Poverty, education and Boko Haram

by Olufemi Adebiyi

'From available information at our disposal, pieced together from publications by the World Bank and United Nations, there is a very strong correlation between some demographic factors and poverty in Nigeria. Firstly, there are more poor people in the rural areas relative to the urban centres; and poverty is disproportionately concentrated in families whose primary livelihood is agriculture. Secondly, and within these agricultural households, 75 per cent in the North are poor compared with 59.3 per cent in the South. This underlines the preponderance of poverty in the North relative to the South. Thirdly, and in terms of geographical distribution, the highest concentration of poverty, at close to 70 per cent of the population, is in the North-East, followed by the North-West and North-Central in approximately the same proportion of more than 60 per cent of the population. The zone with the least proportion of poverty incidence is the South-East at about 33 per cent, closely followed by the South-West at about 42 per cent, and South-South at about 50 per cent."

There is no single, universally accepted, definition of poverty. This is because poverty is multidimensional. However, it is not uncommon to describe poverty as a general state of deprivation or as Baker says, “A state of being deficient in money or means of subsistence.”

In recent times, poverty has been frequently defined relative to the standards of living in a society. Thus, it is recognised when all available income is spent on food and the results still fall below a certain minimum level of calories. Recently available information places Nigeria at number 154 out of 179 countries on the Human Development Index, but Nigeria is a frontrunner on the Global Hunger Index, coasting in at number 20!

The causes of poverty in Nigeria are fairly obvious to all. They include the pervasive corruption in the land where very few got everything while the majority got nothing or mere pittance. Failure to distribute the commonwealth equitably has led to economic polarisation or the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor as well as the near total elimination of the Middle class. The pursuit of growth as an end in itself as opposed to a means to improving the well-being of the citizens is also a prime factor. Until the recent weeklong national strike and demonstrations against the removal of fuel subsidy, all major attempts by the government to create employment opportunities (especially for the youths) have been more of sloganeering, with specialised agencies of government set up for this purpose failing to make the desired impact. As a matter of fact, most (if not all) of the agencies are grossly dysfunctional, with little or no systemic coordination of their activities. The National Poverty Eradication Programme, which was set up primarily to coordinate all poverty alleviation programmes in Nigeria as a way of putting this major policy in focus, became an institution for the direct implementation of programmes without the necessary capacity to do so.

From available information at our disposal, pieced together from publications by the World Bank and United Nations, there is a very strong correlation between some demographic factors and poverty in Nigeria. Firstly, there are more poor people in the rural areas relative to the urban centres; and poverty is disproportionately concentrated in families whose primary livelihood is agriculture. Secondly, and within these agricultural households, 75 per cent in the North are poor compared with 59.3 per cent in the South. This underlines the preponderance of poverty in the North relative to the South. Thirdly, and in terms of geographical distribution, the highest concentration of poverty, at close to 70 per cent of the population, is in the North-East, followed by the North-West and North-Central in approximately the same proportion of more than 60 per cent of the population. The zone with the least proportion of poverty incidence is the South-East at about 33 per cent, closely followed by the South-West at about 42 per cent, and South-South at about 50 per cent.

Also from available data, the incidence of poverty in Nigeria decreases with increasing levels of education; and this is where the worry of policymakers should be. Poverty is highest in households without education and least in households with post-secondary education. The highest concentration of the poor as well as the least educated in Nigeria is in the North-East, and this is the base of Boko Haram, which literarily means 'Western education is sinful or bad. Although leaders of the sect have claimed their actual name is Jamaatu Ahlil Sunna Lidawati wal Jihad, the group has not hidden its hatred for the West and 'western education', even if its members are using the products of the West, such as automobiles, mobile phones, assorted guns, motorcycles and even the western bomb-making technology to prosecute their campaign.

In our view, the greatest policy challenge the government has to confront is helping the North, especially the North-East', to deal with illiteracy and poverty. Firstly, there should be a massive sensitisation and awareness creation in the North and the message is that there is no substitute to education in the 21st Century. Someone once said that if anyone thinks knowledge is expensive, the person should try ignorance. In the part of the country where I come from, there is a saying which, in literary translation, means 'A child is stupid, but the parent says let the child not just die; what kills faster than stupidity?'. The people must first be convinced that education is good and it is in their best interest to be open to learning. I once read somewhere that the illiterate of this century will be those who refuse to learn, re-learn and unlearn. The first step in learning is for someone to know what he does not know but which he needs to know. That is the role of sensitisation and awareness creation. The 21st Century person must understand and appreciate how to respect the sanctity of life and the right of other people to live and be entitled to their opinion. It is the beginning of the development of a sound mind. If a person has learnt or believed anything to the contrary, then he has to un-learn whatever it is and re-learn what is universally adjudged as the fundamental principle of normal, sane living.

The Boko Haram phenomenon, though may have political dimensions as is being frequently canvassed, is in my view more poverty and education-related; and efforts to correct this anomaly should represent the focus of policy. A person with no education and who has no means of livelihood will likely place little or no value on his life, and his mind could be negatively twisted or influenced with ease. We must draw a comparison with the young man who set himself ablaze in Tunisia, which triggered the Arab Spring, and his counterpart in Nigeria who in the process of committing suicide decided to kill other innocent people. While the Tunisian was educated and would rather die alone in protest against social deprivation, his Boko Haram counterpart in Nigeria, who is most likely an illiterate and has therefore been easily brain-washed, would for one morsel of food kill himself and other innocent people without qualms. It must be noted from their tactics that none of the leaders of Boko Haram wants to die (at least the last one that was shown on television was, ironically, wearing a bullet-proof vest!), but they have many foot soldiers who are socially deprived and would, therefore, readily serve as cheap canon fodder.

The promotion of education should be an emergency in many parts of Northern Nigeria, and the Federal Government must nudge the state governments in this regard. The Federal Government must deliberately do this because some of the politicians at the helm of affairs in some of these Northern states, who are benefitting from the status quo, may not see or appreciate the sense of urgency. In the North, the opportunity cost of sending children to school is the main reason for not enrolling or for dropping out of school, and not the issue of school fees. This is why the North has more children out of school despite the fact that most of them are implementing free education. There is a need to deliberately adopt moral suasion and appropriate sensitisation techniques to check incidents of child labour and early marriage/betrothal. I know this is an uphill task, especially when cognisance is taken of how deep-rooted this problem is in the North. It may be recalled that a senator, who hails from the North, reportedly married a minor not too long ago and this became a matter of public discourse. If Nigeria must remain one indissoluble country, which is our great desire and prayer, then this issue must be given topmost priority.

High youth unemployment is a major threat to our future. It is even worse when the affected youths are illiterate. The dividing line between an illiterate adult in this century and a mad man is very thin. Just put any of the modern technological tools, especially those that are lethal in operation in his hand, and this point will be more vivid to understand. If you do not believe, ask anyone who has given any of today's modern cars to his old mechanic for repairs and his experience will convince you. Lack of education is a poverty-aggravating point, and unless geographical targeting, with bias towards the North is given urgent priority, then all of us - the rich and the poor alike (since this government does not like the middle class and will want it exterminated at all cost) - should forget about sleeping with two eyes closed. It is not too late. The traditional institutions should be engaged in this awareness campaign about education. It is the surest way to tackle the Boko Haram phenomenon from its root.

Adebiyi wrote in from R&S Consulting Limited, Lagos, via adebiyifemi@...