in the
market access of between the women of Ebonyi State and Enugu State.
3. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their educational opportunities for
community development to a great extent but there was significant
difference in the extent of increase in the educational opportunities of the
two groups.
4. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States improved their economic empowerment for
community development to a great extent but significant difference existed
121
in extent of their economic empowerment of the two groups for community
development.
5. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development to a great extent but there was
significant difference in the extent of increase between the two states.
122
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS
AND SUMMARY
This chapter focuses on the discussion of major findings of the study,
their educational implications and recommendations. Included in this chapter
also are suggestions for further studies and summary of the study.
Discussion of the Results
The findings of the study were discussed in line with the research
questions and hypotheses raised and tested in the study. The discussions were
presented under the
following sub-headings:
1. Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
of NAPEP and NDE has expanded their asset base for community
development.
2. Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
has increased the market access of the women for community development.
3. Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
has increased their educational opportunities for community development.
4. Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
has improved their economic empowerment for community development.
122
123
5. Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
has increased their means of supporting social programmes for community
development.
Discussions
Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
of NAPEP and NDE has expanded their asset base for community
development.
The finding of this study shows that the effect of women’s participation
in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base
for community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States to a great extent but
there was however significant difference
in the mean ratings of respondents
from Ebonyi and Enugu State women on extent their participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded the women’s asset base for
community development. The respondents from both states indicated that:
becoming member of cooperative society helped women to access available
resources; expanding the asset base of the women helped them to participate in
decisions affecting the women; provision of welfare scheme through women
organizations in the local communities helped women to expand their asset
base; providing insurance opportunities helped women to improve their living
condition; diversified farm inputs helped women to expand their asset base; and
regular demand for farm products by the market unions helped women to
expand their asset base to a great extent. The cluster means also showed that the
effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and
124
NDE expanded their asset base for community development to a great extent.
The focus group discussion also indicated that the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded
their asset base for community development to a great extent. However, while
the respondents from Ebonyi State indicated that reduced control of markets
enhanced women’s use of assets to only a low extent, those from Enugu State
maintained that the enhancement to their asset base was to a great extent.
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items. However, the standard deviations
showed closeness and that there was not really much difference in the
variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu State respondents. This was an
indication of homogeneity in the responses of the two groups.
The findings were in agreement with the studies of Ursula (2004),
Damkor (2006) among others. The authors in different studies believe that it is
necessary to take comprehensive action and to rely on effective co-operation of
different sorts that channel resources in such a way that they make it easier to
build human capacities to promote endogenous development process and the
possibility of fully participating in all the inclusive and democratic development
of the nation.
This present findings are in disagreement with the views of Ezeafulu
(2006). The author has it that a number of programmes for poverty alleviation
through human capital advocated by the government have failed most especially
125
because of political and social interference. It is observed as noted by the author
in the case of political instability and lack of continuity, where every
government in power will like to introduce its own project thereby discarding
the previous one, hiring their relations and friends to implement the projects
whether or not they are experts in the area of focus.
Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
has increased the market access of the women for community development
The finding of this study shows that the effect of women’s participation
in poverty alleviation initiatives increased the market access of the women for
community development to a great extent but significant difference existed in
the extent of increase in the market access of between the women of Ebonyi
State and Enugu State. The respondents from both states indicated that:
increased marketing opportunities for selling of products has been provided;
removal of market levies enhanced women’s productivity; creating more market
opportunities for the women gave them direct access to wholesalers; enabling
market environment aided women to market their products; and reduced
unnecessary cohesion in the marketing system helped women to market their
products to a great extent. The cluster means also showed that women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased the market access of the
women for community development to a great extent. However, while the
respondents from Ebonyi State indicated that improved transport system in the
rural areas helped women to increase their market access to a great extent, those
126
from Enugu State stated that the increase to their market access was to a very
great extent. The focus group discussion also indicated that the effect of
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives generally increased the
market access of the women for community development to a great extent.
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations. However, the standard deviations showed closeness and that there
was not really much difference in the variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu
State respondents. This was an indication of homogeneity in the responses of
the two groups.
The present results were in agreement with Maduagwu (2010), Nwankwo
(2010) among others. For instance, Maduagwu noted that the alleviation of
Poverty may not be accomplished through poverty alleviation programmes
alone but will require democratic participation and changes in economic
structures in order to ensure access for all women to resources, opportunities
and public services. As noted by the Nwankwo (2010), women’s poverty may
be directly related to the absence of economic opportunities and autonomy, lack
of access to economic resources, including credit land ownership and
inheritance, lack of access to education and support services and their minimal
participation in decision making process. Poverty alleviation to be provided then
has to do with providing an increased access in the areas listed.
127
Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
has increased their educational opportunities for community development.
The finding of this study shows that the effect of women’s participation
in poverty alleviation initiatives in Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their
educational opportunities for community development to a great extent but there
was significant difference in the extent of increase in the educational
opportunities of the two groups. The respondents from both states indicated
that: access to education improved economic activities of women; women
acquired new and useful information when they continuously learned;
supporting exchange visits to other successful women groups empowered them
to act positively; and training women in specific vocational skills for poverty
alleviation improved their educational opportunities to a great extent.
The cluster means also showed that the effect of women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives increased their educational opportunities for
community development to a great extent. The focus group discussion also
confirmed that women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased
their educational opportunities for community development to a great extent.
However, while the respondents from Ebonyi State indicated that educational
opportunities for women improved their skills for self employment to a great
extent; those from Enugu State stated that the improvement in their skills for
self employment was to a very great extent.
128
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations. However, the standard deviations showed closeness and that there
was not really much difference in the variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu
State respondents. This was an indication of homogeneity in the responses of
the two groups.
The present results are in agreement with the World Bank (1980). The
World Bank opined that poverty alleviation through human capital which has its
focus on improvement in education and training among others has been seen as
measures that will enhance poverty alleviation indicating that there are strong
complementarities among growth, poverty reduction and developing human
capital.
In the seamless web of interrelations among the components of human
capital, education plays the central role. Unfortunately, Ngwu (2006) saw the
mobilization of women for development as difficult because of the
complications resulting from high illiteracy among them. The author opined that
women’s education will lead to the creation of an enlightened community which
will have a sufficiently high level of self - reliance and a comparatively high
standard of living especially because the women acquire knowledge and skills
for immediate application.
Women of all status, rural, urban, market etc should be sensitized to be
aware of the facts of their position as to be armed with information which can
129
only be enhanced through improved education. This will enable them feel the
burden and impact of their disadvantaged position as to react positively.
Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
has improved their economic empowerment for community development.
The finding of this study shows that the effect of women’s participation
in poverty alleviation initiatives in Ebonyi and Enugu States improved their
economic empowerment for community development to a great extent but
significant difference existed in extent of their economic empowerment of the
two groups for community development. The respondents from both states
indicated that: poverty was reduced when women participated actively in the
economic activities of cooperative societies; women’s borrowing capacity from
cooperatives and related organizations were enhanced when rigid requirements
were removed; government encouraged women to take agricultural loans by
paying part of it; empowerment of women through skills acquisition and loan
opportunities improved their income and invariably their poverty level;
providing adequate access of financial institution’s funds set aside for the public
for alleviating poverty empowered women economically; and government
continued collaboration with donor agencies like UNICEF, UNFPA in income
generating projects helped to alleviate women’s poverty to a great extent. The
cluster means also showed that women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives improved their economic empowerment for community development
to a great extent. The focus group discussion also indicated that the effect of
130
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives improved their
economic empowerment for community development to a great extent.
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations. However, the standard deviations showed closeness and that there
was not really much difference in the variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu
State respondents. This was an indication of homogeneity in the responses of
the two groups.
The present results are in line with views of Ako-nai, Ologunde and
Adekola (2010). They carried out a study on global integration, empowerment
of women in Osun state, Nigeria. The study revealed that, either by default or
design, the involvement of women has greatly and positively enhanced
household welfare and survival and through the increased earnings of these
women. They were able to augment their household upkeep vote; they became
pillars of support for their husband. Equally, Osalor (2012) listed the following
as issues that government could explore to leverage women’s economic
potential-reforms guaranteeing equal rights of women to ownership: property
and financial control; social reforms to enforce humane treatment of women and
their worthwhile participation in the development of their families and
communities as well as development of special entrepreneurial initiatives that
focus on unbiased participation of women in gainful enterprises.
131
Extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
has increased their means of supporting social programmes for community
development
The finding of this study shows that the effect of women’s participation
in poverty alleviation initiatives in Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their
means of supporting social programmes for community development
to
a
great extent but there was significant difference in the extent of increase
between the two
states. The respondents from both states indicated that:
sustaining social programme that provide economic opportunities improved
women’s welfare; social programmes and amenities that enhance economic
empowerment alleviated women’s poverty; using effective reform programmes
such that focus on improving living condition helped to reduce women’s
poverty; monitoring the extent of implementation of poverty alleviation
programmes helped to remove distractions in achieving the objectives; a
programme channeled towards raising the economic standards of the poor
helped in women’s poverty alleviation; and government programmes that help
in equipping the rural masses with skills for self reliance helped to reduce
women’s poverty to a great extent. The cluster means also showed that women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased their means of
supporting social programmes for community development to a great extent.
The focus group discussion also indicated that the effect of women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives increased their means of
supporting social programmes for community development to a great extent.
132
The respondents from Ebonyi State varied in their responses more than
their Enugu State counterparts in all the items as shown by the standard
deviations. However, the standard deviations showed closeness and that there
was not really much difference in the variability of scores of Ebonyi and Enugu
State respondents. This was an indication of homogeneity in the responses of
the two groups.
The present results are line with Ikpa (2011) who noted that in spite of
Nigeria’s stupendous wealth, empowerment of women is still moving at a slow
speed. Ikpa views women as indispensable group in the development of Nigeria
and partner in progress who need to be empowered. Ikpa further argued that
social functions of the women folk will provide a good opportunity for
empowering them. It is important to note that when they are empowered, they
can serve as a vehicle for transferring their areas which are most often
characterized by poverty and lack of social amenities.
Conclusions
From the findings of the study and discussion that followed, the following
conclusions were made:1. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of
NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for community development
in Ebonyi and Enugu States to a great extent but there was however
significant difference in the mean ratings of respondents from Ebonyi and
Enugu State women on extent their participation in poverty alleviation
133
initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded the women’s asset base for
community development. Therefore, the poverty alleviation programmes
of NAPEP and NDE in Ebonyi State should be improved to emulate that
of Enugu and other states in Nigeria in order to expand the women’s asset
base for community development.
2. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
increased the market access of the women for community development to
a great extent but significant difference existed in the extent of increase in
the market access of between the women of Ebonyi State and Enugu
State. Therefore, efforts should be made to ensure that the poverty
alleviation programmes of NAPEP and NDE in Ebonyi State should be
improved to emulate that of Enugu and other states in Nigeria in order to
increase the market access of the women of Ebonyi.
3. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their educational opportunities for
community development to a great extent but there was significant
difference in the extent of increase in the educational opportunities of the
two groups. Therefore, efforts should be made to ensure that the poverty
alleviation programmes of NAPEP and NDE in Ebonyi State should be
improved to emulate that of Enugu and other states in Nigeria in order to
increase the educational opportunities of the women at the same rate.
134
4. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States improved their economic empowerment for
community development to a great extent but significant difference
existed in extent of their economic empowerment of the two groups for
community development. Therefore, no difference should be allowed to
exist in extent of the economic empowerment of the two groups of
women for community development by greater economic empowerment
of Ebonyi State women.
5. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development to a great extent but there was
significant difference in the extent of increase between the two states.
Therefore, efforts should be made to ensure that difference does not exist
between the two states on their means of supporting social programmes
for community development by exposing the women of Ebonyi State to
more supporting social programmes
Implications of the Study
From the findings of the study one can deduce some important
implications for stakeholders in community development initiatives. The study
provides empirical information on the expansion of the asset-base of the poor as
improving women’s participation in community development initiatives. This
135
implies that when the women folks are not restricted to minimal economic
engagements they will improve their standard of living.
The finding of the study also implied that when market accesses of the
women are improved, women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
will progress. Such market access could be transport system, development of
markets, and removal of market levies. All these will help them explore more
areas for marketing their wares and avoid being restricted to a given area;
hence, increasing their participation in socio-economic activities.
Equally, the finding has it that improved educational opportunity has
enhanced women participation in poverty alleviation initiatives. This finding
has some implications. It implied that when their educational level is perked up
through workshops, conferences, talks and enlightenment programmes, they
tend to explore a wider channel for enhancing their wellbeing. Adult education
is at the center of all these and there is need to boost adult education as an
alternative to give the women opportunity to be empowered to get out of the
shackles of poverty.
Furthermore, the finding that the effect of women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives in Ebonyi and Enugu
States
improved
their
economic empowerment for community development to a great extent but
significant difference existed in extent of their
economic empowerment of
the two groups for community development implies that there is the need to
136
create cooperative societies and boost borrowing capacity of the women to
enable them improves on their economic wellbeing.
Finally, the finding that the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives in Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their means of
supporting social programmes for community development to a great extent but
there was significant difference in the extent of increase between the two states
implies that there is the need to scale up all social programmes of the women
folk with enlightenment programmes to improve their participation in poverty
alleviation programmes.
Recommendations:
Based on the findings of the study, the discussions and implications, the
following recommendations are made:
1. In expanding the asset-base of the poor, the government should try as much
as possible to help women to participate in decisions affecting them.
2. There is the need for government to improve transportation system that will
enable different communities to have link with one another .When such is
done it will provide or improve the market access of the women.
3. The government needs to promote a more supportive culture by facilitating
and enforcing laws addressing segregation of the women thus providing
effective enlightenment programmes for the women folks.
137
4. There is the need for the government to come up with policies that will
enhance the provision of effective counseling for the women folk, as well
as encouraging constructive and equal relationship among genders.
5. Community Development agents should organize workshops, public
seminars and enlightenment programme in communities to educate the
masses on the need to use supporting social programmes in reaching the
women.
Limitations of the Study
A study of this nature would not have been accomplished without
constraints. Some of the constraints encountered in the study include:
1. The researcher relied on the services of the research assistants to get the
responses of the illiterate respondents. What this implies is that they
may have been biased in the interpretation of their responses.
2. Also, the issue of faking cannot be ruled out as it was possible that some
respondents might have faked their response to the questionnaire.
3. Owing to the nature of the economic engagement of most respondents, it
took them two months to react to the invitation for them to respond to
the questionnaire. This made the researcher and the research assistants
to visit the area more than expected for the study.
Suggestions for Further research
In light of the findings of the present study, the following are suggested for
further research.
138
1. The present study employed only women from Ebonyi and Enugu states.
Further studies can improve on this by using larger women sample.
2. A replication of the study could be conducted in another geographical
area as a means of providing a comparative analysis of what is
happening in different geographical locations.
3. A study on the roles of community development agents in enhancing
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives.
Summary of the Study
In Ebonyi and Enugu State, poverty level is higher for women despite
poverty alleviation programmes that have spanned over a period of time. Hence
the researcher was interested in establishing, the effect of women’s participation
in poverty alleviation initiatives for community development in Ebonyi and
Enugu States.
To guide this Study, the following research questions were posed:
1. To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for
community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States?
2. What is the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased the market access of the women for
community development?
139
3. To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased their educational opportunities for
community development?
4. To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives improved their economic empowerment for
community development?
5. What is the extent the effect of women’s participation in poverty
alleviation initiatives increased their means of supporting social
programmes for community development?
The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. A
total of 860 respondents were used for the study. This was drawn through a
stratified proportionate random sampling using 10% bases. The instrument for
data collection was a structured questionnaire titled Assessment of Women’s
Participation in Poverty Alleviation Initiatives Questionnaire (AWPPAIQ)
developed by the researcher and validated by experts. The internal consistency
reliability co-efficient was determined using Cronbach Alpha procedure and an
estimated overall value of .83 was reached.
The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation
while the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test
statistic. Based on the analysis, the findings revealed that:
1. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of
NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for community development
140
in Ebonyi and Enugu States to a great extent but there was however
significant difference in the mean ratings of respondents from Ebonyi and
Enugu State women on extent their participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded the women’s asset base for
community development.
2. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
increased the market access of the women for community development to
a great extent but significant difference existed in the extent of increase in
the market access of between the women of Ebonyi State and Enugu
State.
3. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their educational opportunities for
community development to a great extent but there was significant
difference in the extent of increase in the educational opportunities of the
two groups.
4. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States improved their economic empowerment for
community development to a great extent but significant difference
existed in extent of their economic empowerment of the two groups for
community development.
5. The effect of women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives in
Ebonyi and Enugu States increased their means of supporting social
141
programmes for community development to a great extent but there was
significant difference in the extent of increase between the two states.
The findings of this study were elaborately discussed, their educational
implications and recommendations highlighted. Suggestions for further research
and limitations of the study were also identified.
142
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152
APPENDIX A
QUESTIONNAIRE ON ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF WOMEN’S
PARTICIPATION IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION INITIATIVES OF
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN EBONYI AND
ENUGU STATES
Dept. of Adult Educ & Extra Mural Studies,
University of Nigeria,
Nsukka.
Dear Respondent,
This questionnaire is designed to assist the researcher in determining the
extent of the effect of women’s Participation in Poverty Alleviation initiatives
of Community Development Programmes in Ebonyi and Enugu states
respectively.
You are kindly requested to complete it as practically as you can. Please
note that your genuine response to the questionnaire will go a long way in
devising measures to be used in handling poverty situation in Nigeria.
Thanks in anticipation and God bless you.
Sincerely
Eze, Ukamaka Teresa
Researcher
153
Section A – Personal Data
Please tick (√ ) the appropriate response as applicable
1. State: Ebonyi
Enugu
2. Status: Woman
Community Development Agent
3. Marital Status: Single
Married
4. Location: Urban
Rural
5. Occupation: Farmer
Divorced
market woman
civil servant
Section B: Questionnaire
Key:
VGE
GE
LE
VLE
=
=
=
=
Very Great Extent
Great Extent
Low Extent
Very Low Extent
Cluster A: To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded
their asset base for community development in Ebonyi and
Enugu States?
S/N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Expansion of Asset-base of the poor for community VGE
development
Becoming a member of cooperative society helped
women to access available resources
Expanding the asset base of the women helped them to
participate in decisions affecting the women
Provision of welfare scheme through women
organizations in the local communities helped women to
expand their asset base
Reduced control of markets by government enhanced
women’s use of assets
Providing insurance opportunities by government helped
women to improve their living condition
Diversified farm inputs helped women to expand their
asset base
Regular demand for farm products by the market unions
helped women to expand their asset base
GE
LE
VLE
154
Cluster B: What is the extent the effect of women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives increased the market access of
the women for community development?
S/N
Increased Market Access for community development
8
Improved transport system in the rural areas helped
women to increase their market access
Increased marketing opportunities for selling of products
has been provided
Removal of market levies enhanced women’s
productivity.
Creating more market opportunities for the women gave
them direct access to wholesalers
Enabling market environment aided women to market
their products
Reduced unnecessary cohesion in the marketing system
helped women to market their products.
9
10
11
12
13
VGE
GE
LE
VLE
Cluster C: To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives increased their educational
opportunities for community development?
S/N
14
15
16
17
18
Improved Educational Opportunities for community VGE
development
Educational opportunities for women improved their
skills for self employment.
Access to education improved economic activities of
women
Women acquired new and useful information when they
continuously learn
Supporting exchange visits to other successful women
groups empowered them to act positively
Training women in specific vocational skills for poverty
alleviation improved their educational opportunities
GE
LE
VLE
155
Cluster D: To what extent has the effect of women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives improved their economic
empowerment for community development?
S/N
19
20
21
22
23
24
Economic Empowerment for community VGE
development
Poverty was reduced when women participated
actively in the economic activities of cooperative
societies
Women’s borrowing capacity from cooperatives
and related organizations were enhanced when rigid
requirements were removed
Government encouraged women to take agricultural
loans by paying part of it
Empowerment of women through skills acquisition
and loan opportunities improved their income and
invariably their poverty level
Providing adequate access of financial institution’s
funds set aside for the public for alleviating poverty
empowered women economically
Government continued collaboration with donor
agencies like UNICEF, UNFPA in income
generating projects helped to alleviate women’s
poverty
GE
LE
VLE
Cluster E: What is the extent the effect of women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives increased their means of
supporting social programmes for community development?
S/N
25
26
27
28
29
30
Targeting the poor through Social support VGE
Programmes for community development
Sustaining social programme that provide economic
opportunities improved women’s welfare
Social programmes and amenities that enhance economic
empowerment alleviated women’s poverty
Using effective reform programmes such that focus on
improving living condition helped to reduce women’s
poverty
Monitoring the extent of implementation of poverty
alleviation programmes helped to remove distractions in
achieving the objectives
A programme channeled towards raising the economic
standards of the poor helped in women’s poverty
alleviation.
Government programmes that help in equipping the rural
masses with skills for self reliance helped to reduce
women’s poverty.
GE
LE
VLE
156
APPENDIX B
VALIDATION OF ASSESSMENT OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH
WOMEN ARE PARTICIPATING IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION
INITIATIVES OF NATIONAL POVERTY ERADICATION
PROGRAMME (NAPEP) AND NATIONAL DIRECTORATE OF
EMPLOYMENT (NDE) FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN
EBONYI AND ENUGU STATES
Specific suggestions for modification
Source
Suggested modification
Action taken
Cluster A:
Item 1-7
Use simple and straight sentences
Suggestion accepted.
Items are too technical to be easily
understood
Sentences rephrased in simple terms
Cluster B
Item 8-13
Items suggested to be ambiguous
Suggestion accepted.
Clusters A,
B, C, D &
E
Rating scale to be changed
Rating scale changed to read Very Great
Extent, Great Extent, Lows Extent and
Very Low Extent
The suggested modification was done and
re-submitted for approval and signature
157
APPENDIX C
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION (FGD)
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE
EXTENT TO WHICH WOMEN ARE PARTICIPATING IN POVERTY
ALLEVIATION INITIATIVES OF NATIONAL POVERTY
ERADICATION PROGRAMME (NAPEP) AND NATIONAL
DIRECTORATE OF EMPLOYMENT (NDE) FOR COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT IN EBONYI AND ENUGU STATES
Introduction: (Name of Moderator, note taker, topic, modality of conducting the
FGDs including rules for participation).
i.
Status:
Woman
ii.
State:
Ebonyi/Enugu
iii
Topic:
Assessment of the extent to which women are
participating in poverty alleviation initiatives of
National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP)
and National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for
community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States
Questions:
1
To what extent has women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded their asset base for
community development in Ebonyi and Enugu States?
• Probe for the extent becoming a member of cooperative society helped
women to access available resources
• Probe for the extent expanding the asset base of the women helped them
to participate in decisions affecting the women
158
• Probe for the extent provision of welfare scheme through women
organizations in the local communities helped women to expand their
asset base
• Probe for the extent reduced control of markets enhanced women’s use
of assets
• Probe for the extent providing insurance opportunities helped women to
improve their living condition
• Probe for the extent diversified farm inputs helped women to expand
their asset base
• Probe for the extent regular demand for farm products by the labour
markets helped women to expand their asset base
RESULT: Majority of the women from both Ebonyi and Enugu states
argued that becoming member of cooperative society helped them to access
available resources; expand their asset base which helped them to participate in
decisions affecting the women. Most of these women including Mrs Ibiam Janet
and Mrs Adonu Mabel
of
Dibugwunwanyi Women Association in Izzi
community in Ebonyi State as well as Mrs Abonyi Calister and Mrs Eze
Martina of Udoka Women Association in Obollo maintained that provision of
welfare scheme through women organizations in the local communities helped
women to expand their asset base; providing insurance opportunities helped
women to improve their living condition; diversified farm inputs helped women
to expand their asset base; and regular demand for farm products by the labour
159
markets helped women to expand their asset base to a great extent. However,
some of the women from Ebonyi State indicated that reduced control of markets
enhanced their use of assets to only a low extent, while those from Enugu State
maintained that the enhancement to their asset base was to a great extent. The
summary of the focused group discussion generally revealed that women’s
participation in poverty alleviation initiatives of NAPEP and NDE expanded
their asset base for community development to a great extent.
2 What is the extent women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives increased the market access of the women for community
development?
• Probe for the extent improved transport system in the rural areas helped
women to increase their market access
• Probe for the extent increased marketing opportunities for selling of
products has been provided
• Probe for the extent removal of market levies enhanced women’s
productivity.
• Probe for the extent creating more market opportunities for the women
gave them direct access to wholesalers
• Probe for the extent enabling market environment aided women to
market their products
• Probe for the extent reduced unnecessary cohesion in the marketing
system helped women to market their products.
160
RESULT: The argument of majority of the women from both states
indicated that increased marketing opportunities for selling of products has been
provided; removal of market levies enhanced women’s productivity; creating
more market opportunities for the women gave them direct access to
wholesalers; enabling market environment aided women to market their
products; and reduced unnecessary cohesion in the marketing system helped
women to market their products to a great extent. However, while the
respondents from Ebonyi State indicated that improved transport system in the
rural areas helped women to increase their market access to a great extent, those
from Enugu State stated that the increase to their market access was to a very
great extent. The agreement from the focused group discussion showed that
women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives generally increased the
market access of the women for community development to a great extent.
3
To what extent has women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives increased their educational opportunities for community
development?
• Probe for the extent Educational opportunities for women improved their
skills for self employment
• Probe for the extent access to education improved economic activities of
women
• Probe for the extent women acquired new and useful information when
they continuously learned
161
• Probe for the extent supporting exchange visits to other successful
women groups empowered them to act positively
• Probe for the extent training women in specific vocational skills for
poverty alleviation improved their educational opportunities
RESULT: The argument of majority of the women from both states
showed that: access to education improved economic activities of women;
women acquired new and useful information when they continuously learned;
supporting exchange visits to other successful women groups empowered them
to act positively; and training women in specific vocational skills for poverty
alleviation improved their educational opportunities to a great extent. However,
while the respondents from Ebonyi State indicated that educational
opportunities for women improved their skills for self employment to a great
extent; those from Enugu State stated that the improvement in their skills for
self employment was to a very great extent. The summary of the focused group
discussion also confirmed that women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives increased their educational opportunities for community development
to a great extent.
4
To what extent has women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives improved their economic empowerment for community
development?
• Probe for the extent poverty was reduced when women participated
actively in the economic activities of cooperative societies Probe for
postgraduate admissions being usually advertised in the newspaper
162
• Probe for the extent women’s borrowing capacity from cooperatives and
related organizations were enhanced when rigid requirements were
removed
• Probe for the extent government encouraged women to take agricultural
loans by paying part of it
• Probe for the extent empowerment of women through skills acquisition
and loan opportunities improved their income and invariably their
poverty
• Probe for the extent providing adequate access of financial institution’s
funds set aside for the public for alleviating poverty empowered women
economically
• Probe for the extent government continued collaboration with donor
agencies like UNICEF, UNFPA in income generating projects helped to
alleviate women’s poverty
RESULT: The respondents from both states indicated that: poverty was
reduced when women participated actively in the economic activities of
cooperative societies; women’s borrowing capacity from cooperatives and
related organizations were enhanced when rigid requirements were removed;
government encouraged women to take agricultural loans by paying part of it;
empowerment of women through skills acquisition and loan opportunities
improved their income and invariably their poverty level; providing adequate
access of financial institution’s funds set aside for the public for alleviating
163
poverty empowered women economically; and government continued
collaboration with donor agencies like UNICEF, UNFPA in income generating
projects helped to alleviate women’s poverty to a great extent. The agreement
from the focused group discussion showed that women’s participation in
poverty alleviation initiatives improved their economic empowerment for
community development to a great extent.
5.
What is the extent women’s participation in poverty alleviation
initiatives increased their means of supporting social programmes
for community development?
• Probe for the extent sustaining social programme that provide economic
opportunities improved women’s welfare
• Probe for the extent social programmes and amenities that enhance
economic empowerment alleviated women’s poverty
• Probe for the extent using effective reform programmes such that focus
on improving living condition helped to reduce women’s poverty
• Probe for the extent monitoring the extent of implementation of poverty
alleviation programmes helped to remove distractions in achieving the
objectives
• Probe for the extent a programme channeled towards raising the
economic standards of the poor helped in women’s poverty alleviation.
164
• Probe for the extent government programmes that help in equipping the
rural masses with skills for self reliance helped to reduce women’s
poverty
RESULT: The agreement of majority of the women from both states
indicated that: sustaining social programme that provide economic opportunities
improved women’s welfare; social programmes and amenities that enhance
economic empowerment alleviated women’s poverty; using effective reform
programmes such that focus on improving living condition helped to reduce
women’s poverty; monitoring the extent of implementation of poverty
alleviation programmes helped to remove distractions in achieving the
objectives; a programme channeled towards raising the economic standards of
the poor helped in women’s poverty alleviation; and government programmes
that help in equipping the rural masses with skills for self reliance helped to
reduce women’s poverty to a great extent. The summary of the focused group
discussion revealed that women’s participation in poverty alleviation initiatives
increased their means of supporting social programmes for community
development to a great extent.
165
APPENDIX E
Annex IV: POVERTY ERADICATION POLICY TARGETS
Basic Indicators
Estimate at present (1999)
Target
Time
Frame
i.
GDP Growth Rate
2.4 per cent
7 per cent
Short-Term
ii.
Inflation Rate
13 per cent
Single Digit
Short -Term
iii.
70 per cent
Short-Term
iv.
Gainful, employed labour 50 per cent
force (both formal and
informal)
Maternal Mortality
800 per 100,000 births
v.
Infant Mortality
vi.
Reduction
in
Child
Malnutrition
vii. Population
access
to
potable water
viii. Household
access
to
electricity (rural)
ix. Functional telephone lines
per 1000 persons
x. Population of school-age
Children in School
xi. Population literacy level
78 per 1000 births
46 per cent of total population
400 per 100,000 Short-Term
births
50 per 1000 births
Short-Term
40 per cent
20 per cent of total Short-Term
population
60 per cent
Short -Term
34 percent
60 per cent
Short -Term
4
200
Short -Term
50 per cent
90 per cent
Short -Term
57 per cent
80 per cent
Short -Term
2120
10g/day
Low
2500
36g/day
Medium/High
Short –Term
Short –Term
Short -Term
Unsatisfactory
xii. Nutrition Level (Daily
Calorie, Protein intake)
xiii. Other Basic Human Needs
(Level of Satisfaction)
xiv. Promotion of women’s
participation in informal
sector and food processing
and substance agriculture
xv. Total Fertility Rate
6
Recognition
Short -Term
inclusion
and
integration in
the
economy mainstream
4
Short-Term
xvi. Life Expectancy Rate
50
60
Short-Term
50 per cent
Short-Term
25 percent
Short-Term
High priority
Short-Term
20 percent
Medium
Term
xvii. Increase
capacity 30 per cent
utilization
xviii.Budgetary allocation to 2.5 percent
Agriculture
xix. Environmental Concern
Negligible
xx. Reduction of the incidence 65.6 percent
of poverty in Nigeria 1996
estimate;
166
xxi. Reduction of the incidence
of poverty in both the rural
and urban areas 1996
estimate;
xxii. Reduction of population
growth rate from 1998;
xxiii.Achievement of national
coverage
by
Primary
Health Care (PHC) and
accessibility to functional
primary
health
care
services
xxiv. Coverage of rural areas by
roads;
Coverage of urban slums
by access roads.
xxv. Corruption
67.8 per cent in rural areas and 30 per cent in the Medium
57.7 per cent in urban areas
rural areas and 20 per Term
cent in urban areas;
2.83 per cent
2 per cent
Long Term
45 per cent
70 per cent
Long Term
55 per cent
90 per cent
45 per cent
90 per cent
Long Term
Epidemic
Medium/NIL
Medium
/Long Term
Medium
Term
xxvi. Reduction
in
gender 60 percent
disparity
in
school
enrolment
xxvii.Agricultural
production 3.5
growth rate (%)
20 percent
7
Short Term