Nigeria, Poverty and the First Sustainable Development Goal

Abstract

The study reviewed Nigeria’s performance in her quest to achieve the first Sustainable Development Goal, namely, to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. Five direct targets were considered, covering various aspects of the goal. From a dialectical perspective, and the poverty climate of the country, it was concluded that Nigeria can neither check poverty in her domain nor achieve the first sustainable development goal by 2030. The study reiterated that if ending poverty in Nigeria will be at all possible, it certainly cannot occur by the target date. The likelihood is that poverty will remain, perhaps even blossom in some segments of the society where it was earlier strongly anchored, as well as some segments previously less susceptible to it. These include children and youths within the age bracket 15 to 35 years who have been mostly at risk, and men in the age range 35 to 55 years who were least at risk. Among others, it is recommended that the improbability of banishing poverty by 2030 should be officially recognized and a strategy to banish poverty redrawn.