POVERTY

This research analyses the 2023 UNIBEN staging of Ola Rotimi’s If: A Tragedy of the Ruled as protest theatre to confront systemic poverty in Nigeria. Through TfD’s participatory lens. The production, performed by 200-level students exposed poverty as elite-orchestrated betrayal rather than personal failure, using satire, Pidgin choral resistance, and direct audience address to dramatize healthcare collapse, gendered exploitation, and inflation-driven evictions. Script and observational analysis reveal how the tenement microcosm sparked conscientization, viral discourse, and micro-petitions, while challenging “education ends poverty” myths amid graduate joblessness. Yet resource constraints, urban-academic isolation, and solution deficits limited impact. Marking the first documented Nigerian university use of canonical protest theatre for direct poverty advocacy, findings highlight theatre’s power to forge empathy and agency

This study examined the impact of poverty on the academic achievement of primary school pupils in Ekiosa Community, Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. Specifically, it investigated the relationship between family income, availability of learning materials, nutritional status, parental education, and pupils’ academic performance, as well as potential interventions that social workers and schools could implement to mitigate the effects of poverty. The study adopted a case study design involving five primary schools, with a sample of 286 respondents comprising pupils, teachers, parents, and school administrators. Data were collected through structured questionnaires, interviews, observation, and academic records. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Findings revealed that low family income, inadequate learning materials, poor nutrition, and limited parental education significantly hindered pupils’ academic achievement. The study further identified key interventions, including school feeding programs, provision of learning materials, guidance and counselling, and community social work support, as effective strategies to enhance educational outcomes. The study concluded that poverty is a major barrier to academic success, and social workers and schools play a crucial role in mitigating its adverse effects. Recommendations were made for targeted school and community interventions to improve learning opportunities for disadvantaged pupils.

This study examines the impact of poverty on economic growth in Nigeria from 1981 to 2024. Despite periods of robust economic expansion, Nigeria continues to experience high and persistent poverty rates, reflecting the country’s enduring growth–poverty paradox. Using annual time-series data obtained from the World Bank, National Bureau of Statistics, and Central Bank of Nigeria, the study employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) to analyze both short-run and long-run relationships between poverty and growth, alongside other macroeconomic variables such as
unemployment, inflation, foreign direct investment, and government expenditure. The results reveal that poverty exerts a significant and negative impact on real GDP in both the short and long run, indicating that high poverty levels constrain Nigeria’s productive capacity and weaken economic performance. Granger causality tests further show a unidirectional causal relationship running from poverty to economic growth, implying that poverty significantly predicts variations in output, whereas growth alone does not substantially reduce poverty. The findings highlight that without inclusive policies targeting poverty reduction, economic growth in Nigeria will remain uneven and unsustainable. The study recommends enhanced social investment, employment generation, human capital development, and equitable income distribution as vital strategies to break the poverty–growth trap and promote broad-based economic progress.

This study examines the influence of poverty on the academic performance of secondary School students in some selected schools in Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Edo State. The research aims to identify the relationship between poverty and students’ academic performance. The research was carried out as a survey using relevant literature from journals, textbooks, magazine and the internet. To achieve the purpose of the study, three research questions were raised. The sample size of fifty secondary school teachers from five secondary schools was used for the study. Data was collected with the aid of well- structured and valid questionnaire; the data collected were analyzed using simple percentages. The findings showed that there is a significant relationships between academic performance and poverty under feeding conditions, provision of school facilities and equipment and home related factors .The study inferred that poverty affects academic performance of students and the day to day management of the school. From the study it is evident that parents do not have stable sources of income as they don’t pay fees in time. This negatively influences students’ academic performance.

This study examines the role of cooperative society in eradicating poverty in Nigeria: A case study of Akoko-Edo farmers’ cooperative. This enumerated three objectives whaich was used to draw out the research questions, the objectives were to; examines various kinds of activities performed by cooperatives for members in Local Government Area; identify various sources of finance available to the societies under review; assess the effectiveness of policies aimed at promoting co-operative societies; and identify some of the challenges which co-operative societies face in the rural areas. The study adopted the survey research design which was used to gather data from 125 respondents from Akoko-Edo farmers’ cooperative. The data was analysng using simple percentage the results revealed that co-operative societies have tremendous impact on the rural development and socio-economic lives of the community of Akoko Edo Local Government Area, Edo State. The finding also shows that inadequate resources have been a threat to the effectiveness of Co-operative societies Akoko Edo Local Government Area, Edo State. The result revealed the strategies of cooperative societies should be consciously articulated to realistically reflect proper skills and trainings of its members within specific needs of such communities in which they are based or situated. This study recommends that social welfare programmes can be designed by Federal, State and Local Governments through the provision of subsidies to poor persons especially on food, education, housing, transport, etc. thereby enhancing their descent living. People should be encouraged especially in poverty stricken areas to embark on self-help programmes through the activities of cooperative societies. This can be achieved through organisation of town hall meetings, workshops and seminars by cooperative societies to disseminate information on practical benefits of forming cooperative societies. As cooperative societies represent democratic views, efforts should be made by the groups to integrate opinions of their members through the adoption of bottom-up approach to policy design and implementation thereby mobilizing all important stakeholders to support its activities towards achieving its success and sustainability

This study evaluates the impact of monetary policy on poverty in Nigeria over a 42-year period (1981– 2023), using time series data and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. It investigates the relationship between inflation rate, total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), money supply, interest rate or monetary policy rate, and poverty—measured by the poverty rate. Both short-run and long-run dynamics among these variables are explored. The empirical findings reveal an insignificant long-run relationship between monetary policy and poverty in Nigeria. However, short-run results indicate that persistent inflation worsens poverty by eroding individuals’ purchasing power. Increases in money supply and interest rates are also associated with rising poverty levels in the short term. Diagnostic tests confirm the robustness and reliability of the model, with no evidence of serial correlation or heteroskedasticity. The study concludes that monetary policy can aid poverty reduction and recommends reforms to stabilize inflation, promote inclusive and sustainable growth, and implement long-term structural policies