Poverty, The Nigerian Economy And The Law

The magnitude, continuing expansion and deepening of poverty in Nigeria is a major threat to the nation’s social, political and economic development. Successive governments, recognizing the consequences of poverty introduced several poverty reduction programmes for the general population or segments of it (e.g. women and youth).Despite the programmes, however, poverty has continued to expand, which in effect indicate that the poverty reduction measures have not been effective. Poverty and social exclusion are interlinked and both aggravate and perpetuate social dislocations – social disorder or disorganization arising from changes in the social, political, economic and cultural systems of society. In Nigeria, social exclusion, social inequalities, poverty and social dislocations constitute a vicious circle.